CC the ‘ace,’ but Hiro the ‘stopper’

Since he was first fitted for pinstripes, in fact for most of his career, CC Sabathia has been considered a rotation ace. From the time he became a Yankee in 2009, The Big Lefty has been “The Man,” no questions asked.

However, after seeing what Hiroki Kuroda did Friday night at Yankee Stadium, I reserve the right to pose the question on who is the Yanks’ true staff ace. Call Sabathia and Kuroda New York Yankees starters 1 and 1A if you wish, but there’s no doubt that Kuroda has been the team’s best pitcher.

Kuroda played the stopper’s role on Friday with eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to improve to 6-2, with a 1.99 ERA. Considering that Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Matt Moore and Hisashi Iwakuma all pitch in the American League, it’s way too early to consider Kuroda a Cy Young Award front runner.

But an early candidate? Absolutely.

Kuroda showed his stuff once again on Friday by wiping out the Blue Jays in two hours and 28 minutes – tied for the shortest game the Yankees have played in 2013 -- and preventing New York from losing three straight for the first time all season. The right-hander faced only two batters over the minimum and after allowing a leadoff double to Melky Cabrera held the Jays hitless over his next 19 men faced. Kuroda is especially adept when the heat is turned up. His opponents are 0 for their last 25 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-30 on the season.

“You don’t really have to worry a whole lot about him,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “When I think about Hiroki, the one thing that we do pay attention to is some of his pitch counts because he’s not 25, either. But he goes out there and sometimes acts like he is, so we have to make sure that we don’t get confused and forget how old he is, and that we take care of him and make sure that he can bounce back every start, because that’s what you want.”

At the ripe young age of 38, Kuroda has pitched at least seven innings without allowing more than two runs in four straight starts. When you think about it, Kuroda could be undefeated. He took a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on May 7 despite allowing two runs over seven pitching in Denver’s thin air. And a line drive hit Kuroda on his pitching hand that forced him from his first start of the season after 1 1/3 innings of an eventual 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

“Every once in awhile, you can feel it out there when a pitcher goes out there, and no matter what you put down, it’s going to be a good pitch,” said catcher Austin Romine said. “It made my life a lot easier. He pitched to the glove all night, and we were on the same page. It was smooth out there.”

On the day 40-year-old Andy Pettitte landed on the disabled list, Kuroda stepped up yet again and was smooth as silk. Sabathia has long been the Yankees’ unquestioned ace, but seeing what Kuroda as done, the Yankees now have two.

If the Yankees’ season is on the line, who do you go to, Sabathia or Kuroda?

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC 

Yankees place Andy Pettitte on 15-day DL

Forced from his Thursday night start with a left trapezius injury, Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte was placed on the 15-day disabled list. While the ailment isn't believed to be serious, the team decided to take no chances with their prized veteran left-hander.

"This is the safe play, thankfully it's minor," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "I would rather resolve this and give it the time."

Pettitte is 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA in eight starts in this his second season since coming out of retirement.  He believes he'll be back in the rotation when the 15 days are up.

"I understand," Pettitte said. "They don't want to send me out there in Baltimore Tuesday and start warming up and have it lock up."

In Pettitte's place will be Vidal Nuno, who emerged as a pleasant surprise during spring training and pitched five scoreless innings of a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader Monday in Cleveland.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Odd men out in the Yankees outfield

Little did anyone realize, except maybe the New York Yankees themselves, that sooner or later there would be a case of too many quality players and too few positions. By the time the Yankees broke camp, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira were among those on the disabled list, and that necessitated the signings of Brennan Boesch, Ben Francisco and Lyle Overbay, and the trade for Vernon Wells. On the surface, each move represented desperation for any warm body to hold the fort until the regular players return. Beneath the surface, general manager Brian Cashman was doing his homework and not necessarily throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

While Boesch is now in Triple-A and Francisco's days apparently numbered, the Yankees have received major production from those considered beyond their primes. Wells leads the team with 10 home runs, and is second in hitting (.295) and RBIs (23). Overbay's 24 RBIs are two behind Robinson Cano. Another veteran, Travis Hafner, is batting .260 with six homers and 18 RBIs as the left-handed DH.

"I've said it all along these guys have done an incredible job," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "You can talk about some of the additions that we made, the late additions that we made; I want to say Vernon played his first Spring Training game on a Tuesday, and Overbay on a Thursday - Overbay had a three-day tryout that turned into four days - but for the most part they've all played pretty well."

