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When the Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series last October, the defeat stung CC Sabathia for several weeks. The season ended abruptly, too abruptly for Sabathia. He was hoping the Yankees could power their way to another World Series title. Instead, the Yankees limped home.

Six months later, the Yankees are trying to replace the disappointment of 2011 with a different ending in 2012. Sabathia will throw the Yankees’ first pitch of a new season against the Rays on Friday, which is the tiniest of steps in what he believes can be a championship season. There will be thousands of pitches thrown before the Yankees can prove if they can make another title a reality.

With Sabathia, the Yankees have an ace they can trust. While every Major League team has a No. 1 starter, not every No. 1 is truly as elite as pitchers like Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum or Clayton Kershaw. When a No. 1 pitcher starts a postseason game, his team has no doubt about the outcome. He might lose, but that confident feeling never fades.

That’s what Sabathia gives the Yankees.

“I take being an ace very seriously,” said Sabathia, who had a subpar final two months in 2011.

Still, in analyzing the 2012 Yankees, there’s little reason to wonder about what Sabathia will do for them. He is reliable and productive, and can be expected to pitch 230 innings, win close to 20 games and have an earned run average around 3.00. The Yankees won’t sweat over Sabathia. To me, there are three players who will be scrutinized more than any Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda.

For Rodriguez, the most important goal is staying healthy. Rodriguez was limited to 99 games in 2011 because of knee and thumb injuries and had the worst statistical season of his career. After an offseason in which Rodriguez had blood-spinning procedures on his shoulder and knee, he is confident that he can return to being a premier hitter again.

“I feel very good about what I did in the spring,” Rodriguez said. “Now it’s time to get started.”

If Rodriguez can stay on the field and be an effective offensive player, the Yankees’ lineup is deeper and more fearsome. When Rodriguez is producing, Kevin Long, the batting coach, said that Rodriguez’s teammates simply have to be themselves, not exceed expectations. That’s how valuable the third baseman can be.

During Hughes’ career, he has been a valuable pitcher for the Yankees, but he has also been an erratic pitcher. After an unsettling 2011 in which Hughes was plagued by a fatigued arm, he worked out diligently in the offseason and dedicated himself to getting into better shape. Hughes understood that he needed to fight to win a job in the spring. He did that by pitching as well as any Yankee starter with a 1.56 ERA. Now Hughes must use his rediscovered fastball and pitch with the same swagger he displayed in the first half of the 2010 season.

“I feel like I’ve done the things I had to do this spring,” Hughes said.

The same cannot be said of Pineda. Even before Pineda went on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, this was certain to be a challenging season. General manager Brian Cashman said Pineda reported to Tampa, Fla., about 20 pounds overweight, which didn’t delight the Yankees.

The Yankees implored Pineda to develop his changeup, a pivotal third pitch to accompany his fastball and slider. Pineda refined his changeup, but his fastball lacked velocity. The pitcher who was supposed to throw 98-mile per hour fastballs was mostly throwing in the low 90’s. The Yankees hope Pineda will rediscover that velocity after his shoulder heals.

With Pineda sidelined, the Yankees have a rotation of Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Hughes, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. Andy Pettitte will probably be ready for the Major Leagues by May. Pineda’s timetable for returning is uncertain.

Whichever pitchers wind up following Sabathia in the rotation throughout 2012, Sabathia is confident that the Yankees have a talented enough team to win it all. In 2009, Sabathia’s first year in New York, he helped steer the Yankees to a World Series championship. The memories of that season provide motivation for Sabathia.

“After having the parade and going through that whole experience,” Sabathia said, “you want that again.”

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Freddy Garcia is a reliable starter, a back-end-of-the-rotation pitcher who wins with guile and a fastball that averages around 87 miles per hour. Garcia isn’t someone whose presence should stunt the growth of pitchers that are at least a decade younger than him, pitchers named Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda.

When the Yankees assembled for Spring Training last month, I expected that Garcia would end up as the sixth starter and the man without a spot in the rotation. The Yankees signed Garcia to a one-year, $4 million contract last November, but then they acquired Pineda from the Seattle Mariners and added Hiroki Kuroda as a free agent. Garcia’s grip on a rotation spot vanished.

