The 8th inning issue coming to a head?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 24, 2008 
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Joba Chamberlain was moved out of the 8th inning role on May 21 when he went two innings. Here is what Kyle Farnsworth has done since:
14 appearances
14 innings
17 hits
7 runs
7 earned runs
5 walks
12 strikeouts
4 home runs
4.50 ERA
Opponent BA: .327
Opponent OPS: 1.032
1.032? While Joe Girardi’s ability to show blind faith in his charges is … admirable? … the Yankees clearly can’t play the second half the season with a set-up man who gives up a run every other time he pitches.
There are assorted candidates out there to be the set-up man (Veras, Melancon, Robertson, McCutchen, etc.) and maybe one of them will work out. But at some point the Yankees have to admit to the truth, no?
Isn’t Farnsworthless injured? Won’t that solve our problem at least for the short term?
Pete, you’re talking about a team that thought signing Kei Igawa was a good decision.
You almost wonder if Farnsworth has something on Girardi or Cashman.
I can deal much better with Farnsworth pitching earlier, but as the 8th inning guy, you hold your breath hoping he doesn’t lose the game.
Rebecca, at the time Kei Igawa seemed like a perfectly fine acquisition. You can’t just know he wouldn’t work out.
Maybe just maybe they keep talking good about Kyle in hopes of trading him? Are they supposed to say he is garbage and we don’t trust him to pitch the 8th?
It’s time to give David Robertson a chance in big league pen and to promote Melancon to AAA to fill his spot. Both of these guys have shown they can consistently succeed at their current levels and I just don’t see what’s left for them to prove in AAA and AA, respectively.
Yanks called up Justin Christian for tonight’s game. Good for him.
Bringing up Justin Christian makes sense :
Last Ten For Christian :
BA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI W K S CS
Totals .429 42 12 18 4 0 1 7 3 3 7 0
Season :
.309 191 35 59 14 1 4 39 87 15 26 18 3
He is a speed guy, a righty, and acts as a 4th OF if Hideki’s knee is still balky.
Jennifer, they already had the chance to trade Farnsy adn they blew it.
“Yanks called up Justin Christian for tonight’s game. Good for him.”
Thank you… just out of curiosity where did you hear this from?
igawa lead his league in strikeouts before the Yankees bid. They had not assumed that his stuff would not translate
27: ’twas a joke.
Aero, that makes me think that they didn’t call him up for Melky, but for Matsui, who must be hurt a lot more than anyone wants to admit.
Pete,
Let’s look at the bright side. He has a 2.4:1 k/bb ratio.
I think Hawkins is gone as soon as Cox is deemed healthy enough for a call up. Farnsworth will probably be gone after the all-star break.
One thing for certain though the Yankees bullpen looks poised to be very strong after they revamp it.
Interesing move if that is true…
Why call up Christian and not give Gardner a shot at the roll everyone says he projects as…
“Why call up Christian and not give Gardner a shot at the roll everyone says he projects as…”
they want him to continue to get regular ABs so they dont stunt his development by sitting on the MLB bench.
Christian is a couple years older, and isnt seen as a true prospect much anymore. he can be used sparingly, off the bench to pinch run or play defense late, and they arent going to worry about ruining his value because he’s not getting regular playing time.
he’s also a RH bat, which provides a contrast to Melky… if Christian can prove he can hit, they might slide into a platoon situation in CF, because Melky is a decent lefty bat, but is atrocious from the right side… Gardner is a lefty, too, so while he hits lefties well, he doesnt match well in a platoon situation with Melky, both being strong from the left side.
King from the Post’s blog…
Might have something to do with I think Christian already has MLB service time? Or am I wrong on that?
The info on the Christian move was posted on a NY Post blog that a commenter made reference to over at RAB. Pete, any idea who he is replacing?
I think Cash realizes we need speed and everyone wants Gardner. Christian is the next best thing and he is right handed and he is not going to turn into an everyday player so we aren’t sacrificing development for Gardner
I was one of the last ones, but I jumped off this bandwagon a long time ago
using the farns as a set up man is sofa king wee todd ed. Lets hope Girardi has learned that he cant be used there.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports.....an_ca.html
Any move for a minor leaguer is exciting. I hope Christian gets some time in this series.
