Boston Red Sox: How Does the Starting Rotation Compare to the New York Yankees'?

The AL East is a very tough division. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have two of the most dynamic batting orders in baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays have the league's best home run hitter in Jose Bautista and the Baltimore Orioles have some surprisingly good power threats.

And it's not just an offensive division. The East's top three teams, Boston, New York and the Tampa Bay Rays, all have powerful and dominant rotations. However, the comparisons are always made between the first two, as their rivalry still defines the division.

Here we look at the Sox' and Yanks' starting rotations and rank the pitchers.

1. CC Sabathia

CC Sabathia is unusual. He does not look like a professional athlete making $23 million, yet he is one of the most automatic players in baseball.

You can pencil him in for 19 wins, an ERA no greater than 3.20, 230 innings pitched and 200 strikeouts. And if he does that, it will have been a slightly disappointing season.

Quite simply, Sabathia is the Yankees' rotation.

2. Jon Lester

It seems like we've been waiting for years for Jon Lester to have his breakout season, when he will go from a great pitcher to one of the most dominant lefties in the game. He has the potential to win 20 games, have an ERA below 2.80 and strike out 200 batters.

Even if he does not live up to his lofty Cy Young award expectations in 2012, he will have another great season. If you have a game seven in the playoffs to win, you could count on one hand the AL pitchers you would rather have starting it.

3. Ivan Nova

For a team widely regarded as being too old, the New York Yankees have some good young players. In the lineup they have Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano; in the rotation, they have Ivan Nova.

In his rookie 2011 season, Nova was great, posting an ERA under 4.00 and winning 16 games. His biggest problem has been his control.

He had a 3.10 BB/9 average last year, and that contributed to his poor 1.72 K/BB ratio. These are small concerns for a young pitcher, though, and with the other question marks surrounding New York's rotation, Nova enters the season as their second-best pitching threat.

4. Clay Buchholz

How Clay Buchholz pitches in 2012 will come down to how healthy he can remain. Before a back injury curtailed his 2011 season, he was having a good year, recovering strongly from a weak start. In his last injury-free season, in 2010, he finished sixth in Cy Young voting, with the AL's second-best ERA.

If he can keep the injuries at bay, he could be set up for another great season.

5. Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett is an infuriating pitcher. When he is at his best, he is more than capable of winning Cy Young awards and if he pitched the way he can for his entire career, he would make a great case for the Hall of Fame.

But he doesn't always pitch at his best, alternating between good and poor seasons. In fact, in terms of ERA+, the worst seasons of his career have been 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004 and 2002. While he had a great year in 2011, there is just no reason to think he can break his track record and have a good 2012. He has tried to do it for a decade and has never managed it.

Also, with the way last year ended, with Beckett being portrayed as the ringleader of the beer and chicken brigade, his poor performances in September and the fact he has gained weight, everything seems to be stacked against him this season.

6. Hiroki Kuroda

Since coming to North America from Japan, Hiroki Kuroda has performed very well, going 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA. The below-.500 win-loss record is more due to the fact he played for a lackluster Los Angeles Dodgers team than his pitching performance.

His highest ERA was 3.76 in his injury-shortened 2009 season so there's no statistical reason to doubt he will regress in New York.

However, Kuroda is now 37 and his career numbers are from a small sample size. He has only pitched four seasons in the majors and they were all with the Dodgers, in the NL West, where pitcher-friendly ballparks are common and the hitting is far weaker than other divisions. Yankee Stadium is a hitters' park and the AL East has some of the most potent lineups in all of baseball.

7. Daniel Bard

Daniel Bard started 22 games in Class-A ball in 2007 but has pitched solely out of the bullpen since then. At the major leagues, he made a name for himself as one of the premier set-up guys in the game, with a sub-3.00 ERA in 192 appearances.

The Sox went through a huge shake-up this offseason and one of the biggest changes has been moving Bard, who many thought as the heir apparent to closer Jonathan Papelbon, to the starting rotation.

As far as projecting how he will perform, it's difficult to predict since he has no MLB experience. However, he does have the stuff, with a good compliment of pitches, so he does not have to rely solely on his power fastball.

8. Michael Pineda

Michael Pineda cost the Yankees a decent sum, in Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi, and there are already concerns coming out of spring training that Pineda's velocity is not what it was last year, when he was fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Similar concerns preceded Phil Hughes' regression and struggles last season so while the future looks bright for Pineda, he might struggle this season.

9. Red Sox's Fifth Starter

Coming into the spring, Boston had quite a battle for the last rotation spot. Alfredo Aceves, Felix Doubront, Aaron Cook and Vicente Padilla all seemingly in with a shot.

There are legitimate concerns about all four, whether it's because of health issues or their ability to perform well as a starter, but so far Doubront has emerged as the slight favorite.

The 24-year-old only pitched 10 innings in the majors last season and in two years with Boston has an ERA of 4.84. However, the Red Sox front office still rates the Venezuelan lefty very highly. Frankly, though, if the Red Sox can get any production from their fifth starter, they'll be happy.

10. Yankees' Fifth Starter

The addition of Andy Pettitte has thrown the back-end of New York's rotation in to some doubt. Pettitte retired after the 2010 season but this week announced that he had signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract.

Pettitte has had a career worthy of at least discussing his Cooperstown credentials and pitched well in his final season, going 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. However, it could prove very difficult for him to be productive again, considering he did not pitch last year and will turn 40 in June.

Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia were probably likely to fight it out over the fifth spot before spring training started. The signing of Pettitte might indicate that the Yanks aren't entirely confident in them, though.