With one week left before Opening Day, I still think the most sensible thing for the Yankees to do is to shift Garcia to the bullpen. Nova’s statistics haven’t been pretty (6.86 earned run average), but he won 16 games last year and emerged as the No. 2 starter. It would be careless to ignore what Nova did in 2011 because of some shabby spring innings. Pineda’s velocity isn’t where the Yankees want it to be, but he has averaged about a strikeout per inning, has a 3.31 ERA. and is refining his changeup. An invigorated Hughes has been so effective that he should be the third starter behind CC Sabathia and Kuroda. Garcia is 35 years old, Hughes and Nova are 25, and Pineda is 23.

As the Yankees go forward, Nova, Pineda and Hughes are much more important to their future than Garcia. Garcia is an insurance policy in case any of the starters gets injured or falters and he could also become a trade chip. Once Andy Pettitte returns in May, the Yankees will need to bounce a starter from the rotation. That will be a difficult decision. For now, the rotation decision is easier: Move Garcia to the bullpen, and let Nova, Pineda and Hughes continue to grow.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

TAMPA – Andy Pettitte has ended his retirement to sign a 1-year, minor league contract with the Yankees that will pay him $2.5 million. Less than three weeks after Pettitte visited spring training as a guest instructor here, the 39-year old will soon rejoin the team as an experienced left-handed starter.

The Yankees needed starters last season and had hoped Pettitte would pitch for them, but he retired after going 11-3 with a 3.28 earned run average in 2010 and stayed retired. But the Yankees have always communicated to Pettitte that they would be interested in re-signing him if he ever wanted to rekindle his career. That is exactly what Pettitte wants to do.

When Pettitte visited here in late February, I asked him if being around some of his former teammates gave him an itch to try a comeback. Pettitte, who looked as lean as he did when he played, acknowledged that he did have some of those feelings.

“I’m sure I could,” Pettitte said, about returning. “You start training, working out and get yourself into shape. I would imagine I could.”

But then Pettitte dismissed the possibility of coming back.

“I retired after one of my better years,” said Pettitte, who is 240-138 in his career. “I felt like I was at the point where I just kind of knew what I was doing mechanically out there on the mound and stuff like that. But I retired to go home and be with my family, and that’s why I retired.”

Now Pettitte is coming out of retirement to be with the Yankees, his second family. By signing a minor league deal, Pettitte can take his time in getting prepared to pitch in the Major Leagues again. The Yankees view Pettitte as an excellent addition to a deep rotation, a familiar face and, more importantly, a familiar arm to have for the 2012 season.   

More Andy Pettitte: Top 9 Moments  |  Trivia  |  Video  |  Stats

TAMPA – There are hundreds of stories in the Yankees’ clubhouse here. There are superstars and players who are trying to become superstars. There are solid players, useful players and marginal players. There are players who are trying to prolong careers.

Dewayne Wise is one of those chasers, a player who is trying to snatch some more games and more paychecks.

Two lockers away from Derek Jeter, there is a locker for Wise, a 34-year old outfielder with a lifetime average of .219 and a scar alongside his nose. He made one of the most memorable catches in history and he has twice appeared in the postseason, but he acknowledged that his career “is winding down.” Wise wants to end it on a championship team, which is why he signed a Minor League deal with the Yankees.

The roster situation on the Yankees isn’t encouraging for Wise, who will almost definitely open the season at Class AAA. Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher are the starting outfielders, and Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones are the reserves. Unless someone gets injured, Wise, who has played 445 Major League games across the last 12 seasons, will be a Minor Leaguer in April.

“If I don’t start out with the team, I’ll go down to the Minors and fight my way back here,” Wise said. “That’s what I’ve always done.”

Before Wise signed, he knew it would be difficult to muscle his way into a roster spot. But Wise, who was 7-for-16 (.438 average) before Friday’s game against the Nationals, still chose the Yankees over other teams. Why?

“Because,” Wise said, “I’ve heard for the two years that the Yankees wanted me.”

Wise was right. The Yankees have had an interest in adding Wise for outfield depth.

“We’ve been trying to sign him for the last few years,” said general manager Brian Cashman.

Cashman explained how arduous it can be to find a reserve outfielder who plays above average defense in center. Wise is that type of player. If Granderson or Gardner ever missed an extended period with an injury, Cashman said he could rely on Wise to provide solid defense in center or left. While Wise isn’t an offensive force, he has a .264 average and three of his 22 career homers are against the Yankees.