Thank you CJ
Understood on not wanting to stunt Gardner.
It was my belief that they were both hot with the bat right now… and they both are burners on the bases. I figure this is only a week long stint so he can pinch-run through the weekend DH with the Mets – I expect to see Christian as a PR in the 5th/6th inning for the pitcher before another Wang incident happens.
Christian is a LF, and a RH bat. He also provides speed, something the Yanks could use. Christian will be used as a PR, and an occasional start to rest Damon or Melky. I see him batting in the 8th hole with Melky 9th.
Also is good insurance in case Hideki’s knee keeps barking, especially since we face a few lefties coming up.
I don’t know why Hawkins wasn’t DFA’d 3 weeks ago. He is worthless. Get rid of him and call up Robertson. Traber is horrible too but at least I understand why they are giving him a second shot. Farnsworth needs to be DFA’d too because I don’t think the Yanks will get anything in a trade for him.
Well, it’s a good thing that the 8th inning setup guy isn’t that important as has been pointed out by yourself and other posters here.
And it’s pretty obvious that Cashman or whoever was in charge of the “plan” felt the same way.
Unless the just release Farnsworth, I think he is on the team for the season. His performance and contact effectively make him un-tradable.
A LF? You all don’t think they’re going to dl Matsui, do you?
I see the Farnsworth injury as an opening to see what Robertson can do at the MLB level. time to call him up and see what he can do.
Id slide Veras into the 8th, and let Robertson work his way thru middle relief first, like they did with Joba.
No, it is just that if Matsui can’t play the OF, we have no other backups.
“A LF? You all don’t think they’re going to dl Matsui, do you?”
he actually can play all 3 OF positions…
I would say Traber is going back down to Scranton for Christian…
The only thing about Robertson is his walk rate. In the minors, he never gets in trouble from them but in the majors, that many free passes is really not going to work.
The Justin Christian is a great one. He should start a game to give Melky a rest.. Melky is after all in a 2 month slump.
er… The Justin Christian *call up* is a great one
“at the time Kei Igawa seemed like a perfectly fine acquisition. You can’t just know he wouldn’t work out.”
At the time of the transaction, I posted:
“I’ve never posted on this LoHud Yankee blog before and I won’t again for quite a while, but I wanted to post here today and say that I think this Igawa signing will be a disaster.
I’ve broken down Kei’s numbers and peripherals I think he’ll be a complete bust as a Yankee. My gut tells me that he’ll exceed at the AAA level and will fool us several times into thinking that he’s found his stuff and he’ll end up getting more looks than his ML performances will warrant.
Eventually he’ll just end up being a bad joke and we’ll mock him for wearing dark sunglasses and not understanding his own deficiencies. Mark my words.”
Was I wrong?
If they send Traber down while Farnsworth can’t pitch, then we’re short at least two pitchers. I highly doubt they do that.
Hawkins is a much bigger disappointment than Farnsworth — i think we all have come to realize taht youll get a great outting from Kyle followed by one that is absolutely awful.
Hawkins came off a great year, and has done absolutely nothing. He is hardly used. I’m suprised he hasnt drawn more innings given how badly farnsworth has been lately, but I guess Girardi hasn’t the faith.
remember… Hawkins was once tried as a closer in like 3 different cities, and never had the make up for it.
too bad… seems like a nice guy.
and remember we have a double header this week so we need all the pitchers we can get
Nick, do you have a link to that?
Right now, without Christian, we have three people capable of playing the OF. Matsui can’t play OF, so Christian is up as a 4th OF
lineups from Ed Price:
The lineup:
Cabrera cf
Jeter ss
Abreu rf
Rodriguez 3b
Giambi 1b
Posada c
Cano 2b
Christian lf
Rasner p.
Tough call here. I think moving Joba was definitely the right move (especially now that Wang is hurt).
Why not rank the possible successors to the eighth inning, and give each a chance until they prove unworthy? The only was to find out is capable to give someone the load and see if they can carry it.
In the end giving up a run every other inning is not good, but he is rather consistent in only giving the runs via homeruns. That means that if that if it is a two or three run game then you do not have as much to worry about with Farnsworth completely imploding (provided he does not load up the bases and then give up to the shot – though, it seems to be the first batter that usually goes yard). Instead he will give a dinger and strike out the side somehow.
