Yanks upgrade rotation; Sox hope for best - Gordon Edes

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/16023/yanks-upgrade-rotation-sox-hope-for-best

Over the weekend the Yankess traded phenom hitter Jesus Montero to the Mariners for phenom pircher Micheal Pineida. Montero is positioned at catcher, but is terrible behind the plate. Better suited at a DH role, which the Yankees have in spades, he has found a better home in Seattle where he will instantly be the best hitter on the team.

Pineida is one of the top five pitchers under 25. The Yankees have an arm that, if he stays healthy, will give them ten years of top of the rotation performance. There is really no way for the Sox to match that pick up. Maybe he wilts under the glare of Yankees stadium, but if he can handle the pressure he's going to be an ace for years.

The Yankees also signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year $10 million deal. He's not an All Star and we'll see how the switch from the NL West to the AL East affects his ERA but all in all he adds an arm to the Yankees rotation that was about, oh, one pitcher deep.

The payoff? The Sox shied away from offering Kuroda that $10 million as it was "too rich" for them. I think they may find a way to pay free agent Roy Oswalt that same $10 million or be forced to watch the playoffs from home again.