But it’s Wise’s defense and versatility that impressed Cashman.

“He’s insurance,” Cashman said. “If something happens, he gives us insurance.”

Wise plays very shallow in center, a product of being a wide receiver in high school. Because of Wise’s roots as an All-State receiver in South Carolina, he has always been comfortable with retreating to retrieve baseballs. In some exhibition games, Wise has looked as if he was close enough to take a few steps forward and tap Jeter on the back. He knows he is extremely shallow, but smiled and said, “I have no problems going back on balls.”

The most indelible moment in Wise’s career came when he rushed back on a fly ball and made a phenomenal catch to help preserve Mark Buehrle’s perfect game on July 23, 2009. Wise was inserted for defense in the ninth and he was immediately needed.

With Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler batting, Wise was, as usual, playing shallow. Kapler hammered a ball to left center field, a shot that looked like it would spoil Buehrle’s bid for perfection. Wise took his eye off the ball, sprinted toward the fence, recovered to find the ball again and leaped over the fence to snare the ball. The ball popped out of his glove as he fell, but Wise snatched it with his bare hand before tumbling on the warning track. It was a remarkable catch which was made even more remarkable because of the situation.

“Not a day goes by where someone doesn’t ask me about that play,” Wise said.

Now Wise is just trying to get on the field to make a play, any play, for the Yankees. Wade knows he will likely have to push his way through the Minor Leagues to make that happen later this season.

Playing baseball is what Wise does and what he wants to keep doing. When Wise was in the third grade, he wrote an essay about how he would become a Major Leaguer. As part of the assignment, he drew a stick figure baseball player. That stick figure still hangs from his mother’s Christmas tree every year.

“Got my thumbprint and everything on it,” Wise said.

The third-grader who drew the stick figure did become a big leaguer. Now Wise’s hope is that he gets to add some pinstripes to his resume. Yes, there are hundreds of stories in the Yankees’ clubhouse. Wise is one of them, a very cool one.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

TAMPA – The Yankees can exhale. David Robertson has a bone bruise on the top of his right foot, which is an encouraging development for the Yankees. He will continue wearing a walking boot until Monday before removing it and resuming some baseball activities.

After two anxious days in which Robertson underwent several medical tests to determine the extent of his injury, the Yankees were relieved that their superb setup man isn’t expected to miss any meaningful games.

“It’s a huge relief,” said manager Joe Girardi. He added, “This is as good as it gets for us.”

While Girardi said he couldn’t predict how quickly Robertson would heal, he said he “would think” that Robertson would be ready for the season opener. Before the Yankees said that Robertson had a bone bruise, he spoke optimistically about throwing by Monday or Tuesday. Now it appears as Robertson will probably be able to do that.

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CLEARWATER, FLA. – Michael Pineda uncoiled his right arm, moved it forward as if he was about to throw a pitch and then pushed ahead in a forceful way. He made a sound like someone who had just belted a punching bag. Pineda was showing how aggressive he needs to be when he throws a changeup. He has to mimic the way he throws a fastball.

 “Every pitch,” Pineda said. “Every time.”

This scene occurred near Pineda’s locker at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on one of the first days of Spring Training. A conversation with Pineda had shifted to how vital it will be for him to add a reliable changeup to his superb fastball and slider combination. Soon after Pineda arrived in a four-player trade that sent Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees started lecturing him about the value of a third pitch. Those lectures will continue.

 “He’s already shown he can win with the two pitches he’s got,” said catcher Russell Martin. “If he can develop a third pitch, that’ll be something.”

That is something the Yankees are aching to see. The Yankees believe that Pineda can eventually become an elite pitcher, someone who can slide in behind CC Sabathia as the number two starter in the rotation. But GM Brian Cashman has said that Pineda needs a third pitch to make that leap from a pitcher who can potentially be elite to a pitcher who actually is elite.

On Monday, Pineda took small steps in his pursuit of an effective changeup while tossing two scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. Pineda estimated that he threw about five changeups, including one that struckout Shane Victorino in the first. He looked comfortable going to the pitch as he even used it against Jim Thome, a left-handed hitter with 604 career homers.