Who are the pitchers on the doubleheader, we need guys that can go deep, we can’t risk short starts, we need a long reliever for that day just in case we need three or four innings eaten.
Chad Jennings is always great – but he just put up a fantastic blog post about Brian Cashman addressing the Scranton Chamber of Commerce last night. Another reporter covered the event and gave jennings an update.
Jennings said that last night Cashman confirmed that Hank had asked him to open up negotiations on a new contract during the draft. Cashman had said something like that on the radio but this seems more definitive.
In addition there’s a lot of interesting bits on the direction of the franchise:
“Cashman said that he was angry in 2005. “We got away from building from within,” he said. “There were a lot of players who wound up on our roster who I wasn’t in favor of. A lot of fighting between the cities (Tampa and New York).” The Yankees got off to a bad start that season, and Cashman told Steinbrenner he’d fix it, but he wanted to do it his way — “I needed to listen to one person, not 10 at once.”
That was the year he promoted Wang and Cano at the same time, claimed Al Leiter, brought up Aaron Small, etc., and they made the playoffs. “At the end of the year,” Cashman said. “I told the Boss I was done.”
He said the draft picks were gone, they were 24th of 30 clubs in quality of the minor league system and that “this all-veteran thing was not going to work. We were headed back to where we were in the ’80s.”
“I honestly didn’t think he was going to listen to me. Why would he? He hadn’t the last few years.”"
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....isten.aspx
“Hawkins is a much bigger disappointment than Farnsworth”
but i dont think Hawkins came with many expectations…
he was brought in just a veteran on a 1 year deal to build the bridge to the young relievers when/if they were ready. Hawkins wasnt going to be the setup man on this team, but a player who’s been there before, and was durable enough that he could eat innings for the bullpen… and was expendable once the kids were ready.
If neither Farnsworth or Matsui are not going on the DL, you wonder if Moeller is the one to leave.
Moeller’s done a good job and will surely be picked up by someone on the waiver wire.
If George King’s report is correct, and I always hesitate to believe anything he says until someone else confirms it, Christian is only in the bigs because he’s a right-handed bat with some speed for pinch-running.
He might get sent back down next week when the interleague schedule is over and they don’t have to worry about playing in NL yards.
Christian is probably not going to platoon with Melky. Sadly, I think the front office is blind to the fact that Melky is a fourth outfielder who happens to play every day.
“Well, it’s a good thing that the 8th inning setup guy isn’t that important as has been pointed out by yourself and other posters here.”
Nobody is saying that the 8th inning role isn’t important.
What everyone is saying is that having Joba specifically for the 8th inning is a waste of his talents.
It would be akin to having A-Rod as your 9th inning pinch hitter.
But I thought Farnsworth was doing a great job since Joba was moved to the rotation. At least that’s what Kay is feeding us.
Maybe they keep Kyle around so if the team ever gets stranded in the woods, he’ll be able to hunt and kill some deer for them so they won’t starve.
Rebecca, unfortuntately my dog ate the link to that prescient blog post just as I was going to provide it. So you’ll have to take my word on it.
Bad dog! Bad!
According to thebaseballcube.com Justin Christian had 183 errors his first year in pro ball. (probably a mistake)
Love the Justin Christian move. JC is the fastest baseball player I’ve ever seen. He is that guy off the bench we’ve been looking for all year, and he should provide more pop than our current bench provides.
Any word on who got sent down?
If Christian is called up the major league team will have two players on it who came from the independent league.
Who would have ever thought the yankees – the $200M team – would have one player, never mind two from the independent league.
In addition to Ramirez and Christianson, Patterson has been with the big league club and is also from the independent league.
And sometimes after the break we may see Aceves called up – he was just in the Mexican league.
This team obviously has resources no team can match – but they’ve also started looking for talent in every possible area.
Any team could have signed Ramirez. He’s been a valuable piece to the pen. Hopefully Christianson can fill a need.
He’s just about as fast as Gardner and is right handed. He’s a guy you can call up and not worry about his development.
Hawkins is only a disappointment because of his solid year he had last year in…COLORADO.
Might have led some to believe he had figured it out.
But he didnt have the control this year and fizzled out of favor.
