The New York Yankees have announced their starting rotation for the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Manager Joe Girardi made the final decision Saturday, choosing Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia for the last two spots in the rotation. The biggest spring training surprise, and I use that term loosely, Bartolo Colon, will be the long man in the bullpen.
The decision was expected for most of the spring, although Colon's performance made the decision a little tougher on the manager. "The innings that Freddy has logged in, the wins last year," Girardi told ESPN. "He stayed healthy all of last year."
The top of the rotation has been locked in with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Phil Hughes. The Yankees and all of the fans are expecting a bounce-back year from Burnett. To ensure some confidence in the struggling right-hander, Girardi named him the No. 2 starter last week, a spot most of the baseball community thought would go to Hughes.
The Bombers will break camp and head north for their home opener on Thursday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers. Sabathia will take the mound for New York, while Justin Verlander will start for the Tigers.
It's finally baseball season. My prayers have been answered.
We'll have lots of coverage on the Yankees' opener as well as the rest of the New York sports world, coming up soon on the Nose Bleed Seats.
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