No time for Yanks to panic pitch, or is it?

No time for Yanks to panic pitch, or is it?

Brian Blanco/EPA

Hiroki Kuroda allows six runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings in an 8-6 loss to the Rays on Saturday.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Last winter, when the Yankees grabbed two starters on the same day by trading for Michael Pineda and signing free agent Hiroki Kuroda, it appeared they had addressed the leaks in their rotation with a pair of bold moves. Yankee bigwigs were thrilled; folks in baseball generally offered praise.

But Pinedas prized velocity fizzled and he was hurt in spring training and who knows when hell be back. Kuroda got clobbered Saturday night by the Rays in his pinstriped debut, allowing six runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings in an 8-6 loss to the Rays.

Lets just say that those two marquee additions arent off to the best of starts and neither are the 0-2 Yankees.

Small sample size? Sure, tiny. In fact, we urge you not to freak out, Yankee fans. You, too, Yankee executives, not always the most patient of creatures, though certainly better in recent years.

Leave the hand-wringing to us sportswriters. Well mention how much the Yankees could use a steady, reliable No. 2 starter behind ace CC Sabathia, exactly what they didnt get from A.J. Burnett, an agita machine the last two years. The Yanks are hoping Kuroda is the anti-A.J., but he wasnt Saturday night.

Well also point out that Sabathias sub-par outing in the opener plus Kurodas start plus consecutive losses to the scrappy, excellent Rays adds pressure to the outings of the two youngsters in the Yankee rotation Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova. Yes, its onl y April, but Hughes is trying to resuscitate his potential as an elite starter and Nova, while coming off a wonderful 2011 season, had a poor spring. Both are in a fishbowl as their season debuts loom, particularly Hughes on Sunday as he tries to prevent an 0-3 start.

We have a long, long ways to go, Joe Girardi said. If, at any point during the course of the season you make too much of two games, youre going to wear yourself out.

Now, no one is saying Saturday night means Kuroda is The Second Coming of Kei Igawa or anything. He built a solid resume over four seasons with the Dodgers, going 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA. Last season, he had a 3.07 ERA and threw 202 innings and the Yankees would be thrilled if he duplicated those numbers.

But Kuroda was pitching in the softer National League West with the Dodgers and the AL East certainly seems brawnier on paper. There are no gimme outs when you pitch to a designated hitter instead of a fellow pitcher, a point Tampa Bay DH Luke Scott made abundantly clear by ripping three hits off Kuroda. But Kuroda has seemed eager for the challenge, which is at least the right mindset.