I only say he is a bigger disappointment because I think we’ve all come to know Farnsworth after the last 3 years… the ‘disappointment’ there was gone a while ago along with Pavano’s. We’re all used to it now and are just hoping that he can give something productive with the good stuff he has.
farnsworthless. perfect name.
No corresponding move has been announced yet, Stefan. I’m sure we’ll find out close to game time.
no word yet on who got sent down
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde.....p_ion.html
Admit the truth? The Yankees still think Pavano’s going to come back and pitch shutouts in September.
Why isn’t Pete reporting any of this?
Yanks have skated on the 8th inning thing so far because they’ve not lost a game due to some 8th inning follies since Joba began the conversion.
I think the call up has more to do with Matsui not able to play the field than anything else. They want to give Damon a day and with no DH over the next bunch of games they need someone to play the field and the RH bat surely does help
Does anyone know if Christian is good defensively? Does he have an arm?
CB – JC is actually FASTER than Gardner, believe it or not. But Gardner has slightly better baserunning and fielding instincts, so that evens it out.
Bill Mazeroski(the Pirate who hit the walk off grand slam against the Yankees in the world series many years back) is throwing the first pitch tonight.
Gardner is the “chosen one”. How could the Yankees not call him up? He is the fastest player to ever play the game. He has the eyes of a hawk. He can track down every ball hit to the outfield. When he gets called up, he will easily hit .730. He only strikes out a lot to make the game fair for the other team.
“Nobody is saying that the 8th inning role isn’t important.
What everyone is saying is that having Joba specifically for the 8th inning is a waste of his talents.
It would be akin to having A-Rod as your 9th inning pinch hitter.”
Now the arguments change.. I love it.
This is the only thing I have a real problem with regarding Girardi. It was one thing at the beginbning of the season to say he had faith in Farnsworth turning things around. Fine – give him a chance to prove the doubters wrong. But when you’re nearly halfway through the season and he has done nothing to justify that faith, it’s time to cut the crap. Joe G is only shotting himself in the foot at this point to continue to put Krazy Kyle into an important role.
CB: Interesting stuff from Cashman.
If Price’s line up is correct, why no Johnny D? Just a day off?
Pete, man, what’s going on?
“Admit the truth? The Yankees still think Pavano’s going to come back and pitch shutouts in September.”
Really? Where has anybody from the Yankees organization said that?
Farnsworth isn’t locked in stone as the 8th inning man. We don’t have any one guy who’s going to be a set-up man like Joba, we’re just pitching a combination of Veras, Farnsworth and Edwar in the 8th inning and so far it’s worked out pretty well. And there’s no reason to trade for an 8th inning man when we have 3 minor leaguers in the farm who are absolutely dominating opposing hitters and can be called up at any time. Oh, and don’t forget Bruney. All in all I feel pretty good about our bullpen this year. Compared to the bullpen last year at this point it’s like a field of flowers.
Veras has been a bit wild but has still pitched better than Krazy Kyle. I say give him the 8th see how he does and stick Farnsy in the 7th if it doesn’t pan out bring up Melancon in a few weeks.
JC’s wife just confirmed the move. Christian is getting called up.
I got connections
rebecca I would imagine just a day off he has played in a bunch of games in a row and want to keep him fresh and with the call up as well as the DH not in affect this gives him the opportunity
“I’ve broken down Kei’s numbers and peripherals”
nick in sf-
good prediction on igawa, but i thought you said you weren’t sabermetrically inclined. who but the sabermetrically fluent uses ” peripherals”?
busted! lol
CB and Gayle: Sounds reasonable.
Of course, Christian’s hitting 8th, not 9th
“Now the arguments change.. I love it.”
When have the arguments changed? That’s always been my contention and most of the people who want Joba to start feel the same way.
Every inning a pitcher pitches is important.
Which is why the more innings your better pitchers pitch the more valuable they are.
For some reason people tend to think the 8th inning is some sort of a mystical inning that only Joba Chamberlain can pitch.
I know Joba hasn’t won a game as a starter yet, but have you seen his starts? Have you noticed how few runs he’s given up in those starts?
Think about it, if Joba starts two games in a week and pitches 14 innings given up only 2 runs isn’t that greater than him pitching three 1 inning stints in a week?
CB, you meant hitting 8th, in front of Rasner.
