Building a bullpen
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Blogroll on Jan 13, 2010 
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Kiko Calero had a 1.95 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP through 67 appearances last season. Chad Bradford missed much of the year with injuries, but was healthy for the final month and a half and has only twice in the past 10 years finished with an ERA in the 4.00s. Jose Valverde had a 2.33 ERA last season and led the National League in saves the previous two seasons.
All three are still free agents. So are Octavio Dotel, Kevin Gregg and D.J. Carrasco. Same with lefties Ron Mahay and Jamie Walker, who were not so long ago multi-year, multi-million-dollar pitchers.
The Yankees seem to have interest in absolutely none of them, and that’s probably a good thing. In the unpredictable world of relief pitchers, every team seems a bit hesitant to dish out big money and long term contracts, and the Yankees have not needed to do either in recent years. They’ve filled a spot here and there, but the Yankees have largely built their bullpen from within. They developed Dave Robertson, did a great job scouting Alfredo Aceves and found success in temporarily converting Triple-A starters to late-inning relievers.
When the Yankees have run into bullpen trouble — Ron Villone’s 5.04 ERA in 2006, Kyle Farnsworth’s 4.80 in 2007, LaTroy Hawkins’ 5.71 in 2008 and Damaso Marte’s 9.45 in 2009 — it’s generally come from players brought in from the outside.
There is occasionally a desire to be proactive rather than patient, but in the bullpen, cheap youth seems to trump expensive experience. That’s been the Yankees model these past few years, and it’s been working.
It would still be helpful if they had more options than Boone Logan for a second lefty.
that last thread was beat…thanks for changing the subject.
“It would still be helpful if they had more options than Boone Logan for a second lefty.”
Royce Ring and Wilkin De La Rosa says hello.
I could maybe see bringing in Calero if the money was right. Say $1-$2 million for a year. But, I really like that the Yanks have developed and stuck by this strategy in recent years. Too much variance in results year-to-year to spend big money on set-up men. Also, I’m hoping having Kevin Towers in the fold now will allow us to add some good bullpen arms on the cheap as he did for years out in SD.
Oh, and on Valverde, biggest reason he hasn’t signed with anyone yet is that he’s a Type A Free Agent and the cost for him tied with the loss of a draft pick just isn’t adding up for teams.
this site reports that its Jeter’s sister that is getting married, not the Captain:
http://www.nesn.com/2010/01/re…..ptain.html
Ed – campaigning for Josh Willingham (it worked for Gaudin) January 13th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
“It would still be helpful if they had more options than Boone Logan for a second lefty.”
Royce Ring and Wilkin De La Rosa says hello.
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Kei Igawa says Konnichiwa.
Speaking of spanish and kids. Does anyone remember a spanish kids show with a Kiko in it? He was also a super hero charector i believe called champoline colorado. It was pretty funny as a kid. Not sure if it still exists.
QuanGorMo!
Remember that Robertson was very effective against lefties last yr too.
vb03,
LOL, totally forgot about him. The Forgotten Pitcher.
Ed – campaigning for Josh Willingham (it worked for Gaudin) January 13th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
vb03,
LOL, totally forgot about him. The Forgotten Pitcher.
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How can you forget about the winningest pitcher in Scranton history??? lol
The Yankees have figured this bullpen thing out…don’t spend money in it. Instead use your hungry young players who are trying like crazy to just get in the big leagues. They are cheaper,better, and less likely to break down.
The bullpen thing is the same thing every year. It evolves as the season does. You fill needs as you go along. With a reliable innings eater 4th starter, what we have might be enough.
blake,
I agree 100%. Especially not knowing what your going to get year in and year out with them. Last year we thought Bruney was a lock as an 8th inning guy. Look how that turned out. If seems like most of these free agent relief pitchers have a good contract year and then go up in smoke after. May the best man win attitude is much better. I wonder if we would have had this with Torre still here?
The Yankees will very liekly not spend any money on him, but Calero has been pretty good throughout his career except the second half of 2007 when he was injured and 2008 when he was out for most of the year. He is a swing and miss pitcher.
there is zero point in signing a reliever…we have plenty of in house options both on the current roster and in AAA.
Its a waste of money.
damon
If Jason Hirsh stays healthy and has a good spring, I’d think that he’d get a first crack at the opening day roster over Mitre. He has had injuries, but, he was a really desirable pick about 7 years ago and had some outstanding seasons up through and including 2006. He’s still young.
