Plaw - You did take my statement out of context, after all, since I discussed his mental issues with finding the strike zone.
Quote:
Problem is, you have to consider a player's experience in the role he's being asked to fill, and his value in that role.
Pavano & Wright have virutally no experience as relievers, so you have to question their effectiveness coming out of the bullpen.
Small, on the other hand, has proven himself in middle relief, an area that the Yanks are weak in.
And, their contracts do factor in to it as well.
True, but I also think that past years performance should factor in. Pavano and Wright were wholly ineffective overall, while Small went 10-0. If I were Torre, I'd rotate them during Spring Training until I felt comfortable with my starting pitchers.
I didn't say that Pavano and Wright would be middle relief, I simply said that they would be spot starters, at least in the early goings here in March and April. Let them sub in for Small, or Wang, or Chacon here or there depending on what their stats dictate, who would be a better matchup, etc., and I think that would be a good way to find out who deserves the spot in the lineup.
As it is, I don't think that the starting pitching would be set in stone - look at the Yankees last season. It depends on who is healthy (read: who is still breathing :p ), who is hot on the mound, and who is effective at getting batters out.