Eugie, the important thing here is that you’ve come to your senses and admitted you were wrong about wanting to keep Joba shackled to the 8th inning. I applaud your intellectual honesty.
Edwar should be on setup list
Does anyone else think if/when Pavano comes back in September Girardi should leave him out there for all nine inning even if he throws 500 pitches so that the yankee fans can boo him all game and he can injure his arm so bad no team in the future will want him either? Thats what i would do, but hey, i’m vengeful!
Farnsworth said this happened before and he didn’t miss any games (factor in that he needs a few days in between appearances lol).
He was also a little perturbed that the fans were cheering for Griffey, Jr.
Rasner better be on his game with that lineup.
I think the yankees really feel that the reason why matsui, damon and giambi are all having such good seasons at the plate is the fact that they are able to rotate playing on the field and are getting fairly regular days off.
Health has been an issue for all three over the past few years.
Damon has been just about as good against lefties as he has been against righties so far this year (.287 .349 .404 .754 lefty; .290 .356 .447 .803). Much better than Melky against lefties so I think his day off today is as much to give him some rest as it is the left hander pitching.
As stefan said – Christianson is extraordinarily fast. He has elite speed. Not sure if he’ll hit in the majors but he’s got speed to match the very fastest players in the majors.
randy l, the peripheral I was referring to was the secret reason Igawa wears those shades: he doesn’t want anyone to see him cry.
IMO, Farns remains in the mix until someone (or “someones”) can step up and be a reliable “bridge” to Mo. Knowing that Bruney is coming back is nice, but waiting for him to return is not an answer. (Besides, who knows what he will be like after this lay off. Hope it’s still all good with him).
Theoretically they could solve the problem with a trade, but at what cost? Reliable 8th inning guys don’t grow on trees – they will be extremely expensive. Looks like a problem they will solve from within and Farns will likely stay with the team as part of a 7th/8th inning mix and match.
CB, thanks for the great link. I never would have thought I’d find myself sorry not to have been in Scranton.
“Of course, Christian’s hitting 8th, not 9th”
Damn national league! I was trying to exorcise the memories of Wang running the bases.
tonight’s lineup scares me alot.
Arrgghh…Cabrera leading off? He can’t hit!!! He should never be batting leadoff. Stupid move by Girardi. Damon I guess needs a day off and Matsui isn’t good enough to play the field. This lineup should score 2 runs tonight. When are the Yanks finally going to give someone else the chance to play CF? Melky is a 4th outfielder, he can’t hit major league pitching!!!
“When have the arguments changed? That’s always been my contention and most of the people who want Joba to start feel the same way. ”
Right. Not too long ago it was “Oh, what’s the point of having him down there if he’s never used”.
Well it’s a great thing he’s being used now… once a week.. for 5 innings… instead of in games decided by 3 or less runs but we have Farnsworth for that! He’s done a great job so far… for the other teams.
“Think about it, if Joba starts two games in a week and pitches 14 innings given up only 2 runs isn’t that greater than him pitching three 1 inning stints in a week?”
Of course because the great Farnsworth will be in those 3 1 inning stints that are decided by 3 or less runs. But hey, 1 possible win is much more important than 3 probable wins.
Is Chris Britton a figment of my imagination. Does he even exist? I swear I thought I saw a guy called that who was pretty good a few times.
Maybe he’s invisible.
He must be. Because surely, NO-ONE, would be stupid enough to put Farnsworth or Hawkins on a mound if they knew there was a better guy sitting on the bench. Surely that would never happen?
Girardi… not so impressive so far.
Its seems like Pete wants to have his cake and eat it too. He was right that Joba should be starting and is more valuable as a starting pitcher than as a reliever. It was right then and is right now regardless of how farnsworth is pitching. He did say though that the 8th inning is not as important as people make it out to be and lots of people could pitch in the 8th inning. I still agree with that.
I don’t see why there needs to be one 8th inning set up guy. It can be filled by committee. Its not just Farnsworth who has been pitching the 8th. Veras has been getting a lot of calls in that situation and others will surely be added to the mix. We’ve been spoiled over the years by having a lot of guys with closer quality stuff in that role, Mariano/Gordon/Joba. Farnsworth was supposed to be of that quality. He didn’t just come to us with a 100 MPH fastball and no record of success. The previous year, he had pitched with an ERA in the low 2s, over 1 K/IP, a HWIP of barely 1, and 16 saves. A lot of teams were looking at him as a closer.
