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Yankees have a new Joe in charge

The skies look blue for Yankees manager Joe Girardi now, but will things get stormy if he can't match the success of departed skipper Joe Torre? (Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan)

BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com

March 28, 2008

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TAMPA, Fla. - A new Yankees era will officially dawn Monday.

The Yankees' 2008 season will begin when they host the Blue Jays, with Chien-Ming Wang on the mound and Joe Girardi in the dugout. And the reality that Girardi has replaced Joe Torre as manager after a dozen years will become much more vivid. Instead of the grandfatherly Torre slowly walking out to the mound to make a pitching change, it will be the 43-year-old Girardi, who still looks fit enough to play.

Girardi said he has thought a little about the opener but mostly has been busy trying to prepare for the season.

"I'll be fired up," Girardi said. "There will be a lot of emotions. There will be the knowing-that-I-am-extremely-blessed emotion, the knowing-that-I-am-getting-to-compete-at-the-highest-level emotion, the everyday jitters that you got as a player ... I'll think about my family -- my wife, my kids, my dad, my mom."

In a sense, this will be a transitional year for the Yankees -- the first year with Girardi as manager, the last in the current Yankee Stadium. What the Yankees hope it is not is a rebuilding year.

This Yankees team has enough talent to win the World Series. It also has enough inexperience -- and question marks -- on the pitching staff for the Yankees to miss the playoffs for the first time since B.T.

(Before Torre.)

The rotation is the major question mark. Wang, winner of 19 games each of the last two seasons, might be the only sure thing. Andy Pettitte would fit that description, too, if he hadn't spent the offseason dealing with the admission that he used human growth hormone, then missed two exhibition starts with left elbow tendinitis and back spasms.

Beyond Wang and Pettitte are 39-year-old Mike Mussina, who had the worst year of his career in 2007, and Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, with a combined 91 2/3 innings of major-league experience.

"If you're a pessimist, I guess you can look at it that way," Pettitte said. "Those are all valid questions, but we feel good about it."

Most baseball executives and scouts expect Hughes and Kennedy to have bright futures. Each is a top prospect who had success in his major-league debut, but sometimes it takes young pitchers a year or two to find their way.

Hughes missed much of last year with a strained hamstring and a sprained ankle. But he had an excellent finish, going 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA in five September starts. The Yankees thought highly enough of Hughes, Kennedy and centerfielder Melky Cabrera that they rejected giving them up for Twins ace Johan Santana.

That won't up the ante for Hughes, who said: "I think there's always pressure to perform. I've always held great expectations for myself."

The bullpen was bolstered when the Yankees announced that setup phenom Joba Chamberlain will begin the year in relief rather than the rotation. They have Mariano Rivera, Chamberlain, Kyle Farnsworth and free-agent pickup LaTroy Hawkins at the back end of the bullpen.

The offense should be dominant again. After much back-and-forth, the Yankees re-signed AL MVP Alex Rodriguez and catcher Jorge Posada, who is coming off the best season of his career. They return with a core that includes Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano.

"Last year was really special in terms of offense," Posada said.

The Yankees expect similar results in 2008. But as Rodriguez said: "Every year, whoever pitches better is going to win the World Series."

It's been a while since the Yankees fit that description.