High and Tight.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Girardi's "Set Roles" Costs Another Game

The situation last night: Dave Robertson came into the game in the 7th inning and faced one batter and struck him out (the box score will show 0.2 IP but one of those was a failed steal attempt).

In a tie game in which you never know how many pitchers you might need, it made sense to send Robertson - who looked good and threw minimal pitches - out for the 8th. However, Robertson isn't the "8th Inning Guy™" so when the 8th started, Chamberlain was called upon. Besides the fact that it's an easy way to burn through a bullpen in a potential extra inning game, Chamberlain had terrible numbers against Kendrick who was due up in the 8th (.667 lifetime average).

When a guy is pitching well and there's no reason to yank him - don't. Girardi's set roles (using his 8th Inning Guy™ in the 8th in a tie or with a lead, regardless of how the game is going, using Rivera only for th e9th and only in save situations instead of high leverage situations) is going to cost the team more wins this year.

I wish for once a manager would grow some balls and manage intelligently and not just stick to "the book" so they don't have to be second guessed if it doesn't work.

This isn't second guessing either - I was yelling about it from the stands in Anaheim last night as soon as Joba came out from bullpen.

Labels: 8th Inning Guy, bullpen, bullpen roles, david robertson, girardi is an idiot, joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:07 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Girardi Gets What Torre Never Could

From today's Journal News:

Girardi said he never had any intentions of using the ultra-effective Phil Hughes in the eighth inning of Sunday night's 5-2 win over Boston. He called on lefty Phil Coke instead, and watched him give up a 1-0 lead on Victor Martinez's two-run homer.

But Girardi sounded like he'd do it again to avoid overusing Hughes, or any other reliever. Hughes had pitched the three previous days.

"The bullpen is something you have to watch," Girardi said. "You don't want to fall in love with one guy because you can wear him down. You can hurt him. You don't just want him effective for two weeks, but for the whole season."

He said he's willing to bite the proverbial bullet to stay away from a pitcher.

"I knew yesterday I'm not going to use Hughes," Girardi said. "Sometimes, you've just got to say, 'Hey, know what? We don't have this guy today.' "

I'll admit, when watching the game I questioned not using Hughes myself, but I wasn't aware he'd been in three consecutive days. It worked out anyway, but I'd have preferred Bruney or Aceves to face the righties there after Coke got Ellsbury.

In any case, Girardi is makingthe right moves here. He's not falling into the Torre trap of falling in love with a reliever who then has his arm fall off.

Look at the post-Torre careers of former Torre flames Tanyon Sturtze, Steve Karsay, Ramiro Mendoza, Paul Quantrill, Ron Villone and Scott Proctor if you want to see what could have been in store for Hughes.

Labels: all hail girardi, bullpen, joe girardi, joe torre, phil hughes, phil phranchise, torre is dumb

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:01 AM 14 comments

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Where is the Uproar for "Price to the 'Pen"?

The constant yammering of talking heads on TV and sports talk radio about how Joba Chamberlain needs to be moved back to the bullpen brings up a question: why is everyone just focused on Joba? I have made it clear in this space a number of times that Chamberlain is best utilized as a starter. His numbers are great for a 22 year old in his second season in the rotation. He's not an ace yet, but if nobody had ever seen him pitch from the bullpen, the locals would be ecstatic about his progress. Unfortunately, idiots like Mike Francesa like to point out how "his ERA is better as a reliever." Well of course it is. When a pitcher only has to throw 20 pitches instead of 80-100, they can let it fly without fear of tiring. Look at Phil Hughes' splits between the rotation and the bullpen this year, and you'll see what I mean. Imagine Roy Halladay's numbers in the 8th inning! Bridge!

Aside from rehashing that old argument, one has to wonder why nobody seems to be making the same (flawed) rationale for David Price of the Rays.

Price was a phenom last season. He was brought up at the very end of 2008 and was used from the bullpen, eventually becoming the closer that brought the Rays to their first World Series. He had a .929 WHIP, a 1.93 ERA, and a 230 ERA+ in the regular season, lowering that to a 0.00 ERA and .857 WHIP in the post season. He was a stud, an unhittable Roy Hobbs type striking out every Whammer he saw.

Of course, the long-term plan for Price (as it should be with any good young pitcher with 3+ quality pitches) was for him to be a starter, so that's where the Rays had him slotted this season. He hasn't done well.