River Avenue Blues has a good article up about Gardner’s approach at the plate. I do see him as a hitter who mistakes patience with taking fastball after fastball down the middle for strikes. He has to show a willingness and ability to hit those pitches or he will only walk when a pitcher has significant control issues. He seems behind 0-2 way too often.
I just realized the Yankees preserved their draft picks this year and opted not to sign any Type A free agents.
John Kruk picked the sox as having the most puzzleing moves of the offseason. I can’t believe he would dare say that on ESPN.
RS are on a last chance power try. smells of desperation in the name of defense. the missing piece theory.
“Ninja Burglar
January 13th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
QuanGorMo!”
LOL, Michael Kay and the crazy nicknames that he comes up with! He did come up with that one right? Almost as good as “generation tree”
blake
January 13th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
John Kruk picked the sox as having the most puzzleing moves of the offseason. I can’t believe he would dare say that on ESPN.
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John Kruk dared to say that about Boston??? I think I’m in shock. lol
Boston is gonna have a good staff and an improved defense but I really think they may struggle to score runs at times and speaking of bullpens, I don’t really like theirs that much.
LOL, Michael Kay and the crazy nicknames that he comes up with! He did come up with that one right? Almost as good as “generation tree”
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He is always looking to make something he says stick so he can get credit for it…so far nothing has. sort of high school, like “SEE YA.”
John Kruk picked the sox as having the most puzzleing moves of the offseason. I can’t believe he would dare say that on ESPN.
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I see hes trying to join his old buddy Harold Reynolds soon.
Talk about a jinxed franchise. Griffin is having season ending surgery for the Clippers. Cant catch a break.
If you get drafted by the Clippers, it’s all over.
The next worst thing is to be a big man drafted #1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers…
vb03,
Cant argue with that. I would say that Oden has been the biggest dissapointment in Trail Blazers big man history. But being picked before Jordan doesnt help Bowies case.
The Colts would have done the same thing if they opted not to draft peyton and went with that bust of the century qb.
S.o.S. January 13th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
vb03,
Cant argue with that. I would say that Oden has been the biggest dissapointment in Trail Blazers big man history. But being picked before Jordan doesnt help Bowies case.
The Colts would have done the same thing if they opted not to draft peyton and went with that bust of the century qb.
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Ahhhhh, the immortal Ryan Leaf…ouch.
All that’s needed is for Joe Girardi to use the bullpen correctly similar to how he did last season.
Above all, very few 2 inning outings for Mariano. There should be enough work for all and the addition of an innings eater like Javy Vasquez should be a help.
Mariano, Marte (L), Robertson, and Aceves is a pretty good core. If Melancon sticks, it gets even better. That leaves 2 slots. One could be for either Joba or Hughes, or could be for 2 other arms.
In my wildest dreams I can’t think that Boone Logan will break camp with this squad.
Went out, came back a lot later.
m -
I had the leg warmers. I used them, too. I can’t imagine having to take the tree down on Christmas Day with all the other stuff to do, but we don’t do anything New Year’s Day anymore. It used to be a big family day, but we’re lucky we can get everyone together for Christmas Eve.
—–
Minka is not only very pretty, but watching her with Mrs. Jeter, you just get a good vibe about her – like she’s a real person, like you could bring her home to mom.
——
Glad the Yankees are building their bullpen the way they have the last couple of years. It helps them have money available for less volatile positions. And if one of the youngsters can’t do it, they’re pretty much interchangeable, and they didn’t waste millions of dollars.
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I guess ARod’s 500th HR baseball will still get a decent dollar return. I guess.
——
10 years’ use of steroids is not what I’d call a “mistake,” but a career plan.
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Now I’m up to date.
Doreen
If she’s already with Mrs. Jeter, no need to bring her home to meet her.
“S.o.S.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
John Kruk picked the sox as having the most puzzleing moves of the offseason. I can’t believe he would dare say that on ESPN.
========
I see hes trying to join his old buddy Harold Reynolds soon.
__
SOS
Correct. Reynolds was booted off ESPN for his unbiased view towards the Yankees.
pat -
Yup – I know. But apparently she WAS the type to bring home to meet mom.
There’s a good article written by Rick Reilly. It’s linked at the bottom of the front page on espn.com. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to link here, but it’s an interesting human interest story with a sad ending and worth reading.
SOS
Correct. Reynolds was booted off ESPN for his unbiased view towards the Yankees.
=======
CR9
Should that read “unbiased view towards a Yankee girl”?
Where the heck is everyone today? I now know how it feels to be on a red sox blog with 20 posts.
