Bruney rejoining the Yankees
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 23, 2007 
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Just confirmed that right-handed reliever Brian Bruney will rejoin the team for the Tigers series.
Bruney was optioned to Class AAA Scranton on Aug. 7. He appeared in four games there, none since Sunday. His line in those games: 6 5 4 4 2 5.
Bruney was 2-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 50 appearances for the Yankees. It was uncertain as of last night whose spot in the bullpen Bruney would be taking. My guess would be Sean Henn or Ron Villone.
Why are they bringing this fool up?? What’s wrong with Chris Britton?? Does Cash have rocks in his head?!
Bruney is great plus fastball good offspeed pitch and his control is better
Bruney was on a plane this morning to Detroit. At that time he didn’t know who he was replacing just that he was happy to be going back.
I’m happy to see Bruney back. He has never been hit hard, and when he’s on, he can be dominant. While the walks are bad, he doesn’t give up too many hits. Hopefully it’s Villone that’s gone, though neither he nor Henn should see any high-leverage situations regardless of who stays.
Who did Chris Britton kill?
How do you know that, Lynn?
This news is both disturbing and outrageous on so many levels.
This is absolutely ridiculous that the organization continues to ignore the grand admirable Chris GREAT Britton.
What has this man done to deserve this gross and despicable behavior from Brian Cashman?
What you ask? Just put up stellar numbers in the minors while having MLB East experience under his belt.
It is a crime that Chris GREAT Britton is still in the minors. 5 IP with the Yankees this year, 1 ER, and his reward? Get out of here ya punk! Your too good for this Yankee bullpen.
And no, Big Bad Brian Bruney does not have better control than Britton.
Seriously, what does this organization have against Chris Britton. There has to be a reason.
We’ve seen Bruney. Good stuff, can’t throw strikes. I’m betting we see more of the same.
Brittion was injuried this year might want to be sfe
Karstens was injured, he was recalled, as was Hughes.
Moose and Wang were injured earlier in the season.
I’m not buying that.
Dan–Britton is fine. The oblique strain is behind him and he just pitched 3 innings. I think he didn’t give up a run in those three innings. The man is dominating in the minors.
i said it might be y but also it could be that bruney had a below 1 era last year
whoa- From a mutual friend of his and mine.
Bruney can be a contributor IF he has his head on straight. His downfall is aiming for a spot instead of just throwing it. He beats himself up when something goes wrong instead of shaking it off. It is kind of puzzling why Britton continues to toil in the minors. He hasn’t been up since the White Sox series in early June, the game in which Matt DeSalvo didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning. Britton pitched three solid innings of relief and was shipped out of town.
Stupid Seattle. They don’t seem to bothered by that brutal 41 games in 42 days schedule.
With tonight’s loss by the Angels, the Mariners are tied in the loss column with them and only 1 game back in the division.
That means 6 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots. Angels/Mariners in the west, Cleveland/Detroit in the central, and Boston/Yankees in the east. Might go down to the last week.
What a friggin’ joke already! Britton was having an excellent season prior to his injury & he’s in a groove again, since his surgery. I don’t think they’re playing it safe because of the injury… on Tuesday, he struck out 2 and allowed 1 hit in THREE scoreless innings. There can’t possibly be a reasonable excuse for this. Even if he pissed someone off months ago, it is unfair to the team and the fans to hold him back and waste his talent in the middle of a tight pennant race. He is the best alternative the Yankees have to Bruney, Villone, and Henn. Dealing with difficult personalities is what Torre is usually good at and it’s why he makes the big bucks. He needs to get over it already!!!!
Bruney was getting rocked in the minors this move I don’t understand
They’re trying to raise Bruney’s value so they can package him with Farnsworth and maybe Igawa and make a trade.
I hope that Bruney is able to pitch well but I just can’t see it happening either. The best-case scenario is that he uses his demotion to Scranton as motivation and comes back with an extra bit of fire. The walks are the most troubling thing with Bruney. He makes Farnsworth look like Greg Maddux!
Brandon, You are correct. This seems more like a personality contest than a choice that will most benefit the team.
Disagree with the move. yes Bruney is better then villon or henn, but Britton should be the call up..
Britton is better then all of them….I have no idea why this guy cannot get a call up…..
Bruney is far from a strikethrower and is better then either guy he replaces but still stinks and cannot be trusted…
Brian Cashman: I got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you, I’ll even throw in Igawa, Farnsworth and Bruney. What d’ya’ say?