Price is 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA in 38 innings this year and is averaging less than 5 innings per start. Yet there is no outrage from pundits, nobody on Baseball Tonight is screaming about moving him to the bullpen. Steve Phillips, of all people, is advocating patience (Phillips, by the way, was firmly in the "Joba in the 'pen" camp).

Maybe it's just that Chamberlain plays in New York that he gets this kind of scrutiny. Maybe it's the "win now at all costs" mentality. However this is the same mentality that gutted the Yankees' farm system in the 1980s and early 90s, and again in the early 2000s.

Price needs time to develop. He's a huge talent and should be a star in the years to come. Maybe he will be sent down to the minors to work on his pitches and control, maybe not.

I'm just curious why there's no uproar to move a guy who is failing spectacularly as a starter back to the 'pen where he dominated, and there is for a guy who is doing a better than league average job in his role as a starter.

Labels: bullpen, david price, joba chamberlain, pitching rotation, steve phillips, they're still the devil rays

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:45 AM 5 comments

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

It's Time to send Joba Back to the Bullpen

Look, I know Joba has looked better of late, but let's face facts - the guy is a reliever. He came up as a reliever, succeded as a reliever, and when he was moved to the rotation his numbers suffered and he got hurt. He's a big, heavyset guy - do we really want to see him out there every five days huffing and puffing through the 4th inning?

Of course not. The Yankees should move Chamberlain back into that 8th inning role - the bridge that is NEEDED to Mariano Rivera. Phil Hughes looked great this spring, bring him up to the the 5th starter. Who cares about a 5th starter? You don't even USE them in the playoffs.

This is about the hundreth time I've had to make this statement - it's about time the Yankees woke up and realized that they are trying to put a round peg into a square hole.

Get Joba back where he belongs - giving 80-85 FANTASTIC innings in the bullpen.

Labels: april fools, bullpen, joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:07 PM 6 comments

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Is There Really Any Doubt Anymore that Torre Had to Go?

The number of players - relievers, mostly - finally coming clean on the ineptitude of St. Joe is growing daily. Take a look at these comments by Scott Patterson:

Following a phenomenal season at Class AA Trenton last season in which he posted an outstanding 1.09 ERA in 43 games and was voted by the Thunder fans as their favorite player, Patterson finds himself increasing his once long odds of making the Yankees’ bullpen with each spring outing.

“He’s been great,” first-year Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ve brought him in during the middle of some innings and he’s gotten us out of three or four really tough spots. He’s done everything you could ask to rookie to do. He’s impressed me.”

The Yankees have been more receptive to using younger pitchers recently and rookie Joba Chamberlain played a large role in the bullpen late last season in rallying New York to the American League playoffs. With that in mind, Patterson believes he at least has a chance of going north with the major-league club.

“If Joe Torre were still the manager, my chances wouldn’t be very good,” Patterson said. “It’s different with Joe Girardi in charge. He seems very willing to go with the best players, regardless of the experience. I don’t know if I’m going to make it but I think I will at least be considered. That’s all I can ask for.”

Patterson is scheduled to pitch again today against Cincinnati at Sarasota. Girardi has been using Patterson early in exhibition games, giving him a chance to face opposing major-league hitters before mass substitutions ensue in the later innings.

Patterson had the chance to face major-league hitters during the off-season when he pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League and posted a 1.54 ERA for Lara in 20 games.

Labels: all hail girardi, bullpen, joe torre, scott patterson, torre is dumb

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:06 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Joba Most Likely To Spend Season in Bullpen

Yes, I know the Yankees are trying to limit Chamberlain to 140 innings, so some time spent in the bullpen would help to keep him under the innings cap. However, let's suppose there are no injuries to the starters, and the Yankees are winning, Chamberlain is the best setup man on the team, and we're hitting mid-season?

Barring a major deal for some setup help, I can't imagine the Yankees would take Chamberlain out of the 'pen and insert him mid-season into the rotation. In the bullpen, Joba only uses his fastball and slider. How is he to adjust to starting, and attempting to throw all four of his pitches, especially when he hadn't had a chance to develop the other two? Would the Yankees really deplete their bullpen by moving him out? If he stays the entire season in the bullpen, he'd get nowhere near 140 innings (an abusive Joe Torre isn't at the helm anymore) so adding the 30 or so innings to his totals like they had planned would seem unrealistic.

