Yankees: Underdogs? Dream on Haters

Are the Yankees really considered underdogs this season? Let's compare their "shaky" rotation to some of the others in the American League. By Mike Izzo

Here they come to win the gaaame! (Cheesy unfunny “Underdog” plug. Check)

For the first time since the mid 90’s, the New York Yankees are being touted as underdogs, mostly due to what many see as a flimsy starting pitching rotation. Also a factor is a greatly improved Boston Red Sox team with the additions of 1B Adrian Gonzalez and OF Carl Crawford.

But is a team with an over $200 million payroll ever truly an underdog?

Absolutely not, and for good reason. That $200 million payroll doesn’t go towards the league’s best bat boy. It pays for arguably the best shortstop and closer in baseball history. It pays for an ace that every team would kill to have. It pays for Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano, among others.

Sure, we can easily say that the Red Sox are favored to win the AL East this year, but keep in mind we have yet to see Gonzalez hit a home run over the short porch in left, or Crawford steal a base. Heck, we haven’t even seen Josh Becket recover from winning his 2011 Matt Clement Memorial Award by being the first pitcher to get beamed in the head. And who knows which Papelbon will show up when he’s needed this year.

Even so, it’s a safe bet that the Boston takes the Al East this season. That doesn’t mean that New York won’t claim the Wild Card spot. In fact, I would be quite surprised if they don’t. To me, the supposed underdogs are still the second best team in the American League. With a lineup as potent as ever, the games best closer in Mariano Rivera, and a terrific setup man in Rafael Soriano, the Yankees look to win often, and, most importantly, hold onto those leads in late innings.

The combination of Rivera and new set-up man Soriano sures up the 8th and 9th innings for NYY.

Yet so many people question their starting pitching. So let’s take a closer look and see what the problem is.

First off, Andy Pettitte retired, leaving the Yankees with a spot they hoped they wouldn’t have to fill. But is that so different from other contending American league teams? The Rangers lost Cliff Lee to free agency. He’s now joined the best rotation in baseball in Philly. Tampa Bay traded Matt Garza to the Cubs, who are poised to take the NL Central now that the St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright is done for the season. The National League tends to have the better pitching, and this year is no exception. Heck, even Zack Greinke is in Milwaukee this year.

Secondly, A.J. Burnett had an awful season, and has many wondering if he’s still got it. Questioning is one thing, but the issue is that those same people are ready to just assume he’s going to throw terribly. I say let’s give the guy a chance. He’s bounced back from terrible seasons before.

Behind A.J. are two gaping holes in the rotation that are right now looking to be filled by Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre, though there are a number of other players in contention, all of whom are starting off spring training well.

So let’s assume for argument’s sake that there are only six other teams (excluding New York and the aforementioned Boston) from the AL with a realistic chance of making the playoffs this year: Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, LA Angels, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Take a look at their projected starting rotations:

Minnesota: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn

Chicago: Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Jake Peavy, Edwin Jackson

Detroit: Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Brad Penny, Phil Coke

Texas: C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, Derek Holland, Brandon Webb

LA: Jeff Weaver, Ervin Santana, Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir, Joel Pineiro

Tampa Bay: David Price, James Shields, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, Jeff Niemann

Now compare that to New York:

C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre

Is that rotation any worse? It’s probably better than most of them. Texas and LA may have greater depth, but LA's rotation is a bit old, and Texas' is still too young. C.C. is the ace on any one of those teams, and Hughes could easily be the 2 for a number of them. Sure, A.J. was garbage last year, but nobody doubts he has some of the best stuff in the league. His ERA should drop to at least 4.00 if not under. Keep in mind, we aren’t even factoring in offense and bullpen.

It could be argued that Peavy is critical to Chicago’s success, yet is he any less of a risk than A.J. Burnett? Not even close. Nobody knows what Peavy can do. The same goes for Porcello in Detroit, whose shaky 2010 campaign sent him back to the minors during the summer. I could go on poking obvious holes in all of these rotations, but you get the point. The Yankees aren’t the only team with questions.

Peavy could not provide the second ace to compliment Buerhle that Chicago needed last season.

Now I’m not expecting any of the Yankees miracle free agent pickups to work (Mark Prior, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon), but, if even one of them does, the Yankees may have the second best rotation in the AL.

There, I said it. Call me crazy, but I don’t care. The Yankees are expected to win 100 games and a championship each year because of their payroll. For the same reason, any holes that can people can poke at will talked about. Sure, the back end of the rotation isn’t great, but outside of San Francisco and Philly, no one's is. Don’t buy into the bridge jumping. The Yankees will be just fine.