Stealing the Scene
The Yankees might have five starters finish with ERA’s in the threes, or lower; that would paint a pretty picture.
The 103-win 2009 Yankees, for instance, saw three of their four most prolific starters end with ERA’s over four: A.J. Burnett, 4.04; Andy Pettitte, 4.16; and, Joba Chamberlain 4.75.
Also, last year’s Astros used seven pitchers, primarily, and three had bloated ERA’s: Mike Fiers, 5.22; Lance McCullers, 4.25; and Joe Musgrove, 4.77.
That wasn’t the Yankees problem in 2017. Four of the five Yankees pitchers ended with ERA’s in the threes or better, including CC Sabathia (3.69), Jordan Montgomery (3.88), Sonny Gray (3.55) and third in the Cy Young voting Luis Severino (2.98).
Masahiro Tanaka was the odd man out at 4.74, but his age (29) and experience makes him more likely to return to the Ace he was before, as well as on many days last year and in the playoffs. That could give the Yankees one of the most consistently dominating staffs to start the season.
Anyone can see that is an improved outlook over 2017. When that season started, Sevvy was coming off of a disastrous 2016, while Monty was in the minors and completely unproven.
Meanwhile, Michael Pineda was in the starting rotation. It is not that he was abominable last year, as he finished with an ERA of 4.39. It’s just that he was always unpredictable and usually underperformed to his talent. His appearances filled fans with hope, but never outright confidence.
Today’s staff is much more reliable and predictable. And could be one baseball’s best.
But if the team falters in any area, the fans can see reserves and replacements on the path to the Canyon of Heroes.