Theo Epstein: For Papelbon and Bucholz? You got a deal!!!
i was just in an in n out in mill valley california and i saw a guy with a ‘jew4jeter’ t-shirt.
i laughed
then ate a double double after saying ‘go yankees’ to the guy
The best part about traveling from Los Angeles to Detroit, as a sidenote, is it’s like Beverly Hills Cop…only backwards.
oh, hooray. bruney’s back.
looking forward to some more walk-strikeout-double-walk-flyout-single-walk-strikeout innings.
Kasey you are allowed to be negative about Bruney and his control he has earned it. you can also be negative about Kyle, villone, henn, and probably moose but that is it….
the rest of the team is actually good, we cannot even make fun of the bench anymore….Damn the team looks better then it did 6 weeks ago…..
Pete,
To stop all this posting we’ve been doing about Britton, while I agree completely…can you please direct a question to Torre either through yourself or somebody else as to why Britton has been neglected and left behind in the minors this whole season?
I know i don’t post here that often but read everyday and appreciate your work alot…maybe if nothing else, just your own personal opinion on the situation?
good suggestion stewman. maybe torre does not remember they have a fat righty who is pretty decent pitcher. lie to torre say he is 32 not 24 or so…
maybe put some grey in brittons hair so torre fels more comftorable with him!!!!
Bruney helps the pen marginally at best. he when right is better then the other schmos but he is right like 1 out of every 6 outings….
Just thought I’d let everyone know that apparently the Red Sox have optioned Lester to Double-A Portland. Jeez, the guy made a few starts and not even a Triple-A demotion? Boooooooo, I hope Tavarez is terrible. Demoting the one guy on the Red Sox even a Yankee fan can root for to Double A. Boooooo
He was demoted in order to call up Lopez, so the Sox have a lefty out of the pen (besides Okajima) for the White Sox/Yankees series. Apparently he’d only miss one start. He was demoted to AA rather than AAA because there was an open spot or something that would allow him to pitch on his normal rest and be back up the start after, whereas AAA already had someone starting that day.
i’ll take bruney over villone any day of the week .
Chris Britton will be brought up in September to be a valuable contributor in the bullpen and in the process, save wear and tear on Vizcaino’s arm.
this is still a roster upgrade if not the perfect one. henn is horrible.
i have zero facts to back up this statement, but i have read on various yankee sites that Britton did “something” in spring training to piss off Torre. no idea what that was, but it makes some sense as there is no other reason why he hasn’t gotten a chance.
Pete, any info on this?
Bruney is terrible. He doesn’t throw strikes.
He can’t be worse than Villone.
“Bruney is terrible. He doesn’t throw strikes.”
yes, but he’s not terrible though. he obviously has the ability to be good for stretches, it’s just a matter of which Bruney they get.
he’s pitched 63 innings for the Yankees with 57 K’s and a 2.57 era.
he’s not “terrible”. he is raw though, and loses his command easily. i don’t think that will get fixed this season, but i’m not against having him get some innings in games that aren’t so close.
if he pitches in those 8 run games instead of Vizcaino and Vizcaino can rest, he’ll be useful.
Exactly right. Someone has to spell the Viz from nonessential innings and Bruney is a good choice.
As to Britton, I agree that something must be going on given all the pitchers who have passed him on the way up. No idea what but it is beyond rational at this point.
hmmm – that’s interesting re: britton v. torre…let us know if you hear anything
The question arrises again….what did Chris Britton do to Joe Torre??? One must wonder. This grudge needs to end already!!!
FREE CHRIS BRITTON.
hmmmm
If you can’t throw strikes consistently, that makes you terrible.
bruney will be a mop up guy. Eat some innings.
He won’t ever pitch in a big spot.
HEy here is an idea……maybe that’s why you guys are posting on a blog and not a GM. Britton hasn’t been called up for a reason. Maybe it’s his injury from about a month ago or maybe his 88 MPH isn’t something they are looking for right now. I’ve seen him in Scranton and he has “HIT ME HARD” written all over his stuff. Yes I remember his call up and he did do well, but so did Clippard his first game against the Mets. Everyone thought Tyler was great, but he was just hurky jerky and the Mets had limited info on him. Lets just trust Cashman, as he DID hold on to Joba and the “Phenom” for us…
pretty interesting comments, hmmm.
the lack of bringing up britton has seriously been the biggest headscratching move (or non-move should i say) of the season.
wonder why no trades were made (ala raul modesi) if that was the case and he pissed torre off in the spring
why let talent just waste away in AAA?
What happened to Brett Smith.Going great guns at AA,then whammo, rehabbing at Tampa.Does anybody know what happened to him?A useful arm,if healthy for the future.
Yeah but JIm Britton, as a rookie last year threw 53.2IP 46H 4HR 17BB 41Ks with a 3.35ERA for the Orioles so you can’t say he has HIT ME HARD all over him if he in 50+IP he has proven to be able to throw the ball over the plate and get guys out.
