All for one....

The Yanks' persona the last half dozen (or dozen, whatever) years has been very sterile, corporate. Or, in other less-flattering terms: BORING and FRACTURED. What this will mean when the games count I am not sure, but I am sure happy to hear that it's changing, even a little:

On a suggestion from A.J. Burnett before a Feb. 28 game at Steinbrenner Field, the members of the Yankees' projected rotation went to watch Joba Chamberlain warm up. And a habit was born.
[...]
The fraternity in the Yankees clubhouse has been noticeably stronger this spring, and no place has that been more overt than among this re-shuffled rotation. The five starters have committed to each other in a variety of ways, including going to watch each other's pre-game warm-ups.
[...]
It is difficult to measure what fraternity might mean within a rotation. The act of pitching, after all, is mostly a solitary act. But it is clear that big-time weight is on this rotation for a variety of reasons, notably that a quarter of a billion dollars was invested in Sabathia and Burnett to make starting pitching the backbone of the team and without Alex Rodriguez for a while this club is going to need its rotation operating at peak efficiency. So having an internal support system, especially in New York, should be valuable.
[...]
Sabathia arrived with the reputation as one of the game's best teammates and has only burnished that image.
[...]
But the surprise of the group has been Burnett. His reputation was as prickly and different. However, he has belied that, so far.

I continue to believe that Burnett will thrive since he can simply draft behind CC's wake. And that will ripple down the rotation. Of course, if Sabathia gets off to a dismal start or Burnett gets hurt.... all bets off. But if they succeed and the Yanks have a solid April, we can look forward to the "this team is better off without ARod" slop-slinging.