THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

When the season started the Yankees seemed to have enough starting pitchers. The word around town was who was going to sit when Petitte returns? That question is slowly answering itself.

Yesterday, Michael Pineda, the young pitcher that the Yankees traded Jesus Montero for, is out for the season. He will undergo shoulder surgery and hopefully he can return to the fireball thrower that the Yankees traded for.

The Yankees seem to have bad luck with obtaining pitchers. The list is long and distinguished, Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Jeff Weaver and AJ Burnett. We now add Pineda to these names. I still think it was a good trade for the pitching deficient Yankees. A good young live arm pitcher is always worth the risk. I know right now it looks like the Yankees got bamboozled but a pitcher is a fragile commodity. I think he'll be fine, he's 23.

Let's take a look at the starting rotation as it stands right now.

CC Sabathia and that's all we need to say.

Phil "I Had One Good Year" Hughes basically stinks as a starting pitcher right now.

Ivan Nova, the only hope the Yankees have for a number 2 starter right now, if Girardi would ever trust him.

Unsteady Freddy Garcia, wow does he stink.

Hiroki "Please Let The Wind Blow That Ball Back Into The Ballpark" Kuroda was supposed to be the heir apparent number 2 guy. I like him as a pitcher but he is going to have problems with those fly balls in Yankee Stadium, as well as anywhere else in the American "Softball" League. He is a good National League pitcher but it is going to be tough in the AL for him.

All we can hope is that Petitte is the Petitte of old because we need him to eat up productive innings.