The Proctor Is In

The Yankee brass are tossing around the idea of turning Scott Proctor into a SP in 2007. I'm not sold on this line of thinking as I've never been a huge Proctor fan.
From Newsday: "We'll probably have him proceed and prepare as a starter, because you can always go the other way, slide him down and reduce his workload. But it's hard to go the other way," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said yesterday as the general managers' meetings concluded. "But that's for another day."
The starting rotation has a lot of questions and I can understand that the Yankees want to prepare Proctor for this role if other avenues turn out to be dead ends. But let's not commit to this idea just yet. Like I mentioned, I'm not a Proctor guy. He's too inconsistent, which is sad because he was one of the Yankees' better relievers in 2006. But if you watched most of the games, you know what I'm talking about. You didn't know if Proctor was going to come in and get the big out or if he was going to give up a game changing HR. I can't remember the exact stat they flashed about Proctor during the broadcast of a Yankee game on YES, but it was something along the lines of he had given up 7 or so HRs after the 7th inning. I don't remember it exactly and I don't remember if they said anything about him leading the majors in that category. If anybody knows, lend it to this conversation. At times he was solid and dependable. At times you weren't really sure what you were going to get.
Proctor in my opinion is better suited for the relief role. He was a horse last year, appearing in a league-high 83 games and throwing in 100-plus innings. That's a lot to replace, especially when the bullpen is shaky as it is. I understand part of Cashman's job is trying to cut the payroll. The Yankees have being losing money the last few years, in large part to the $200+ million they pay in salaries. This might be a reason why they'd want to promote from within. The Yankees have in-house options I'd rather see them take such as Karstens and Rasner, or even Hughes and Sanchez if they feel they're ready. Taking Proctor out of the pen is going to make the bridge to Mariano a lot harder to cross. I really hope the Yankees aren't planning on making Tanyon Sturtze that guy. I don't trust him and would be happy if he got shipped out somewhere.
Proctor in all likelihood would end up being like Jaret Wright. Inconsistent and you'll be lucky if you get more than 5 innings. The Yankees had Jaret Wright, and not many of us liked him. Do we really need another Jaret Wright? It doesn't make much sense to move another Wright-like pitcher into that role. It's purely a cost savings move and I don't think it puts the Yankees in a better position to win.
I'd like to see this turn out to be nothing more than a contingency plan. If all else fails, turn to this option. If Proctor does get the call, I hope I'm wrong and he's lights out. Cashman knows what he's doing and his recent moves have me excited, but this move is better left as a plan B or C.
Peace, love and Pinstripes. Go Wolverines.
J