Garcia has looked like trash of late. Major concerns with the rotation heading into the offs.... That being said, if AJ gets a spot in the playoff rotation I will be livid. I still think it should be CC>Nova>Garcia>Hughes/Colon. It's gonna be hard to win the WS with that rotation.
Maybe. CC lines up fine against anyone. Nova might be untested in the postseason, but if he pitches as he did for most of the season, I wouldn't exactly hate the Yanks' chances against any other #2 starter. Hughes/Garcia/Colon have a sliding scale of suckiness to them depending on the outing; it's more about execution than talent. And - with the exception of Philly - it's not like many other teams are that deep in the rotation. Plus, the Yankee bullpen outshines any of the other playoff teams by a significant amount. I guess my view is that it's never easy to win the WS. I wouldn't be particularly pessimistic about their chances this year compared to other years.
Exactly. As I've said before, whatever doubts you have about Sabathia-->Nova-->Garcia-->Colon, they are still better 1-4 than Wilson/Ogando/Harrison/Holland, Verlander/Fister/Scherzer/Porcello, or Beckett/Lester/Lackey/Wakefield. It's a really bad year for pitching in the AL. Plus, the Yankees easily have the best bullpen of any playoff team and they might have the best lineup as well. You can never predict what will happen in a short series, but on paper the Yankees are the team to beat for the pennant.
And bullpen strength plays up in the postseason, where there are plenty of off days and questionable starters get yanked at the first sign of trouble.
This is probably a very significant point, though I wonder what happens in terms of the Posada/Montero/Romine issue. How many positional players will be carried opposed to how many in the pen? That's key. If there's room for Noesi/Ayala/Wade, then you start thinking it's not such a big deal to start a Garcia, Colon, or Burnett since you can pull them as soon as trouble starts. Though I wonder what AJ's postseason status is after his last tirade.
