CC SABATHIA is the prize catch for the Yankees, but don’t underesti mate the importance of signing free agent Derek Lowe.
After getting Sabathia on the dotted line – and it appears the Yankees are back to the days when they just blow the competition out of the water when a superstar free agent is available – there is still much work to be done.
A.J. Burnett is high on the Yankees’ list because he has the ability to be dominating every time out. As one Yankee said in the final weekend of the season, “Even if we had made it to the playoffs, we probably would not have gone too deep because of our pitching.”
The Yankees, in their heart of hearts, knew that the 2008 staff was not the kind of staff that would take a team to the World Series. There was no Cole Hamels to lead the way. Sabathia will give the Yankees that kind of arm, but there also has to be a No. 2 and No. 3 to carry the load.
Say this for Derek Lowe; he can carry the pitching load. The last time he was a free agent I wrote he would be the perfect addition to the Yankees’ staff in so many ways. He’s tough. He knows what the AL East is all about and he is there every fifth day. Instead, the Yankees signed Carl Pavano. If Lowe had been there instead of Pavano, the Yankees would not have had to rush Phil Hughes to the majors.
Consider this about Hughes: There are 122 pitchers in the Arizona Fall League, 108 are older than Hughes. He’s still only 22.
Over the last seven seasons Lowe has made between 32 and 35 starts each of those years. You can pencil him in for 200 innings right now.
“He’s so consistent,” said one admiring scout. “You can’t go wrong with Derek Lowe. He’s just what the Yankees need.”
In three of the last four seasons Lowe’s ERA has dropped. Granted, it’s the National League, but the numbers are still impressive. Lowe’s 3.24 ERA with the Dodgers in 2008 was his lowest ERA since 2002. The last time he was in the AL in 2004, he posted a career high 5.42 ERA with the Red Sox.
You can see why the Mets want Lowe, as well. He would be the perfect No. 2 behind Johan Santana. To me, Santana is better than Sabathia, so having a Santana-Lowe 1-2 punch in the NL is like having a couple of aces up the Mets’ sleeve. But Lowe, like Santana, also has to realize that he has to depend on the Mets’ bullpen to save games.
That bullpen not only blew so many wins for Santana, that bullpen blew the Cy Young Award for him, too. There are no clear signs the Mets know how to fix their main problem. The Yankees’ bullpen is in much better shape with Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.
Lowe will be 36 this year, so age is a factor. But there is no indication he is wearing down and although Burnett is four years younger than Lowe, over the last seven seasons Burnett has pitched 200 innings only three times while Lowe has reached 200 innings five times. The two times Lowe missed that magic mark he pitched 182″ innings in 2004, and two years ago he came two outs short of 200 innings.
Lowe is simply the way to go for the Yankees.