Sooner or later, however, Girardi will have to make some critical decisions on how to deploy his outfield. Granderson is back in action after recovering from a broken forearm and he's going to play every day. So should Wells, the team's only reliable right-handed hitting outfielder who has recaptured the form that made him a three-time All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays. That leaves Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. Gardner is the Yankees' best defender, so when Hafner (sore shoulder) returns to the lineup, Ichiro, a future Hall of Famer, may be the one riding the pine more often than not.

Girardi's immediate plans were to rotate players between the outfield, DH and a day off, which he's done since Granderson returned. But once Hafner is back in the fold, not everyone can play. And that leaves Ichiro, who on Thursday night snapped an 0-for-22 streak (one shy of his career-high set last year) and is batting .239.

“He got up to about .275, .280 and he’s kind of going through what some of our other guys are going through,” Girardi said. “They’re struggling a little bit. At times we’re having a hard time scoring runs right now, but he’ll come out of it. I’m not concerned about that.”

Someone will be the odd man out, and the logical choice in the present time is Ichiro. At least his place on the 25-man roster is secure. That's more than what can be said about Francisco. Plucked off waivers during spring training, Francisco has five hits in 40 at-bats with one homer and an RBI. Chris Stewart's groin injury leaves the Yankees depleted at catcher and necessitates a move to add Bobby Wilson (.174, two homers, 13 RBIs) from Triple-A Scranton to the 40-man roster. That leaves Francisco, already on borrowed time, as the one most likely to receive his walking papers.

How would you manage the Yankees' outfield glut? It's certainly one of those nice problems to have.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Relaunch!

It's been too long, so I'm back to relaunch this page and essentially pick up where I left off to give you my takes on the world of New York sports. Talk to you soon.

NGN (Not Good News) for CBS

Media Week shared the overnight figures for Strikeforce on CBS.

CBS Strike Force Saturday Night Fights

9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 2.57 million (#4), A18-49: 0.8/ 3 (#4)
9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 2.55 million (#4), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#4)
10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 2.89 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#2)
10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 2.52 million (#3), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#2)

Among males 18-to-49 -- mixed martial arts' core demographic and the only reason networks have any interest in the sport at all -- CBS Saturday Night Fights at various times trailed Cops, The Biggest Loser, Shark Tale and re-runs of Law & Order SVU.

The early figures represent a 31% drop from Strikeforce's November show on CBS, which attracted 3.79 million viewers in the 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. slot.

CBS began promoting the event during the NCAA Tournament, albeit in 5-10 second spots. And beyond the standard promos and affiliate spots that were at most 30 seconds there was nothing to educate the casual viewer on a loaded event and get them excited about it. Why Showtime or CBS - even if they go viral - can't piece together a promotional package remains a mystery.

Spike re-aired UFC 110 opposite Strikeforce. I'm curious about its ratings.

Shields scores

The talk of Saturday's mega Strikeforce show on CBS is dominated by the postfight melee instigated by Jason Miller's challenge to Jake Sheilds for a middleweight title rematch. I'm not defending Miller's actions, which were uncalled for, unnecessary and a serious case of terrible and unprofessional timing.

But besides Miller just living up to his act, is this truly one of the most disgraceful things to ever happen in sports? Didn't Mike Tyson try and bite Evander Holyfield's ear off? Wasn't there a riot at Madison Square Garden that exploded when one of Riddick Bowe's handlers smacked Andrew Golota in the back of the head with a walkie talkie after one too many low blows? How about that incident in Detroit that started when Ron Artest went after a fan that tossed a beer at him? Or when Juan Marichal and Jose Offerman used baseball bats as samurai swords? And didn't Frank Mir's death wish on Brock Lesnar horrify the MMA haters who still look at the sport as a spectacle?

Memo to the MMA haters and stuffy suit and ties: Chill out and get over it. Last I looked boxing, basketball, baseball and the UFC are still in business, and Strikeforce president Scott Coker will nip this in the bud and move on. As for Miller, I'd concern myself about Robbie Lawler this summer before any rematch with the reigning champion.

