MLB

Great pitching not always needed

Let’s begin in the most obvious place: It is far better to have great starting pitching than something less than that.

So the simplest route for the Yankees this offseason would be to pay the necessary price to retain CC Sabathia and then obtain another strong starter, perhaps free agent C.J. Wilson.

That would allow the Yankees to have Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett as their Nos. 3-5 starters, with Hector Noesi, David Phelps, Adam Warren and the Killer Bs — Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances — stored in a powerful Triple-A rotation, offering depth and options.

But this season and, especially this postseason, have detailed yet again, there is no singular script that assures a championship. It sounds good to say the team that has the best starting pitching thrives in October — and it worked out that way in 2010 as the Giants won it all. In 2011, however, San Francisco did not even make the playoffs, and Philadelphia and Tampa Bay — owners of the best rotations in this postseason — were bounced in the first round.

“No one ever talks about offense at this time of year because it doesn’t fit the mythology of the postseason,” said a top personnel man from an NL team. “But there are a lot of ways to skin a cat.”

Look, the Yankees were supposed to be doomed without Cliff Lee or someone like him slotting behind Sabathia in 2011. Yet, they won the toughest division in the sport. And they were not eliminated in the division series because they didn’t have Lee. Philadelphia was because Lee could not protect a 4-0 lead in Game 2 against the Cardinals. The Rangers, another runner-up for Lee, could make a second straight trip to the World Series, though their theoretical ace, Wilson, has a 7.45 ERA in two postseason starts this year.

We bring this up because Joe Girardi held a press conference yesterday and said, “One need we have to address again is our rotation. There is no doubt about it.”

Thus, the never-ending story for the Yankees remains never ending. They are still trying to make up for not having Lee and/or Andy Pettitte while coping with the possibility now that Sabathia can leave. Again, all will be a lot more comfortable in the short term for the Yankees if they bring Sabathia back.

But the Yanks should not allow themselves to be held hostage. Sabathia could opt out of the four years at $92 million left, and the Yankees should be willing to give him a drop more than Philadelphia bestowed Lee, which was five years at $120 million. So if Sabathia received, say, a five-year, $121 million deal, he would replace Lee as the highest-paid pitcher in history per year ($24.2 million) and still own the record for largest overall pitching contract (seven years, $161 million; the deal he would be voiding).

If Sabathia wants more, the Yankees have to seriously consider another direction rather than accept greater long-term risk. The Rangers are closing in on an AL title without an ace; the personnel people I have spoken with see Wilson as closer to a No. 3 starter than a No. 1. Instead, Texas is winning with very good starting pitching, but an elite lineup and bullpen. It is a formula the Yanks should understand well because it is how they won the AL East this year.

In the recent past, teams would feel blessed if they had three bullpen pieces they trusted. But more and more, we are seeing clubs with deep pens, especially in having multiple

pieces that throw in the mid-90s. The playoffs this year feel like a race to the bullpens as managers cannot wait to get their starters out and mix and match with a variety of relief pieces.

Girardi did a wonderful job over six months using his whole pen while not over-exposing anyone. Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Cory Wade and Boone Logan should be back next year, plus Joba Chamberlain is a possibility after May. In addition, the Yankees have those good arms at Triple-A and another opportunity to find a competent lefty to join Logan.

With that pen and a powerful offense, could they survive if — for example — they lost Sabathia, but signed Wilson and traded for someone such as the A’s Gio Gonzalez or White Sox’ John Danks?

“Can you win with five

No. 3 starters and strength everywhere else,” the NL personnel man said. “Yes, I think you can. I think the Rangers are doing it right now.”

joel.sherman@nypost.com