I was as upset as the next guy when the New York Yankees signed Chris Capuano to basically be the teams fifth starter but since then I have calmed down and gathered my thoughts. I have come to the conclusion that if you look at history the Yankees have won a whole lot with a whole lot less in the fifth spot of the rotation. Sure the Yankees have plenty of question marks in the rotation and sure Capuano is probably just keeping the seat warm for Ivan Nova's return from Tommy John surgery but I don't think the Yankees season hinges on Capuano like some of the comments I have been reading.
My initial thoughts went to the 2000 season when the Yankees ace Roger Clemens lost a start in the Subway World Series the night before Denny Neagle, the same Denny Neagle that went 7-7 with a 5.81 ERA in the Bronx, won a World Series game as the Yankees fifth starter.
Just the season before Hideki Irabu got a World Series ring in New York as a fifth starter pitching to a 11-7 record and a 4.84 ERA. The 1998 Yankees fifth starter was also Irabu although he did pitch better with a 13-7 record with an ERA barely over four which looks like the exception and not the rule. You see Irabu as the exception even more when you look at the Yankees 1997 fifth starter Kenny Rogers who went 6-7 with a 5.65 ERA.
What do all these teams have in common? They were all successful with a veteran inning eating presence at the end of the rotation. What else do these teams have in common? A shut down bullpen that allowed these starters to come out after five or even six innings a night and still give the team a shot to win. In closing, back off of Capuano. If you want to blame the successes, or failures, of the 2015 season on anyone blame it on Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka and Nathan Eovaldi.