Okay well I’ll go ahead and make a mark on how long it takes Bruney to walk in a run. I’ll put the over/under at four appearances.
Bruney was brought up so he can play BEAN BALL.
If you can’t throw strikes consistently, that makes you terrible.
really? i thought it was not having the ability to prevent runs from scoring, something Bruney has been “not terrible” at doing.
he’s raw. and he pitched terribly for a stretch. but i wouldn’t go so far as to say Brian Bruney is terrible.
I’ve always liked Bruney’s potential. He was great last year and if he rectified whatever mechanical problem he was having that prevented him from throwing strikes consistently, he’ll be a welcome addition to the pen.
I also hope the Yankees decide to call up Ohlendorf on Sept. 1. Supposedly after someone made an adjustment to his delivery at AAA, he’s been throwing a 97mph sinking fastball.
Let’s take 3 of 4 this weekend everyone. And please, Baseball God visit adversity on the Mariners. They’re really starting to unsettle me.
Worried about the Seattle Mariners? Why? Because they’ve won 14 of 18. That follows their seven game losing streak. Good team, hot streak, and had the good fortunate to face Texas with Weaver the day after Texas scored 39 runs.
Bruney throws gas. Remeber at the start of the season when everyone was gushing about all the heat the Yankees had out of the pen and how they were clearly one of the best bullpens in the league? Farnsworth at 100mph, Proctor at 96mph, Bruney at 98mph. I still hear analysts saying its the hardthrowing strike out guys in the pen that win you championships. That of course was before we saw that none of them could throw strikes consistently. If we can catch Bruney on a hot streak he will be valuable. In seven days anyone who has a remote chance of helping the team will be up.
You can throw all the gas you want. If you can’t throw it over the plate, which he can’t, you are useless to this team. The guy is walking almost a batter an inning in his last two months of work for the Yankees. That’s awful.
All season, they have made merit promotions. Britton has pitched better than Bruney, even in Bruney’s stay in AAA, yet doesn’t get the call.
Tells me, its one of two things. He is in the doghouse or he is hurt more than they are letting on.
The only value Bruney has is pitching in blowout games. That’s only if he throws the ball over the plate. If he can’t, its another wasted body in the bullpen. Something they don’t need the last 6 weeks of the season.
I would be interested in the backstory between Britton and the Yankees. You know it has to be something because its odd he hasn’t gotten the call.
My thinking is that this is a one-week patch since they can call up more beginning Sept 1. My guess is that they feel Bruney is more of a known quantity under pressure based on his performance last yr than Britton. This isnt to say Bruney is better or will be like last yr just trying to analyze what the reasoning is.
I hope its Villone that goes. I felt they should have kept Myers and not Villone. Myers at least got out righties and could and did pitch 2 and on occasion 3 innings and can pitch a few days in a row since his style doesnt stress his arm.
My guess is that Henn will stay until they have a better option for long man (Igawa?, Karstens?).
I know!!!!There is nothing wrong with Britton. I would love to know why the Yankees don’t give him his fair chance. I guess when you DO the job of a pitcher and throw strikes it dosn’t matter, for this team…….
They could be waiting until 9/1. However, Britton pitched better than Bruney last year when he was with the Orioles. He pitched in bigger spots with more success. He’s had a good year in AAA.
I know the Yankees aren’t happy with his weight. Fat and all, he still has pitched better than Bruney.
Let’s be honest, Bruney isn’t exactly Edwar Ramirez, from a fitness standpoint, either.
Its not the end of the world, neither guy is going to decide the race, but it would interesting to know the backstory on this because its a strange deal.
Bruney is pitching to a 6.00 ERA in Triple A and the Yankees still call him up over Chris Britton? Why the lack of interest in bringing Britton up to see what he can do?
Britton, 4-2, 2.41era, 57Ks in 56 IP, 1.13WHIP
Bruney, 2-0, 6.00era, 4ER in 6IP. How the hell did he win two games in relief down there with that pitching record?
I don’t think Bruney should be up either, but I better quit wondering because JIm might make another speech about why none of us is the GM. JIm, I don’t think you’re the GM either.
Britton not getting called up is just as frustrating to him as it is to us. Maybe the problem is he isn’t a squeaky wheel and he does what he needs to without much fanfare. In any event, I wouldn’t want to p*ss him off. You may refer to him as “fat”, but he’s a big, solid – and menacing – athletic presence. And by the way, the last game he pitched Wednesday night — he was called in with the bases loaded and no outs. He was flawless. He effortlessly killed that inning and 2 more behind it.