New York Yankees sign Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda to power their pitching lineup – MLB News
New York Yankees produced decent performances last season to make it to the playoffs. However, they lacked the firepower in pitching department of the game, which halted their progress in the postseason. To power their pitching line up, Brian Cashman, the General Manager has taken major steps.
A few days ago, the Yankees brought in Michael Pineda from Seattle Mariners. Pineda was absolutely sensational in his first Major League Baseball season. However, it will not be wrong to say that he hasn’t fully realised his immense potential as yet. The guy has the best fastball in the game right now. Working with Yankees’ coaching staff, Pineda will be looking to improve his game play considerably to become an ace.
Yankees have also signed a $12 million contract with former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. The 36-year-old displayed some high quality pitching skills to earn a decent 3.07 Earned Runs Average last season. He will be hoping to help the Yankees win the American League East title before he calls it a career.
C.C. Sabathia, Yankees’ ace had to do all the hard work by himself in the last season. However, Brian Cashman has helped him out significantly this season by signing the pitchers Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda.
“I do,” Sabathia said. “We’re going to try to win a championship. That’s always our goal and it’s a realistic goal. We made some great moves. Our team was good [last year], but they made it even better. He just has to stay focused and pound the strike zone”
“It’s good,” the shortstop said. “We always do something and sometimes things come out of the blue. I’m excited,” Sabathia said. “Anytime you add an arm like Pineda and get a veteran like Kuroda, it makes your team a lot better.”
Sabathia believes that Yankees has a great chance of winning the World Series in 2012 with their newly found bench strength. The starter, who put on great amount of weight last season, will be looking to stay healthy and fit for the entire season to help Brian Cashman achieve his goals.
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