It was one Spring Training outing, one sliver of a draining season, but it was a solid start. Pineda needs to throw the pitch now to develop a trust in it and to believe in it enough to use it in a game that really matters, not just a Spring Training game. According to fangraphs.com, Pineda threw his changeup 6.3 percent of the time last season. Essentially, 19 out of every 20 pitches were fastballs or sliders.

“It’s not easy,” said Pineda, about honing the changeup. “Right now, I’m a little bit surprised because my changeup was good.”

 The mission for Pineda is to deceive batters, making them think they are swinging at his 95-mile per hour fastball when they are instead swinging at an 87 M.P.H. changeup. That is why Pineda needs to use the same delivery, the same release point and the same exertion on his fastballs and changeups.

 “You make them guess,” Johan Santana of the Mets has said. “That’s the whole point. You want to keep them off balance.”

To do that, Pineda must unleash his fastballs and changeups the same way every time. Pineda must also continue building more and more confidence in a pitch that he barely used last season. The Yankees will keep lecturing Pineda about why a third pitch is so crucial, lectures that he can silence by mastering the changeup.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

I’ve sung karaoke with Bobby Valentine in Tokyo, I’ve eaten lunch with him at his restaurant in Connecticut and I’ve seen him console a 9/11 family during a memorial event for their son, who was a friend of mine. In every setting, which ranged from hilarious to casual to somber, Valentine was always on. He was on stage and on display because he is comfortable with being in the middle of any situation.

Sometimes, Valentine creates the situation unnecessarily. That is what happened on a sleepy Tuesday in Florida when Valentine questioned aspects of Derek Jeter’s famous flip play and also took a swipe at Alex Rodriguez. While speaking with reporters, the Red Sox manager didn’t need to inject Jeter or Rodriguez into the discussion, but he did. My guess is Valentine knew exactly what he was doing.

Valentine is a savvy manager, someone who understands that anything he utters about Jeter or Rodriguez will be dissected, devoured and evaluated. And, if Valentine offers a smidgen of negativity in his remarks about those Yankees or any Yankees, it will be newsworthy. Since the Yankees and the Red Sox are such ferocious rivals, the manager’s words are always analyzed. Valentine made sure his words spoke dismissively of the Yankees. Yes, Valentine was saying, I will shoot some spitballs in this rivalry.

As Valentine spoke about the relays and cutoffs that the Red Sox had practiced, he suddenly decided to critique Jeter’s flip play against the Oakland Athletics in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series. Jeter scampered in from shortstop to retrieve Shane Spencer’s throw, which had soared over two cutoff men, near the first-base line. He used a back-handed flip to get the ball to Jorge Posada, who tagged out Jeremy Giambi. It was an outstanding, athletic play, but Valentine claimed Jeter wasn’t in the right spot. Say what?

“We’ll never practice that,” Valentine said. “I think (Jeter) was out of position and the ball gets (Giambi) out if (Jeter) doesn’t touch it, personally.”

As someone who covered that game and has watched the replay dozens of times, I can tell you that Valentine is wrong. Spencer’s throw was dying and would have been up the first base line. Posada would have had to move up the line to retrieve the ball and wouldn’t have had enough time to hustle back and tag Giambi on the third base side of the plate. Without Jeter, Giambi is safe. Bobby needs to watch the replay again.

Valentine also questioned whether the Yankees practiced the play, which Jeter disclosed after the game. Why would Jeter lie about that? It doesn’t make any sense. Still, Valentine, making sure he strengthened his status as a Yankee-hater, tweaked Jeter. Jeter wondered why he had to flash back a decade.

“We do practice it, but not the flip home,” Jeter told reporters. “But who cares? Why are we talking about this? He must be bored over there, huh? I don’t understand.”

Jeter had a much more clever response to Valentine when the Yankees practiced cutoff drills on Wednesday. As Jeter recreated the flip play, he told some reporters, “See, we work on it.”

Besides Jeter, Valentine verbally smacked Rodriguez while he was supposed to be praising the recently retired Jason Varitek. As Valentine lauded Varitek, a player he never managed, he veered in an interesting direction and added, “He was able to beat up Alex, all that stuff.”