The big story to come out of Nashville Saturday night was how Shields, already a winner of 12 straight fights, elevated his stature even further with his unanimous decision victory over PRIDE & UFC veteran Dan Henderson. What made it more impressive is how this was supposed to be a bad matchup for Shields facing a guy who has also competed at 205 and his ability to survive Hendo's right hand was in question. Henderson landed a bomb nearly similar to the one that blasted Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Shields not only took it, he overcame the fear that was in his eyes and took the bout to his domain, the ground. The wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert dominated with a thorough game plan that frustrated the veteran, who relied on the home run shot the entire fight.

Best of all, Shields' bargaining power is to where both Strikeforce and the UFC will be handing over blank checks. Shields has a one-fight option available with Strikeforce and Dana White has expressed an interest in bringing him to Las Vegas. Posturing on White's part to drive up Shields' price or a plan to add one of his top competitor's biggest pieces to his empire?

"I just want to take some time off, leave the country, and enjoy myself," Shields said after the fight. "We'll talk about that next week. My management team will talk to Strikeforce. We'll see what happens."

In terms of contenders Strikeforce can offer Cung Le, Scott Smith, Lawler, Joey Villasenor, Melvin Manhoef and DREAM import Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. The UFC could throw Shields a few top middleweights before a showdown with Anderson Silva or Chael Sonnen, or perhaps a matchup with Georges St. Pierre, along with Zuffa's marketing power that will add more pizazz to Shields' name.

Not only did Shields earn the biggest win of his career, he's the hottest name on the market. If White's able to swipe him, the impact will be more profound than when Henderson agreed to go to Strikeforce. Coker's company is still building a program and a Shields defection will rattle its foundation quite a bit.

Lauzon looking at next fight on his turf

I wish I can blog in this space more often. Alas, it's Yankees season and I've put up plenty of commentary here. Of course there's been plenty of MMA work on my plate. No offseason in that sport and it seems like there's been a show every week. Tomorrow night is Strikeforce on CBS with the WEC's premiere pay-per-view a week later.

I chatted with Joe Lauzon earlier and he's looking at his next fight coming in August before his hometown fans in Boston when the UFC makes its debut in Beantown for UFC 118. Health permitting, Frankie Edgar-B.J. Penn II and Kenny Florian-Gray Maynard could co-headline the show. Lauzon, who lost a unanimous decision to Sam Stout in February, stated his preference to compete in Boston and it's looking like he'll get that chance.

"They're saying it's going to happen, so we'll see," Lauzon said. "The UFC is meeting with the commission and all that stuff to make it all happen. It's looking like something's going to happen for August."

A lot of variables will determine his opponent Lauzon split his last two bouts, submitting Jeremy Stephens before falling short versus Stout in what was the Fight of the Night. Stephens and Stout are fighting May 8 at UFC 113 in Montreal. Could a rematch with the Hands of Stone be in the cards? Lauzon had Stout in trouble in the first round before Stout's striking dictated the rest of the fight. Furthermore, ACL surgery kept Lauzon out of action for 11 months. By August he'll be back at peak strength and a rematch on his turf may end up breeding a different result.

I would love to get that one," Lauzon said. "I look at Jeremy Stephens is a more dangerous fighter. Sam is a more polished guy. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. If Sam doesn't get by Jeremy we'll both be coming off a loss so I'm all for doing that again."

Also in Montreal, besides the light-heavyweight title rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua, is a compelling welterweight battle between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley that may determine Georges St. Pierre's next challenge. My feature on Semtex is in the new edition of TapouT Magazine, Issue 36, Page 86.

MMA fans were disappointed with UFC 112 thanks to Anderson Silva's embarrassing antics, and it's a shame because Silva's decision to act like a clown and make a mockery of the sport overshadowed Edgar's stunning upset of the once invincible Prodigy. Dana White was rightfully pissed off, and to be fair 112 is likely just an aberration, but the door is open for Strikeforce to prove they're serious about competing against the Zuffa monolith. Tomorrow night on CBS is a great, great lineup featuring three title fights, including what may end up to be Jake Shields' final fight with the organization.

Shields' Strikeforce contract expires after Saturday and White has made it clear he will make a play for the stud who's won his last 13 bouts. If he wins Strikeforce will have no choice but to hand him an open check, but will money's pull be stronger than the opportunity to face GSP or the Spider? Of course, Silva will have to cut the crap in addition to defeating Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. White has threatened to cut Silva from the company if he pulls another stunt like he did in Abu Dhabi.