Written by Greg Fertel | 21 April 2007

Jeff Karstens was pretty bad today. Luckily, Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang appear to be on the verge of return. A lot depends on Chase Wright's start tomorrow, and I'd like to share a few scenarios. The Status Quo:

Today, 4/21: Jeff Karstens in New York, Steve Jackson in Scranton Sunday, 4/22: Chase Wright in New York, TBA in Scranton Monday, 4/23: Kei Igawa in New York, Off day in Scranton Tuesday, 4/24: Chien-Ming Wang in New York, Hughes in Scranton [Darrell Rasner's Day] Wednesday, 4/25: Andy Pettitte in New York, Ross Ohlendorf in Scranton Thursday, 4/26: Jeff Karstens in New York, Matt DeSalvo/Tyler Clippard in Scranton [Steve Jackson's day] Friday, 4/27: Chase Wright in New York, Matt DeSalvo/Tyler Clippard in Scranton [Mike Mussina Rehab start] Saturday, 4/28: Kei Igawa in New York, Steve Jackson in Scranton Sunday, 4/29: Chien-Ming Wang in New York, Phil Hughes in Scranton Monday, 4/30: Off Day in New York, Ross Ohlendorf in Scranton Tuesday, 5/1: Andy Pettitte in New York, DeSalvo/Clippard in Scranton Wednesday, 5/2: Mike Mussina in New York, DeSalvo/Clippard in Scranton Thursday, 5/3: Kei Igawa in New York, Jackson in Scranton Friday, 5/4: Chien-Ming Wang in New York, Hughes in Scranton Saturday, 5/5: Jeff Karstens in New York, Ross Ohlendorf in Scranton

What does this rotation schedule tell us? First off, Scranton has an extra pitcher. Rasner, Jackson, DeSalvo, and Clippard are all able to pitch in 3 games. This means that Scranton can subtract a pitcher. Not only that, but with the off day, everyone is able to get an extra day's so, Scranton's rotation could get a little messy. Now, let's look at Chase Wright. Chase Wright starts tomorrow against the Red Sox. If the rotation stays as is, Wright will also be set to open the series against the Red Sox. If Wright pitches pretty well against the Sox tomorrow, then all this speculation isn't too important, because the easy solution is to give Wright a spot and let Mussina replace him later. However, the Yankees have a relatively easy option to send Wright down and replace him with Darrell Rasner (if he is eligible to return, the rules are a little murky. Anyone want to chime in? I think he that he can). If Rasner cannot be recalled, Hughes isn't really an option that night. Matt DeSalvo would likely be the choice. However, Hughes does have an opening. Carl Pavano would need to be ready for a rehab start by Monday, April 30th to take Jeff Karstens' spot on May 5th. But let's assume for a second that Pavano never comes back, which is a fairly reasonable assumption. This means that Hughes is only an extra day's rest away from being the right man to fill that spot. If he dominates in his next two starts, the Yankees should promote him on May 5th, assuming that Karstens doesn't look like an ace in his next start. May 5th, at Yankee Stadium against Seattle. On National television. Buy your tickets now.

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