Yankees Bulk Up Their Rotation

With the Yankees failing to make the World Series since '03, and not even making the post season in '08, they've decided to start bulking up their rotation this off season by acquiring C.C. Sabathia & A.J. Burnett. Sabathia is coming off of a near-perfect 3-month run with the Brewers in '08, going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and 8.8 K's/9IP. Burnett posted career-highs in IP (221.1), W's (18), K's (231 - 9.4/9IP), and starts (34) with the Jays in '08.

Sabathia's 99 Topps Traded Auto remains his best rookie-year issue, and is currently selling on ebay for between $122-199 in fixed-price auctions. It sold for between $48 to $64 TAC during the '08 season, so if you want to pick one of these gems up, I would wait until someone posts one in a bidding auction to get it for a better price.

Burnett's best rookie-year card is also the 99 Topps Traded Auto. These aren't as easy to find (probably because of the lower demand), and should be available (when found) at lower price levels than Sabathia's. I'm guessing in the $25 to $35 TAC range.

These pitchers join a young Yankees rotation consisting of Phil Hughes, Chien-Ming Wang and others, and could potentially be a what NY needs to get back into the post season. Personally, I think that they will need more young bats to get them past the Red Sox & Rays in the AL East.