In July of 2004, Rodriguez and Varitek had an altercation after Rodriguez was hit with a pitch. Varitek, who never removed his mask, pushed his catcher’s mitt into Rodriguez’s face to start a crawl. Showing much more restraint than Valentine, Rodriguez dodged the topic with a dose of humor.

“Like I’ve said, guys, I’m not gonna win my battles here when it comes to words, especially against Bobby,” he told reporters. “But I will tell you this, I got my new press secretary that should be landing in a couple of days, Reggie Jackson, so I’ll let him handle it, all right?”

The Yankees were smart to be just as dismissive of Valentine’s comments as he was toward them in dragging them into things that had nothing to do with them. It is puzzling that questions about cutoffs and Varitek’s retirement caused Valentine to reference Jeter and Rodriguez. But, with Valentine, these messy situations can happen. Sometimes, like this time, Valentine even creates them.  

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

TAMPA – As David Robertson stood on a mound here in December, the conversation switched to the possibility of him being a closer for the Yankees. Sure, Robertson said, he would love to succeed Mariano Rivera at some point, but Robertson stressed that he didn’t want Rivera to retire anytime soon.

“I don’t need to do it right away,” Robertson said. “I want Mo to hang around a few years.”

Two months later, Rivera walked into Spring Training and strongly hinted that he would retire after 2012. Rivera acknowledged that he has already decided what he will do after this season. While Rivera wouldn’t divulge his plans to reporters, he sounded like a player who was prepared to cede the ninth inning to someone else.

Someone like Robertson.

It was sensible to speculate that Robertson, who might have been the best reliever in the American League in 2011, could be Rivera’s heir apparent. With a faster-than-it-looks fastball and a knee-buckling curveball, Robertson was an electrifying setup man. He was 4-0 with a 1.08 earned run average and struck 100 and walked 35 in 66 2/3 innings. No one will replace Rivera, that is understood, but Robertson at least has the ability to do the job. He must prove that he can handle the mental side of the tensest job in baseball.

Still, Robertson, who was a closer at the University of Alabama and aspires to be a closer, has doubts. Not about whether he could do the job, but about whether Rivera would really leave the job.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Robertson said. “When you talk about replacing Mariano Rivera, I don’t think that can be done.”

How much of a doubter is Robertson? Robertson doesn’t plan to watch Rivera any more closely or ask him any more questions across the next several months, just in case it is Rivera’s last season. He intends to treat 2012 like 2011, believing that Rivera will return. Robertson heard that Rivera hinted at retirement, but dismissed the word “hinted” as quickly as he dismisses a lame hitter.

When Robertson discussed Rivera, he marveled about how efficient the 42-year old pitcher is. Robertson said Rivera, the often perfect pitcher, “doesn’t chase perfection” and “just finds a way to get outs.” By that, Robertson meant that Rivera doesn’t need to secure three strikeouts in an inning. Rivera would prefer to have a six-pitch inning.

Robertson would love to emulate Rivera’s efficiency. Despite Robertson’s success in wriggling out of bases-loaded situations, he dislikes being in those precarious spots. Someday soon, Robertson could be in more precarious spots. He could be the pitcher who succeeds the best closer ever. It might even happen in 2013, whether Robertson wants to admit it or not.

“Like I said, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Robertson said. “You never know. He could Brett Favre us.”

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

TAMPA -- The Yankees trickled into the clubhouse Monday morning like any other first workout for pitchers and catchers in any other season. There was a slimmer CC Sabathia, a leaner Phil Hughes and a more sinewy Russell Martin, their bodies telling the stories of their productive off-seasons. There were the endless hugs and handshakes, routine ways to reconnect after four months of separation.

But, as much as this opening of Spring Training felt like any other opening for the Yankees, there could be something that is very different about the next six and a half weeks. This could be the final time that Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer ever, is part of Spring Training. Rivera could be ready to retire.

During two interview sessions with reporters, Rivera hinted strongly that 2012 would be his final season. Rivera acknowledged that he had already decided what he would do after this season and would eventually publicize his decision. Maybe Rivera was being coy or maybe Rivera was telling reporters that he was retiring, without officially saying it just yet.

