New York Yankees: What Is Wrong with the Starting Rotation?

We are a few weeks into the 2012 Major League Baseball season and the critics have come out.

There have been a few surprises so far. Albert Pujols left his power in St. Louis (for the time being), Derek Jeter has hit four home runs already and Yu Darvish is starting out hot.

But as America's most polarizing team, the Yankees are facing early criticism.

In the early going, their hitters didn't seem like they were awake yet. A-Rod and Mark Teixeira couldn't drive in runs, despite having a good spring. But it seems that the slump is over.

Curtis Granderson hit three home runs the other day against the Twins, bringing his total up to six, and Nick Swisher leads the team with 13 RBI.

Right now, their bats are lighting up the scoreboard, but so are their opponents.

The Yankees' starting pitchers, collectively, have one of the highest team ERAs in all of baseball. They have a record of 5-5 and an ERA of 5.69. Freddy Garcia has the highest ERA on the team, 6.97.

The only bright spot is Ivan Nova. He's 3-0 and has a 3.79 ERA. This second-year pitcher picked up where he left off last year and should not be considered to be removed from the rotation.

Many Yankees fans, including myself, are worried about Phil Hughes. He's 1-2, giving up 10 earned runs in only 13.1 innings. He has been reported as saying he is healthy. His location is off, however, and he has posted a high pitch count in all of his starts.

And with the returns of Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda, Hughes' spot in the rotation is on shaky ground.

C.C. Sabathia has been somewhat of a disappointment so far. He's only 1-0 and holds a 5.59 ERA. He does lead the team in strikeouts with 22, but also in earned runs allowed with 12.

Hughes should go back to the bullpen and have Pindea replace him, for now. Pettitte hasn't pitched in a major league game in over a year and a half, and they would be taking a chance throwing him out there. There is a huge difference between a minor league and a major league game.

With Joba Chamberlain out for most of the season, if not all of it, Hughes could fill in for him. He wouldn't have to pitch every day and when he does, it would be for an inning or two at the most.

The AL East is one of the toughest divisions in baseball, as it is every year. The Tampa Bay Rays have a young team from top to bottom. The Orioles are leading the division right now with an 8-5 record, but the Yankees and Rays aren't far behind.

Again, it's still early for the Yankees to make these kinds of decisions. But with the AL East as close as it is, the pitching staff has to step up because the bats can't stay this hot all season. If Hughes and Garcia keep pitching the way they have been, they could be out of the rotation sooner rather than later.