Yankees Need Pitching, But Must Be Careful! Remember These?

There can be no question that an off season priority for the New York Yankees is the acquisition of at least one premier starting pitcher.  Names such as C. C. Sabathia, A. J. Burnett, Jake Peavy and Derek Lowe have been tossed around, among others.  But a quick look at the recent Yankee history of acquiring starting pitchers makes it clear that they should use caution.

As the Yankee run that established the new dynasty from 1996 through 2000 was coming to an end, the Bronx brass tried to bring in some headliner starting pitching to keep the run going.  Yankee fans will probably remember some of these names, even if they would prefer to forget.

In 1997 the Yankees went east to get a starter.  Far East that is when they pulled Hideki Irabu in from Japan.  He played in NYC from '97 until '01 and compiled a very mediocre record of 31-27 with a 5.61 ERA.

A couple of years after everyone was tired of that venture with exotic pitchers, the Yankees pulled one in from a little closer to home when Cuban Jose Contreras signed.  Red Sox executives cried foul when the Yankees beat the Beantowners in the bidding war for Contreras, but it was much ado about nothing.  Jose stayed with the Bombers for the '03 and '04 seasons and had just 15 wins against 7 losses with a 5.15 ERA.

And the other pitcher they brought in with Contreras was no better.  Also signed for the 2003 season was native Californian, Jeff Weaver.  In the two years he pitched for New York he was 12-12 with a 6.20 ERA.

In '04 the Yankees brought in Javier Vasquez who seemed to have a very promising future at the time.  He lasted only one season in the Bronx and by no means set the world on fire.  He was 14-10 with a 4.91 ERA while playing for New York.

But the Yankees also brought in another big hoss for that '04 season when they got the veteran Kevin Brown, who everyone was sure would be super for the Yanks.  Brown stayed two seasons - '04 and '05, had a record of 14-13 with an ERA of 5.50 before he busted his hand on the clubhouse wall.

The last season of Kevin Brown also saw two other pitchers with very good histories and what everyone hoped would be a long tenure of success with the Yankees. 

King George just had to have Randy Johnson so it was arranged that he come to the Bronx.  The Big Unit began his stay in NYC by assaulting a camera man.  During his two years with the Yankees, he won 34 games, lost 19, had an ERA of 4.68 and could not wait to get out of town.

The other big star that was supposed to join Brown and Johnson in the rotation was Carl Pavano.  After his whirlwind tour during his free agency Pavano signed with the Yanks with great fanfare.  He has now been with the team for four years and it is difficult to calculate his pitching efficiency because I am not sure his trips to the MRI and his car wrecks can actually count as starts.  He is 9-8 over four years with a 5.56 ERA.

After the 2006 season there was a chance to sign the best Japanese pitcher, but it was going to follow a lottery to just get to talk with him.  Matsuzaki ended up in Beantown and the Yankees decided to take "second" best.  The term is in quotes for a reason.

When the Yankees signed Kei Igawa, fans were assured that his workout ethic and his craftiness would win him a place in the rotation and in fans hearts.  Fans weren't told that his 82 mile an hour fastball and Little League curveball would win him the hearts of the Triple A hitters where he would be assigned after complete failure in the Bigs.  His record for the Yankees over the past two seasons is 2-4 with a 6.66 ERA.

Admittedly there have been successful pitching acquisitions for the Yankees.  Going all the way back to Jimmy Key who came in 1993 and pitched four years in the Bronx with a 48-23 record, the Yanks have had a few successes.

Of course, the one remembered most was Roger Clemens.  He came by trade and was here from '99 to '03 and again for half a year in '07.  He was 83-42 with a 4.53 ERA and one Cy Young award for New York.  But New York had to give up David Wells to get him originally and there is at least some argument that that was not the best decision.

Boomer Wells was here twice, '97-'98 and again '02-'03.  His total record was 68-28 with an ERA of 3.89 and one perfect game on Yogi Berra Day.  He had a better winning percentage, a better ERA and may have won more big games than Rocket, so it can be argued that giving up Boomer for Rocket in '98 was not a good decision.

David Cone came over in 1995 and pitched six years.  His record of 64-40 with an ERA of 3.90 cannot tell the whole story.  Every Yankee fan will remember the image of Coney falling to his knees as Scotty Brosius fielded the pop-up for the final out of Cone's perfect game.  But fans will also remember his grit and determination in 2000 in leading the Yankees to their most recent World Series when he showed he would do anything to help the team.

And finally on the positive side, Mike Mussina has proven in his eight years, despite ups and downs, that he was a good choice.  He has gone 123-72 with an overall ERA of 3.95. 

The New York team has also had some homegrown pitchers of note in the past few years with Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera, Chien Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain, Phillip Hughes. 

They need at least one stud starter, but the history of the Yankees over the past ten years has to mean that caution is called for in making what will be a very heavy investment in one or more guys who take the mound one day out of five.  If they aren't in an MRI machine or pitching in Scranton that is.  Admittedly this is all hind sight, but those of us making the deals from home have no other kind.