Yes, we overpaid for him and no he’s not very consistent. He has had some streaks where he’s been very effective though. Luis Vizcaino had streaks last year where he was awful (beginning of the season) and where he was virtually unhittable (towards the end of the season). This is more the norm for non-closers. You try to staff the bullpen with quality arms and ride the hot ones in close games.
We’ll find someone who will pitch better than Farnsworth in the 2nd half and use Farnsworth less in key situations. We probably won’t find someone as good as Joba. But that’s ok, you can’t argue that Joba is underutilized in the setup role and then expect someone to step up and be just as reliable as he is. Its just not going to happen.
Per CBSSports…..Traber down, Christian up.
yawn….pete bashing farnsworth again…rinse and than repeat…yawn
how many 8th inning leads has farnsworth blown since he became the 8th inning guy?
CB -
Thanks for the link to Jennings’ article on Cashman.
SJ44 -
I guess it was in the last thread, but I have to agree about ARod’s being a better ballplayer since he relaxed a bit. My husband and I were commenting on it just the other night – ARod is almost always smiling, laughing, gabbing someone’s ear off on the bench. It is delightful to see. And of course, it doesn’t improve his inate talent, but it makes him better in an all-around, “intangible” way.
I suppose the Farnsworth situation is going to sort itself out. Perhaps if he misses a few games here due to his stitches, the rest of the pen can really step up, really turn it on, and then Kyle won’t necessarily be the ‘go-to’ guy anymore. As bad as his numbers are, though, how many games has he actually cost the Yankees? I don’t think it’s a big number – I actually think it’s rather small. but if you ask what the agita quotient is when he comes into a game, well, then, that’s altogether different.
After hearing so many people speak (write) about what a great stadium PNC Park is in Pittsburgh, I’m sorry I didn’t include that city on our summer vacation. Maybe there’s still a way we can swing by on our way home, if the Pirates are home, and take in a game there. The last time we saw a game in Pittsburgh, it was Three Rivers Stadium, and it was about 19 years ago. Phew, time sure does fly! But at the time, we sat in one of the enclosed corporate boxes, so that was cool. We loved Pittsburgh as a city, though, and were fortunate enough to be with natives of the city.
Lots of good information and discussion here today, by the way. Thanks, everyone.
Girardi, and most other managers, find it very hard to give up on a guy that throws in the high 90s and has a decent slider. Location and movement (or lack thereof)is why Farnsy is so inconsistent. He reminds me of Mark Wohlers – post-1996 World Series.
There are better options for Setup on this Team and Girardi needs to phase Kyle out.
Any idea what the plan with Melancon is innings wise? He’s already at 54 coming off TJS. Robertson isn’t far behind but nothing holding him back. Robertson had to impress Cash with more scoreless innings last night. Hawkins needs to be DFA. He can’t had any trade value any more, even in the NL.
Very excited about Christian
Now I just want to see Robertson replace Hawkins or Farnsworth and Melancon called up to AAA.
And after a few weeks of recovery, I’m guessing we see Cox before the deadline to see how he does. He provides a different look for the pen – more of a sinker/slider guy, and has loads of successful experience in high pressure situations (he closed what, 2 college world series??).
Pete — Farnsworth has given up alot of solo homers in the eighth when the Yanks were ahead by several runs. I suspect he’s under instructions not to walk anyone under those circumstances so he errs a bit on the side of using too much of the plate and risking the occasional homer in order to get three outs without too much damage done. I think that’s called pitching to the scoreboard and I recall Jim Kaat saying that he used to do that alot during his career.
Regarding Christian and Gardiner, I wonder if Cash doesn’t want to add Gardiner to the 40-man roster right now as he has alot of wheeling and dealing up his sleeve and might need to take that extra outfielder off again. I would doubt too many teams would claim Christian on waivers so he could be sent back to Scranton easily enough.
Keep up the great work!
Kyle Farnsworth’s last 5 appearances:
5IP 3H 1ER 1BB 5K
at least he’s pitched alright in the past couple weeks.