Kruk
He is a liar. He stated that he chose not to use anything during that era.
Kruk has got to be one of the biggest users in the history of the game.
“Kruk has got to be one of the biggest users in the history of the game.”
Of what, lard?
S.o.S.
January 13th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Where the heck is everyone today? I now know how it feels to be on a red sox blog with 20 posts.
********************
They must all be glued to the continuing saga of what NBC is going to do about their late-night schedule.
I think everyone is just getting bored with no Yankee news.
rconn23
January 13th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
“Kruk has got to be one of the biggest users in the history of the game.”
Of what, lard?
**********************
Kruk has got to be one of the biggest users in the history of the game.
=========
You must think Wells was on it as well. All that Kruk looked like he was using excessively is donuts.
I think everyone is just getting bored with no Yankee news.
========
I think this is the perfect time to dfa Igawa. That would buy Cashman some time(a day or 2)to pull of that trade for a left fielder that iv been expecting. Option 2 would be to trade for Melky.
Gardner vs. Melky never seemed to run out of steam.
S.o.S.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Option 2 would be to trade for Melky.
============================================================
Alright. Finally, another Yankee fan that’s as intelligent as I am. I thought I might be getting extinct.
“Gardner vs. Melky never seemed to run out of steam.”
To your point,
If the plan is to put Granderson in left and Gardner in center, I dare anyone to come up with a weaker center fielder than the Yanks.
Drive,
Where did that come from?
m
January 13th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Drive,
Where did that come from?
Thought I’d start some trouble:)LOL
m, Lakers are very banged up…..My 65 wins is now in question ?????
On a happier note. Yanks Spring Training tix fo on sale the 15th at 10AM.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....-118867312
lol, I didn’t see how you got from point A to point B on that one.
Seemed like it came out of left field.
And yes, things need to be stirred up a bit.
How about talking about Goose Gossage? He’s apparently taken up the role of arbiter for all that’s good & pure in the HOF. Said to keep all the users out. It’s a good thought, but those are some murky waters he’s talking about.
ah Melky…I miss him already
“How about talking about Goose Gossage? He’s apparently taken up the role of arbiter for all that’s good & pure in the HOF. Said to keep all the users out. ”
Is he in favor of kicking out the cheaters that have already been inducted?
Are we ever going to be told when we should prepare our posts for the pinch hitter series? I don’t even know if I was chosen…
Zell
“If you get drafted by the Clippers, it’s all over. The next worst thing is to be a big man drafted #1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers…”
Drummer for Spinal Tap.
m,
Goose said that? I’m sure A Rod and Pettitte will appreciate that when Goose is doing his gig as a Spring Training coach.
Goose’s carer spanned the greenie/ cocaine eras in baseball. He should zip it else insult many of his contemporaries.
Pat M.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
m, Lakers are very banged up…..My 65 wins is now in question ?????
——————————————
Not as banged up as the Celtics.
Are the Lakers really thinking about trading Bynum?
I see the board livend up again.
If they trade Bynum for Bosh. Then we know that the nba should be called national Lakers association. Gasol was highway robery and now this? What will it take for the Spurs to get that special treatment?
I did mention to mel earlier that they should trade Bynum. He doesnt seem to mesh with Gasol. Has his biggest games when Gasol is out of gasolina.
Goose wouldn’t know what he’d do if any Hall of Fame member was to be found out.
http://bases.nbcsports.com/201.....o.html.php
“If the plan is to put Granderson in left and Gardner in center, I dare anyone to come up with a weaker center fielder than the Yanks.”
Well, if the Braves put Melky Cabrera in center, there would be one.
Gardner is the superior defender.
S.oS.
Good win by the Spurs.
Is Jefferson not fitting in or what’s his trouble. He doesn’t seem to be doing as well as in NJ.
Others have said the same thing as Gossage but Goose sounds very sanctimonious when he says it for some reason.
Hearing some of the “old timers” take on the steroid era has surprised me.
I mentioned Bouton last night. He makes a very clear distinction between what is performance enabling and performance enhancing.
Contrast that with Bob Gibson who thinks many players in his day would be injecting each other on the field if it meant giving the team a better chance to win.
rconn23,
Gardner can get to more balls, but Melky has a much better arm. Gardner’s arm is less than average I’d say.Melky is good for 9 putouts a year.
From what Gardner looked like during the PS, his defense wasn’t superior to anybody.
The Yankees made the right choice by going to their farm system to improve their bullpen. It’s economical and you got pretty good players who has new tires on their wheels.
