New York Yankees 2011 Season: Pitcher Grades

After missing out on Cliff Lee this past offseason, the Yankees entered 2011 with a bunch of question marks in their rotation.

Could A.J. Burnett bounce back from the worst season of his career? Would Phil Hughes be able to live up to expectations after his 2010 record was overinflated thanks to a ridiculous amount of run support? How much would the Yanks get out of over-the-hill veterans Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon? And how much of an impact would rookie Ivan Nova provide?

For the most part, New York's pitching staff overachieved, posting a 3.73 ERA, fourth best in the American League.

They were once again headed up by ace CC Sabathia, who led the team in wins, ERA and strikeouts, but come the postseason, the load was too much to shoulder for the big lefty, who was forced to pitch in three games with Garcia and Colon both worn down and Nova bowing out to injury.

In the end, the Yankees just didn't have enough pitching and will be forced to once again look for reinforcements this winter.

Here are the 2011 grades for the Yankees' pitchers that tossed at least 30 innings:

CC Sabathia (Grade: A)

Sabathia was once again among the best pitchers in the AL this year, finishing second in wins (19) and strikeouts (230), fourth in innings pitched (237.1) and winning percentage (.704) and ninth in ERA (3.00).

CC's playoff performance was disappointing, but his 6.23 ERA and eight walks in 8.2 innings were due in large part to a tight strike zone in Game 3.

David Robertson (Grade: A)

Robertson was terrific this season, striking out 100 batters and posting a 1.08 ERA in 66.2 innings. His 35 walks were too many, but he excelled in difficult spots, striking out 14 of the 19 batters he faced with the bases loaded, while yielding just one hit.

But before we get too excited about Robertson, let's think back to some of the other eighth inning guys the Yankees have had over the past few years: Joba Chamberlain, Hughes and Kerry Wood. Where are they now?

Mariano Rivera (Grade: A)

Rivera had a 1.91 ERA and 0.90 WHIP while striking out 60 and walking just eight in 61.1 innings during the regular season, but where was he when it really mattered?

In the five most important games of the season, Rivera pitched a grand total of 1.1 innings, proving how incredibly overrated and wildly misused the closer position is.

Ivan Nova (Grade: B)

Stop with the 16-4. Seriously, stop it.

This isn't 1961; this is 2011, and we have better statistics to evaluate a starting pitcher other than his win-loss record.

It's not that Nova's record should be completely discounted; he gave the Yankees a chance to win nearly every time out, but his 3.70 ERA and 1.33 WHIP tell a different story — the story of a good pitcher made to look like a great pitcher thanks to an incredible amount of run support.

The right-hander's 8.82 run support average was second in baseball only to Derek Holland of the Rangers. This is very similar to Hughes' MLB-leading 9.6 runs of support that helped him win 18 games in 2010 and earn higher expectations than he deserved heading into this season.

We all know how that went.

Freddy Garcia (Grade: B)

Garcia had nearly identical statistics to Nova, but the veteran only went 12-8. Does that mean he had a worse season? Of course not. It just means he had worse run support.

Garcia's 3.62 ERA was his best since he led the league with a 3.05 for the Mariners in 2001, so he clearly exceeded expectations for the Yankees.

Cory Wade (Grade: B)

Wade was a nice surprise for the Yankees. He had a 2.04 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, while striking out 30 and walking just eight in 39.2 innings out of the bullpen. But the right-hander gets downgraded slightly because the majority of his appearances came in low leverage, or low-pressure, situations.

Luis Ayala (Grade: B)

The exact same thing could be said about Ayala, who had a 2.09 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 56 innings, but pitched in even more low-leverage situations than Wade.

Bartolo Colon: (Grade: B-)

If this was a grade based solely on expectations, Colon would get an A+.

Not many thought he would see much time when he was signed off the scrap heap on January 26, but the right-hander started 26 games, posted a respectable 4.00 ERA and struck out an impressive 135 batters all while pitching 164.1 innings, the most he had logged since winning the Cy Young in 2005.

But as expected, the wear and tear started to show down the stretch as Colon went 0-4 with a 5.84 ERA over his last eight starts and was left off the postseason roster.

Rafael Soriano (Grade: C+)

If this was a grade based solely on performance in relation to salary, Soriano would get an F.

On January 18, the Yankees signed the reliever to one of the dumbest contracts in baseball history, inking the setup man to a three-year, $35 million dollar deal.

After pitching to a 7.84 ERA over his first 11 appearances and throwing a temper tantrum because he was no longer closing the eighth, Soriano did eventually settle down and become a serviceable seventh inning reliever.

Boone Logan (Grade: C-)

Logan's only job is to get out lefties, and he didn't really do that.

Left-handers hit .260 with a .328 on-base percentage and a .462 slugging percentage off him.

He actually did better against righties. Maybe he should be the righty specialist next year.

Hector Noesi (Grade: C-)

Noesi had a 4.47 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, despite the fact that 65 percent of his workload came in low-leverage situations. That's not good.

A.J. Burnett (Grade: D+)

It would be easier if Burnett simply sucked all the time. The frustrating thing about this right-hander is that he can be so good before the bottom falls out.

In April, Burnett was 4-1 with a 3.39 ERA. He was even pretty good for the entire first half, going 8-7 with a 4.15. But in July and August, he won just one of 10 starts while pitching to a 7.79 ERA.

Burnett redeemed himself somewhat in Game 4 of the AL Division Series, when he dealt 5.2 innings of one-run ball in Detroit to keep the Yankees' season alive for at least one more game.

The scary thing is that Burnett was actually better this year than he was in 2010.

Phil Hughes (Grade: D-)

It's not good when the projected No. 2 and No. 3 starters in spring training wind up at the bottom of this grading list.

Hughes' injury-plagued 2011 left him with a 5.79 ERA in 17 appearances (14 starts). His velocity was down as he dropped from 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched last year to 5.7 this season.

In his career, Hughes is 30-21 with a 4.90 ERA as a starter. Joba Chamberlain is 12-7 with a 4.18.