TAMPA — The battle for the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the Yankees’ rotation has a bit of election season about it.
News trickles in daily from different precincts. Bartolo Colon’s slider looks good, he moves up a few percentage points. Sergio Mitre’s side is achy, and the pinstriped Electoral College map appears more discouraging for him. Ivan Nova throws six no-hit innings last night against the Orioles, so get the victory speech ready.
The fervor of the coverage — the constant updates of who is up and down — masks that this may have all the relevance of a race for dog catcher. And not just because the winners are unlikely to serve their full 162-game term.
But because it distracts from a much more vital matter: The progress of the No. 2-3 starters. As opposed to the quartet pursuing the Nos. 4-5 slots — Freddy Garcia, Colon, Mitre and Nova — Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett have positions locked down. Nevertheless, with that certainty comes a burden that the back of the rotation — regardless of the identity — does not carry.
Can the Yankees make the playoffs off the strengths of an ace (CC Sabathia), a powerful offense and a deep bullpen? Yeah. But the path becomes easier if Hughes performs like a quality No. 2 starter and Burnett is a true No. 3. It is hard to see the Yankees overtaking the Red Sox to win the AL East without a strong combo behind Sabathia.
In fact, the top of the Yankees and Red Sox rotations have some synchronicity: The lefty aces (Sabathia vs. Jon Lester), the promising young righties (Hughes vs. Clay Buchholz) and the Marlins refugees trying to recover from a dreadful season (Burnett vs. Josh Beckett). Win these matchups, and you probably win the AL East.
“There is a responsibility, no doubt,” Hughes said of the Nos. 2-3 spots. “We have the responsibility of even on the days we don’t have it, putting up quality starts. We really have to limit awful starts where we are out of games early.”
Under the best-case, offseason scenario for the Yankees, Hughes and Burnett were going to be the Nos. 4-5 starters behind Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte. But Lee went to Philadelphia and Pettitte went home.
Suddenly, the Yankees were in the market for every Tom, Dick and Bartolo. As late as yesterday morning, they were at UC-Irvine to watch Kevin Millwood work out — just in case. And suddenly Hughes and Burnett became players that simply could not break down physically or in performance. Because if you don’t like the idea of, say, Garcia and Colon as the Nos. 4-5 guys, what happens if one has to move up to the No. 3 slot to let Nova or Mitre in?
“They have been good in spring training,” manager Joe Girardi said of his Nos. 2-3 men.
With a delivery streamlined by new pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Burnett has thrown his fastball with more precision, his curve with better tilt, and he even has deployed a changeup with greater frequency and success. But in case you forgot, before he settled into one of the worst seasons ever by a full-time Yankees starter, Burnett began 2010 at 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA and was 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA at the end of June.
So a snapshot in spring is not enough. The Yankees need what Burnett has not been good at — full concentration for a full season.
Like last spring training, Hughes has yet to deliver his best fastball. But he does feel as if he has refined his changeup and is dedicated to throwing about 15 per game.
“I’m trying to get better,” he said. “I’m not 34.”
No, Hughes is 24 and the Yankees hope there is a graduation from a good first full season as a major league starter. They need him to be a No. 2 starter — and not by default.
“It is obvious how important starting pitching is,” Hughes said. “And teams that don’t have successful Nos. 2-3 starters, they don’t usually win a lot of games.”