Less injuries and more innings for the young Yankee pitchers.
Just looked at the top college football recruits. Im proud to see that the #1 recruit is from the county i live in. I couldnt brag about the other player thats well known from the same county. Some might know him as Bonds. I believe the Miller basketball family is also from here.
Florida has 3 of the top 7 recruits, including the #1. Are the other teams going to stop sleaping at the wheel? Socal guys should never be an option for east teams and vice versa.
pat, Bouton said the same thing as Gibson did last night. A close quote was: “During my playing days, if a player could take a pill that would make him better, but, it took 5 years off of their life, they’d take the pills, me included.”
maineyankee,
Havnt seen many games. Treat it like college basketball. When playoffs are around the corner and football is over with. I focus and zone in on it. From what iv seen is Jefferson doesnt seem to thrive in this type of offense. Not mush in fast break points and hes the third option on this team rather than 1 or 2. We are deep in the small forward/shooting guard role. If they can swing a trade and land a decent big man for him. Im all in.
Drive 4-5,
Id like to say that Gardner might have more speed than Melk but Melk takes better routes to the ball. Therefore he has a better arm and is a better fielder. Gardner beats him on a 40 yard dash though.
Drive 4-5,
Range is the most important factor. Melky’s arm is not as great as everyone makes it out to be, he’s not vintage Vlad, Ichiro or even Markakis by a long shot.
Meanwhile, Gardner’s arm isn’t as bad as theorized. It’s average.
Parse defensive metrics any way you want, they all show Gardner to be the better defender.
The problem with the tired Melky vs. Gardner argument is that in a perfect world, both are fourth outfielders.
Offensively, Melky brings a little more pop, while Gardner is better at getting on base. Gardner may also be the fastest guy from first to third in baseball. That’s something, isn’t it?
As the point has been made by Keith Law and others, while Gardner is not the optimal solution, it probably serves the Yankees just as well to stick with Gardner in LF – because of the defensive upgrade he’ll bring – for the time being, as none of the other options Nady, Reed Johnson, etc. are worth spending money on because they will only be a marginal upgrade – if at all.
Pat m,
GB7,
Did you really put yourself in the same canoe as SoS on the subject of trading for melky? Is this your personal desire or do you really think there’s a possiblity?
For those that didn’t watch Bob Costas with Jim Bouton last night, it’s well worth watching when it’s shown again this week. Mostly funny but a little sad in parts. He talked about how he ended up finally getting his 1998 invitation to Old Timer’s Day from George Steinbrenner after almost 30 years. His son’s letter was a beautifully written work of art.
http://www.jimbouton.com/nyt6_21_98.html
Heyman says Mauer will likely take a 8/$180M discount from Minny.
m
January 13th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Pat m,
GB7,
Did you really put yourself in the same canoe as SoS on the subject of trading for melky? Is this your personal desire or do you really think there’s a possiblity?
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Sorry, Mel. I got caught up in the excitement. LMAO.
lol, GB7. You guys are two peas in a pod.
Scary thought.
pat
January 13th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Heyman says Mauer will likely take a 8/$180M discount from Minny.
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I’ll undercut Mauer. I’ll sign with them for a 10 year $50 mil as a hometown discount.
pat,
heyman can say that. but will mauer really give up the 10/275 that the yankees or red sox would love to give him?
he’s a game changer, more so that tex
That was quite a letter by Bouton’s son. As the father of two young men it was very touching. I’m glad the letter found George’s soft spot.
GB7,
Did you really put yourself in the same canoe as SoS on the subject of trading for melky? Is this your personal desire or do you really think there’s a possiblity?
===========
My canoe has room for more if anyone else wants to jump in. Great minds think alike. As proven by gb and myselfs identical posts yesterday. BTW isnt Cano called conoe on the team? Was that a pun?
austinmac
January 13th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
That was quite a letter by Bouton’s son. As the father of two young men it was very touching. I’m glad the letter found George’s soft spot.
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What a great Father’s Day Gift, huh?
AAGGHH!
I posted my Gossage rant and then quickly ran off to dinner and so didn’t notice until now that it got filtered somehow.
pat – my post used the word “pontificate” because that is what he seems to do.
He seems to think his election to the Hall of Fame has given him some soapbox to stand on. I don’t recall any old time HOF-ers being quite the same. (Perhaps Jim Rice, too.)
Retired players, and especially Hall of Famers, have much to offer. They should not be relegated to being taken out, dusted off and served up for a few entertaining stories from time to time and then put away like an old suit.
