High and Tight.: They're Finally Saying What I've Been Telling You for Years

They're Finally Saying What I've Been Telling You for Years

Kyle Farnsworth has joined fellow bullpen mate Brian Bruney in repeating that Joe Torre had no clue how to manage a 'pen, and that he picked favorites (including when selecting a coaching staff):
Farnsworth:
After a year in which Farnsworth said he had communication problems with Joe Torre, the big right-hander is hoping for a better result under new manager Joe Girardi.

“It’s tough when you lose the confidence of your manager,” Farnsworth said Thursday. “You come in and prepare yourself day in and day out, and you have no clue about anything.”

Farnsworth went 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 64 games last season, but never threw more than one inning in an outing. He pitched in consecutive games just five times, and three straight days twice.

“I don’t know how that came about,” he said.

Farnsworth battled occasional problems with his back last season, yet said he could have pitched on consecutive days more often. His back has not been an issue this spring.

Girardi played with Farnsworth with the Chicago Cubs, which is giving
the pitcher a comfort zone.

“It’s definitely good to have,” Farnsworth said.

Bruney:

[Bruney] believes the changes on the Yankees' coaching staff - particularly Dave Eiland taking over as pitching coach for Ron Guidry - have helped him focus on the task at hand rather than worrying constantly about the consequences of a bad outing.

"I formed a relationship with Dave where he's easy to talk to," Bruney said. "In the past, I might not have had that relationship; I didn't talk to Gator."

Bruney also admitted to a level of fear in playing for Joe Torre, who was constantly criticized in recent years for overusing certain relievers.

"With Torre - and I'm not trying to bad-mouth anybody - sometimes you would go out there and try to be so good because you were scared of doing bad," Bruney said. "You can't pitch like that. (Joe) Girardi understands that you make mistakes - and I'm going to make them."

Girardi admitted to never hearing of Bruney before last season, but he isn't taking anybody's word when it comes to reputations.

On Aug.7, the Yankees sent Bruney down to Triple-A to open a roster spot for Chamberlain, a move Bruney didn't take well. He returned a little more than two weeks later when Ron Villone went on the disabled list, but he allowed runs in five of his final six outings of the season, prompting Torre to leave him off the playoff roster.

"I used to dread coming to the park," said Bruney, 26. "I enjoy getting up every day and coming to the field now."

"In years past, I was like, 'I can't ever go bad, because if I don't do good, I'm going to get sent down,'" Bruney said. "That means a salary cut, having to move. All that stuff becomes a big jumble in your mind. Now, it's easy to play.

"I'm not scared to fail."

You really didn't have to be a genius to see this was happening. Too bad the media largely ignored any mistakes by Torre until after he was long out the door.

Labels: all hail girardi, brian bruney, kyle farnsworth, torre is dumb

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:41 PM 1 comments

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