New York Yankees

New York Yankees rookie starting pitcher Chad Green dazzled in his second major league game but his presence can benefit the team beyond his start every fifth day. 

By Christian Kouroupakis

Chad Green’s second start in the big show was enormously better as his outing was much different from his major league debut in Arizona.

The New York Yankees gave Green the starting nod on Sunday in order for CC Sabathia to take a series against a National League team off.

Green provided a substitute and more as he recorded his first major-league win with one-run ball over six innings of work. More impressively, he held the Padres to three hits and no walks while striking out eight as the Yankees salvaged the final game of a three-game set.

So what could Green do for the Bombers this season? Provide them a quality arm that they could turn to in order to turn their season around? Maybe, but there’s one thing the 25-year old can bring to the starting rotation that will pay its dividends. That is to make up a six-man rotation.

For starters, the Yankees’ rotation has been anemic lately and with presumably no arm to go out and trade for, these woes will continue unless a dynamic change is made.

In June, their earned run average was the seventh-worst in the American League while they gave up the sixth-most home runs. Here in July, although it’s a small sample size, only one team has given up more home runs.

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I’m not saying that the reason why the team’s overall performance has been influenced by the traditional five-man rotation but when you take a look at the individual numbers from when Yankee starters are given an extra day, it’s hard to ignore.

Out of all starters, the Yankees’ Ace, Masahiro Tanaka, sees the biggest improvement in production when he’s given an extra day in between starts.

In the seven games Tanaka is given a regular four days of rest in between starts, he owns an ERA of 5.28, has given up 48 hits in 44.1 innings while owning a dismal WHIP of 1.263, and owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.13.

Then, like a werewolf coming out when the moon is present, Tanaka turns into a beast when he is given an extra day. His ERA drops to an elite 1.24, he has given up six fewer home runs compared to regular rest, and his K/BB climbs to eight.

It’s not just the ace, though. The slumping Nathan Eovaldi’s ERA drops an entire run from 5.63 to 4.63, Michael Pineda has given up three fewer home runs, Ivan Nova’s strikeouts-per-nine rises from 6.9 to 7.8 and CC Sabathia, despite seeing a spike in ERA, has seen a decline in base on balls.

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If Green could help the Yankees by bringing his 1.54 ERA in 14 starts from Triple-A to the major league squad in addition to manager Joe Girardi utilizing a six-man rotation, this team (that is only 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot) could be in business.

The bottom line here is, like time, the Yankees are running out of inventive resolutions to preserve their season and we still have more than half a season to play. They ought to make arrangement regarding the team’s ability to compete for a playoff spot over the next five weeks.

We all know the organization wants to avoid a sell at all cost, but if they are searching for a way to stop the dance with the .500 mark, a small upgrade such as Green to the rotation and a shift to a six-man should at least be considered.

Giving this scheme a chance makes the most sense. Why? Because this mediocre team needs answers hasn’t encountered any of them for their sticky situations all season long.

Standing pat and letting things unravel hasn’t proved it’s worth up until now. It’s time to shake things up. Sure, it’s a risk, but, all things considered, this is a risk that could prove to benefit the well-being of a struggling rotation in urgent necessity of a fix.

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