Once Rivera admitted that he knows his future, he offered evidence that 2012 would be it for him. That’s a decision Rivera can make now. But, conversely, how could Rivera know if he will pitch in 2013 when he hasn’t thrown a pitch in 2012? He could have a serious injury or he could sputter, which I seriously doubt. He also doesn’t know if the Yankees would offer him a deal for 2013 because he hasn’t performed in 2012 yet. But, you see, those issues would be irrelevant to a pitcher who doesn’t expect to pitch next season.

If the mighty Rivera had already planned to pitch in 2013, there would be some presumption on his part. I know he expects to have another superb season. Who doesn’t expect that? Still, Rivera would have to presume that he would remain healthy and effective and presume that the Yankees would want him back. Naturally, the Yankees would want a dependable Rivera back. But, again, it doesn’t seem as if Rivera analyzed those matters because a soon-to-be retired player doesn’t need to worry about them.

While Rivera playfully said that he has mentioned retirement in the past, he said, “This one is different.” Rivera said his family knows his intentions and that he will tell the Yankees those plans, too. That might not be necessary. One Yankees executive who has had discussions with Rivera said that he has seen signs that Rivera is poised to throw his cut fastball for one more season and retire.

Since Rivera has supplied these clues about how the end is near, he has impacted the way fans will view him this season. Watch Rivera closely. Study his smooth motion. Analyze that incredible cutter. Absorb how dominant and how unflappable he is. Appreciate Rivera for being a legend, a legend that is about ready to go home.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES

Jorge Posada was tired. Not tired of playing baseball. He might never get tired of that. But he was tired of doing everything that he needed to do to prepare himself to play baseball. When Posada didn’t push himself to do baseball workouts in the off-season, his inaction provided the answer that he knew was looming. It was time to retire.

So Posada, the passionate player who reveled in being a catcher and being a Yankee, will never play another Major League game. We will never see him trace his children’s initials in the dirt again. We will never see him hold a bat with his bare hands again. We will never see him lumber around the bases like a reckless locomotive again. We will never see him contribute something vital to a win again.

Every player is supposed to care about winning. But there are some players who care more than others. Posada was one of those players who cared a bit more. As a boy in Puerto Rico, Posada watched how his father hated losing in softball and adopted that same feisty approach. If Posada played a sport, he decided then that he was playing to win. Posada carried that attitude throughout his glorious career with the Yankees, a career that began and ended with the same team.

When Posada officially announced his retirement on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees placed five World Series trophies on a table beside him. While Posada was a bit player in 1996, he was an important part of the championship teams in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. The Yankees paid Posada a major compliment by positioning that impressive hardware near him. No one needed a reminder about Posada’s desire to win, but the trophies provided it anyway.

If I had to pick a few words to describe Posada, I would pick passionate, proud, stubborn and honest. Posada was drafted as an infielder in the 24th round in 1990, but he somehow became one of the best offensive catchers of his era. A second baseman from a community college isn’t supposed to forge a career that ends with him being mentioned in the same sentence as Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. But Posada, the son of a scout, made the unthinkable a reality.

A few minutes into Posada’s press conference, his eyes turned red and he began to weep. Then he cried again and again. It wasn’t surprising that Posada, an emotional man, was emotional on the day where he said good-bye to baseball. It was the only sport Jorge, Sr. allowed his son to play because his goal was to turn the kid into a Major Leaguer. The lifelong Yankee said there wasn’t a Plan B.

Now Posada needs a Plan B. But he doesn’t have a post-baseball plan yet, other than spending more time with his family. He was tired of preparing for baseball, not tired of baseball. But that fatigue helped Posada make his decision. We will never see Posada play again. The player who cared more than most knew it was time to retire, retire as a Yankee.

As the Yankees inched through a sluggish offseason, general manager Brian Cashman admitted that he wanted to strengthen the starting rotation. Cashman stressed that he wasn’t hopeful about his chances, balking at the high prices for free agents and at the lofty requests during trade talks. But, on a frenetic Friday, Cashman revamped the rotation in a splashy way.

Cashman’s patience was rewarded when he acquired Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners for Jesus Montero in a bold, four-player trade. The Yankees also secured Jose Campos, a Class A pitcher, and moved Hector Noesi in the deal. While the Yankees valued Montero’s offense, they picked the elite, young pitcher over the elite, young hitter. That is usually a sound strategy.