Farnsy needs to stay around to provide protection for Cox off the field once he arrives:)
Unless we can acquire Marte from Pitt or Fuentes from Rox as 8th inning for BP, time to give Robertson, Cox, et all a shot at it. They could hardly do worse than Hawkins and Farnsworth (and get paid a lot less). If Hawkins and Farnsworth can’t be traded, it’s time to DFA them.
Brian
SoCalYankeeFan
By the 4th of July you will see both Fuentes and BJ Ryan pitching out of the Yankees bullpen. Book it!!!
JP won’t trade Ryan within the division to Cash. Ryan is another TJS waiting to happen.
Other then Mo, Chris has the best numbers; 1.29 ERA, 318 ERA+, Ramzy is 2nd with 2.74 ERA, and 149 ERA+. As bad as Farnzy pitches he hasn’t lost many games for us also, he has been used in the 6-7-8-9th innings depending on the situation. Bring up Robertson, he is ready and willing to try an plug the lack of good arms in the BP. I take that back…we have good arms, some (KK) can’t seem to get the job done.
Stefan@3:42,
Sorry but Justin is not faster then Brett, nor is he the base runner that Brett is. Brett is a bit like Jeter, meaning; he has instincts for the game that many ball players wish they had. I have been watching these guys for a while now, and that is my take on the two players. 27/08?
Working backwards.
Britton has (in minimal action) good numbers – but is on the DL.
B J Ryan is just back from TJ surgery.
Not crazy about Kyle, but he hasn’t blown a lead since Joba went into the rotation – but did lose a tied game. And Boston Dave points out that lately since his 5 days off with a sore biceps (?) he’s done well – even saved a 1 run lead.
Cox is just off the AAA DL – and is a contact pitcher scouts haven’t raved about this season either. And are we sure that swing & miss curve in the minors for Robertson won’t become a take & miss the zone curve in the majors, resulting in 6 or 7 BB/9, not just 4/9? Remember how we all just loved Bruney’s lack of control with the K’s?
The call up of Christian takes the roster spot freed by White’s outright that could have been used for Ponson. Could this mean no Ponson on Friday? Plenty of 60 DL candidates though. Also only 11 pitchers now with a DH and #5 & #6 starters coming Friday. Christian or AG back down or Moeller DFA’d?
I will not go on record like some and say Joba needs to go back to the bullpen. We’ve seen what he can do as a starter, and with the injuries and inconsistencies, he is most valuable there. Frankly, as Peter mentioned, when will it be time the Yankees just give up on Farnsworth (I dont know why they’ve waited this long)? The guy gives up a run every time he pitches (it seems), or at least gets in trouble, without fail. I’d give a rookie a shot…Melancon.
stop mentioning mccutchen. he is a terrible and will never make it to the majors.
Yankees club as a whole is not a ordinary club. They are willing to pay 3 or 4 millions a year for mop up guys like Farnsworth and Hawkin, but unwilling to settle 0.6 million a year for a guy who won them 19 wins 2 years in a row.
Yankees club as a whole is not a ordinary club. The owner of the Yankees actually thinks he could boost the players, pitchers and hitters,by calling them a bunch of over paid guys that are not producing, and, able to not only get away with it but won the praise from NY media and Yankees fans.
And they have been in the playoff baseball for a decade and counting.
People often, not always, get to be like one another when they live together long enough. I guess the word, show, is imbedded in the Yankees nowadays. People are willing to flow their adrenaline like a roller coaster when they go to the Broadway watching a good show. And, that’s exactly what Yankees do these past 3 years.
Something always happened to the pitching staffs in the early season (Brown in 2005, Pavano in 2006, Kei Ingwa, no injury but just sucks, in 2007, and Wang in 2008), but season always get saved with emergent of some nobody people don’t know before the season started (Small and Chacon in 2005, Wang in 2006, and Joba in 2007.) I wonder who will show up in 2008.
I thought Rasner is one good candidate, as Peter Abraham pointed out that he is likely a replica of Small in 2005. But, after tonight, he is more of a replica of Small in 2005 with a much shorter duration.
I sincerely hope that he could prove me wrong, sooner rather than later.
I wonder if Pete has anybody (a pitcher, throgh trade or minor league) in mind that would be a candidate in 2008.
Oh, Joba in 2008 again?
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