But, there’s a line. And Gossage crosses it every single time.
And I love Goose. Think he’s quite personable most of the time. Seems to be happy.
And yet whenever there is an issue (Joba, for instance), he almost sounds a little bitter or angry. As if he somehow need to boost up the way players were “back in the day,” lest we forget just how much better they were way back then.
mel,
You might want to consider jumping in my Colts canoe. Leave that black cloud behind you.
The Quake in Haiti is going to be the story of the year.
How is TV covering it? Nonstop or here and there?
SoS,
There wasn’t a pun, but I did leave the part about your canoe having holes in it.
No thanks on the canoe offer.
S.o.S.
January 13th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
mel,
You might want to consider jumping in my Colts canoe. Leave that black cloud behind you.
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I’ll say one thing for you, S.o.S. You got guts when tangling with Mel and her Lakers. She’ll cyber-cut your heart out.
About Mauer possibly taking such a discount to stay with Minny.
I think it would be great.
After all, you’re talkling bout 180 million dollars. Sure, $275 million (or whatever) is more. But its $180 million. that’s a lot of money. Sometimes more is just more and nothing else. And you are THE face of the franchise, playing in front of people who ADORE you, in a city that has been your home forever. You really can’t put a price on that. Plus, if he takes a little less, then they can conceivably spend other money to improve the team in other areas. And the Twins are a good franchise. They compete and contend almost every year. They may not have the WS-or-bust mentality of the Yankees, but who does?????
mel,
Its either hopp on a canoe with holes in it or stay on the titanic after it hit an icebergh. At least in my canoe your two THUMBS will keep us affloat.
Glad to see my BFF getting back to her old ways.
GB7,
Dont worry mi amigo. Lionheart here has no fear of mel or the Lakers. Without the Spurs excistance. L.A. might have won 7 rings this last decade. I have enough ammo in my hulster. Basically 3 legs to stand on.
lol, SoS.
Bet you didn’t even know the canoe I’m talking about is the one about trading for melky back.
Plus, if he takes a little less, then they can conceivably spend other money to improve the team in other areas.
=======
Very good point Doreen. The only problem is, do you trust Minny to take the savings and spend it on players? They have let everyone walk and havnt picked up anyone in return. They are the Royals(get others left overs, lose their stars)but with a better farm and coaching. I have to see it to believe it. Still think he wont hit the market.
Aliens will land on Bubba Crosby before the Yanks trade for Melky Cabrera.
And m will stick with the Patriots ‘cos she roots for the underdog.
mel,
Im not a melky or gardner fan. Just wanted to get things going here. Never seen it so dead. As i mentioned earlier. I now know what it feels like to be a sox fan in a sox blog. Anxiety to say the least.
Feel free to talk about your rough couple days. Im listening.
Where is Bubba Crosby these days?
The Marlins are my 2nd favorite team (Yankees are always number 1 of course). So when I read Kiko Calero’s name up there, I am totally for it. He was great in some pretty tense situations for the fish. Kevin Gregg, no thanks. Put in any tense situation and he’d suddenly melt down. It was great to see it happen when he was on the Cubs vs the Marlins as a bit of a pay back. Yes to Kiko, no to Kevin.
“Gardner vs. Melky never seemed to run out of steam.”
To your point,
If the plan is to put Granderson in left and Gardner in center, I dare anyone to come up with a weaker center fielder than the Yanks.
Molina in center field.
Here are some non pitching stats -
Below is the output of two very fast players in their first two years of more than 100 ABs:
YEAR 1:
BA .265; OBP .316; SLG .336; OPS .652; OPS+ 91; SB 13; CS 1; SO 38; BB 19
BA .228; OBP .283; SLG .299; OPS .582; OPS+ 53; SB 13; CS 1; SO 30; BB 8
YEAR 2:
BA .214; OBP .256; SLG .277; OPS .533; OPS+ 63; SB 4; CS 3; SO 26; BB 8
BA .270; OBP .345; SLG .379; OPS .724; OPS+ 93; SB 26; CS 5; SO 40; BB 26
You could nit pick over either and say you don’t want either on your team but one played 15 years and was an All Star.
The moral is that one or two years of data does not necessarily tell you enough about a player to say you want him or not. In fact the second player has a history of improving year over year.
Player two is Brett Gardner
Player one is Mickey Rivers.
Maybe we should be more patient and see what Gardner does in year 3.
Joba solves all pen issues
cheap youth? when it comes to a closer like Mo…got to find a good closer type of player this year or next
Mo is not forever