Would the Yankees have rather included Montero, their premier prospect, as part of a package to get Felix Hernandez? Yes. But the Mariners weren’t going to let that happen, so Cashman honed in on Pineda, a 22-year-old pitcher with an intimidating fastball. Some baseball executives told me they were surprised that Cashman was able to obtain such a talented pitcher, especially since Pineda isn’t a free agent until after 2016. Pitchers like Pineda are typically considered untouchable in trade discussions.

In addition to the trade, the Yankees also signed free agent Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal that will pay him between $10-11 million. Kuroda, who refused to wave his no-trade clause last season because he preferred to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers, grew more and more interested in pitching in New York as the offseason unfolded. Again, patience was a virtue for Cashman. Kuroda was seeking a deal for about $13 million, but the Yankees were able to get him for a lower salary. The Yankees haven’t officially announced the transactions yet because they are pending physicals.

So, finally, the questions about the Yankees rotation have been silenced because Cashman has acted. Cashman said he was content with CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia as the 2012 rotation, but he never stopped shopping for help. I think the trade for Pineda, while costly because of what the Yankees gave up, was a terrific move. Pineda averaged more than a strikeout per inning in 2011, though one scout said he needs to add a changeup to his fastball-slider combination. Getting Kuroda, a stable veteran, on a one-year contract was also a savvy decision.

Not only did Cashman dramatically improve the Yankees rotation, he did it while walking along a financial tightrope. The Yankees are intent on keeping their payroll under $189 million by 2014 because of the extreme monetary benefits they will reap from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. So adding Pineda, who will only be an arbitration-eligible pitcher by then, and Kuroda, who isn’t likely to be a Yankee by then, fits neatly into that plan.

After the Yankees changed 40 percent of their rotation and dealt the player who was supposed to be their designated hitter, one Major League talent evaluator described them as “the team to beat” in the American League. With Sabathia followed by Pineda, Nova, Kuroda and either Burnett, Hughes or Garcia as the fifth starter, the evaluator said the rotation has “more depth” and a “higher ceiling.”

Although the Yankees were thrilled to get Pineda, they acknowledged that they traded a rare hitter in Montero. One Yankees official said Montero can and probably will hit 30 homers a year, but the organization has depth at catcher and felt it was sensible to use that surplus to improve an area of need in the rotation. Montero displayed how damaging he could be as a hitter and showed his opposite-field power last September, sights that Yankees fans hoped to enjoy for the next decade. Instead, Montero is now with the Mariners. The Yankees also lost an effective pitcher in Noesi, who could end up as a No. 3 starter in the Majors.

How come the Yankees aren’t doing anything this offseason? Everyone from C.J. Wilson to an American League manager to the guy on line at the bagel store asked me that question. I always said that Cashman had until July 31 to get pitching help, which I figured he would do. Cashman beat that deadline by six months. On a frenetic Friday, he added Pineda and Kuroda and made the Yankees a much better and much more interesting team.

When Jorge Posada was seven years old, his father woke him on a Saturday morning and told him to get dressed for work. Jorge Sr. brought his son outside, gave him a gallon of paint and instructed him to paint a wall near their home in Puerto Rico. The experience wasn’t about painting the wall, Jorge explained to me so many years later. It was about developing a work ethic.

The plan worked. For 15 years, Posada had a superb work ethic as a passionate player for the Yankees. Posada played the most difficult position on the field, he never groused about the rigors of catching and he was demanding of himself and of his teammates. If you wanted to bet on the Yankee who was most likely to confront a teammate, Posada would always be the safest bet.

We already knew that Posada wouldn’t play for the Yankees in 2012, but now we also know that he won’t play for another team, either. WFAN reported on Saturday that Posada has elected to retire, deciding that he would rather leave the sport as a forever Yankee than try to squeeze in one more year with Team X. I’ve always felt queasy about telling a player it is time to retire, but Posada’s choice feels right. He has nothing left to chase. His legacy is superb and secure.

That legacy includes five World Series rings, 275 homers, 1,065 runs batted in, a .273 average, a .374 on-base percentage and a borderline Hall of Fame career. Beyond the statistics, that legacy also includes a stubbornness that was undeniable, a bluntness that was refreshing and a toughness that made it seem appropriate that he had a picture of Thurman Munson hanging in his locker. It was one tough, talented catcher honoring another tough, talented catcher.

