WHY PRIOR IS OUR MAN

So, After 10 days of our poll WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE YANKEES ROTATION?, 35% of you chose Mark Prior. Now, for those of you who don't remember, Mark Prior was once a prospect that many looked forward to seeing in the future as a pitcher with a dominant career. He was supposed to be a phenom. Then injury happened, again and again, again and again.

Many thought Mark Prior was finished. Mark Prior probably did. But the reality is, he worked his way back and found himself on the Yankees, minor league sure, but a chance to make it to the big stage again. The good news for Mark Prior is, the Yankees have rotation spots opened. if this was a situation where Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte both signed with the Yankees in the off-season, this kid would never see the light of day. So, there's a huge shot here. The only issue, and this is a big one, is that Cashman made it clear that Prior would be a bullpen guy. I don't believe Mr. Cashman.

Look, if you throw all these guys into a Spring Training try out, you have Prior, Garcia, Colon, a bunch of promising prospects, even Joba, there is a shot that these guys impress Yankee Brass. Next thing you know, Priors your 4th guy in the rotation and he actually pitches well. Come July, the guy could be 8 - 2. My point is, you got to give all these guys a fair look. Even though he was signed to "probably" be a reliever, never say never.
I found it interesting, in the poll, many of you chose Joba Chamberlain. That's 25%. Cashman again, made it pretty clear that Joba WILL NOT be a starter. Cashman, I believe will use Joba as relief until other teams show interest. I love Joba in the bullpen, many don't. I understand why, the kid is talented. I just don't ever see him going 7 innings consistantly in 1 season. I think injury affected him, I think confidence is messing with him and I think he's 1 season away from being thrown on the junk pile. It's wrong, it's unfair but that's the dark side of baseball.

In third place, it was a tie. Andrew Brackman and Sergio Mitre. What the hell, did Mitre vote for himself 7 times?

Brackman may have a shot. He was a first round of the 2007 draft, but he got hurt, and he's another guy that needed to work his way back. In Tampa he looked good and was promoted to AA. He pitches in the mid 90's and he has a decent curve. If he continues on the way back from injury on a positive note, he'll get a shot.

Mitre, I don't get. He is a 13-29, 5.27 ERA. To me, he's a mop up guy. But the fans chose him, so who am I to judge.

Thank you all for voting and be sure to show everyone the results. They are interesting. Also, look for the Bleeding Yankee Blue's first Fan of the Week on our page Monday morning. For those of you who haven't sent in their picture wearing Yankee Gear, please do so soon, deadline is February 6th... Super Bowl Sunday. Email to BleednYankeeBlu@gmail.com

Good luck.

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