In one of my first conversations with Posada in 1996, I asked him a simple question. Since I had heard his name pronounced as “Hor-hay” and “George,” I wanted to know which he preferred. Posada looked me in the eyes and emphatically said, “It’s Hor-hay.” That exchange resonated with me because the Posada I spoke to that day was pretty much the Posada I spoke to for the rest of his career. Posada was direct and honest, proud and resilient.

Some players have the ability to answer questions without saying things that could get possibly push them into uncomfortable situations. Derek Jeter, Posada’s close friend, is adept at doing that and at avoiding controversies. Posada never developed that skill or never cared to develop it. There was no filter with Posada.

Before the 1998 season, I interviewed Posada about his role with the Yankees. Posada had been Joe Girardi’s backup in the previous season and felt that he deserved to be the starter. At the age of 26, Posada was tired of waiting for his chance.

“They keep saying I’m the catcher of the future,” Posada said. “For me, the future is now.” And, if that wasn’t a candid enough response, he also added, “They keep saying I’m the future. By the time I get there, it’s going to be too late.”

The 1998 Yankees won 125 games and a title, with Girardi and Posada splitting the catching duties. Once Posada became the full-time starter, he was a highly productive catcher. While Posada will always be remembered as an offensive catcher, he had energy on defense and he cared. Was Posada an above average defensive catcher? No. But Posada was competent enough to be a major contributor on teams that won it all in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. Posada received a ring in 1996, but he barely played.

To know where Posada’s feistiness came from, you need to know about Jorge Sr., his father. The elder Posada defected from Cuba in 1968, stowing away on a tobacco ship with a credit card and some water. Once Jorge, Jr. was born, he became his father’s “project.” The goal was to turn the boy into a Major League player.

That meant Posada was treated differently than the other kids. When Posada was eight, his father took away his aluminum bat and made him use a wooden bat. Although Posada was a natural right-handed hitter, his father only let him hit left-handed from the ages of eight to 13 so that Posada could hone his skills as a switch-hitter. As an 11-year old, Posada once went 21 straight at-bats without getting a hit from the left side. On the 22^nd at-bat, Posada hit a homer and waved to his father as he ran around the bases.

As much toughness as Jorge Sr. and Jorge Jr. have exhibited in their lives, both men would say that Jorge III is the toughest Posada. Jorge III was born with a condition called craniosynostosis, where bones in the skull fuse together before the brain has stopped growing. Little Jorge had his first surgery as an eight-month old. When Posada disclosed his son’s situation for the first time after the 2001 season, I wondered how he ever managed to focus on one at-bat. Posada said it helped that Jorge was “a tough little kid.” The tough kid is now 12 and had his ninth and, the family hopes, his final surgery last year.

While Posada is retiring, he probably could have played another season. He had stellar statistics against right-handers during a trying season in which he caught only six innings, and he hit .429 in the Division Series. Posada made a dubious decision by pulling himself out of the lineup against the Boston Red Sox in May because he was upset about batting ninth. He acknowledged the mistake the next day.

One of my most interesting conversations with Posada came as we were both waiting to board a plane at Newark Airport. The plane was delayed so we talked a lot of baseball. At some point, the topic switched to performance enhancing drugs. Posada, who had just finished a 2007 season in which he hit .338 with 20 homers and 90 RBIs, knew that his output created skepticism because 36-year old catchers weren’t supposed to produce like that.

“Now, when you’re 36 and have a good year,” he said, “it’s guilt by association.”

Posada insisted that he never used enhancers.

“Why would I do that?” Posada asked. “You could lose everything. It’s not worth it. It affects your family. It affects everything.”

As a scout with the Atlanta Braves, Posada Sr. couldn’t convince his bosses to draft his son out of Calhoun Community College in Alabama. The Yankees did, snatching the infielder in the 24^th round of the 1990 draft and converting him to catcher. It was a smart decision. Really, it was an historic decision.

What that decision did was give the Yankees a vital player who would became part of the Core Four with Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. The kid who learned a lesson while painting a fence one morning in Puerto Rico worked to paint a memorable baseball picture in New York. He was tough, stubborn and passionate. He was worth watching.

Follow Jack Curry on Twitter: @JackCurryYES