80 innings of Chamberlain is less valuable than 140. Barring some unforseen circumstance, my guess is that's all we'll see from him, however.

Labels: bullpen, joba chamberlain, lineups

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:56 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 29, 2007

It's Still About Pitching

While everyone bemoans the loss of the cleanup hitter, please keep in mind that the Yankees outscored every team in baseball in 2007, and are losing from a position of strength. They have a stellar lineup most teams would love to have. To wit, as of now:

LF Damon
SS Jeter
RF Abreu
1B Giambi
C Posada (assuming he resigns)
DH Matsui
2B Cano
CF Cabrera
3B Betemit

Cashman would probably like another big right-handed bat in that group, but as-is, that's still a potent lineup.

The bullpen is a mess. As currently constructed (assuming Rivera returns):
Rivera
Farnsworth
Ohlendorf
Veras
Ramirez
Henn
Igawa
Bruney
Britton
w/ Sanchez and Cox on the horizon.

Since the rotation shapes up as one of two options:
Wang
Hughes
Chamberlain
Kennedy
Mussina

or

Pettitte
Wang
Hughes
Chamberlain
Kennedy/Mussina

there may be a spot in the 'pen for Kennedy or Mussina, and although everyone says it won't happen, Chamberlain.

Still, it would greatly behoove Cashman to make a move and improve that bullpen. There are far too many question marks.

Is San Diego still interested in Igawa? Thatcher or Meredith might be available, as it now seems that Bell is their closer of the future. Speaking of San Diego, they also have a logjam at third base, and Kevin Kouzmanoff is most likely trade bait.

There are a lot of options out there. Before anyone jumps off the bridge that the loss of Rodriguez is the end of the world, consider that the team's real need is pitching, and that would have been a fact with or without Alex.

Labels: bullpen, pitching woes, roster moves

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:01 PM 0 comments

Friday, August 24, 2007

Chris Britton another victim of Torre's "Circle of Trust"?

Rumors persist that something happened in Spring Training that caused Torre to lose faith in Britton. The guy's been tearing it up in AAA, and during his brief visit to the Bronx this season gave up 1 ER in 5 IP.

Rather than getting promoted again, Britton has been forced to watch as Henn, Karstens, Ramirez, Bruney, Brower, Chamberlain, Bean, Rasner, Villone (and I'm sure someone I'm forgetting) have been promoted instead of him to the Yankees' bullpen.

I know Torre wants "a lefty." But there's no reason to have "a lefty" if said "lefty" (Henn) is only used as your long reliever.

Free Chris Britton!

Labels: bullpen, chris britton, scranton

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:47 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Wrapping Up the Deadline Deals

Lots of smoke, very little fire. As opposed to every analyst on ESPN who is going completely apeshit for Boston's aquisition of Gagne, I'm glad the Yankees didn't mortgage the future for a guy who will throw at best 18-20 innings for the rest of the year. Now I know Boston is probably more interested in using Gagne in the post season, but they already had a good bullpen, and all Gagne does is take away opportunities from Delcarmen and Okajima. I don't think Boston improved all that much. Gagne would have been much more valuable to the Yankees, Brewers, or Mets, which makes this deal all the more strange.

Trading for Wilson Betemit is a good move. It's not splashy, and Torre probably won't play him very much, but at least now there's a better option than Miguel Cairo. Cairo needs to go. I know Torre will object, but with Betemit and Phillips, you have two guys who can play every IF position. Duncan can play first if needed, as can Giambi when he's back. The Torre loyalty needs to no longer extend to the bench, and Cairo needs to be DFA when Giambi is back. He can't hit and isn't needed defensively anymore.

Speaking of Torre blind loyalty, does anyone else get the feeling that maybe Cashman made the deal in order to take away Torre's favorite toy? Besides the fact that the abused arm of Proctor is likely to have a breakdown, Torre was using Proctor in ridiculous and unneccesary situations all season (and last as well) at the expense of other relievers who were not getting any work and then would be thrown into the fire once every two weeks and relegated to rot in the 'pen again when they (surprise!) didn't perform well after the layoff.

Having Proctor gone allows Chamberlain to get some more opportunities, so he doesn't turn into another Edwar Ramirez or Chris Britton or Sean Henn. I remember Torre saying they were "looking for an opportunity" to use Ramirez, and the following game he used proctor with a 5 or 6 run lead. If you won't trust a kid there, you never will. Same with his statement about using Duncan as the DH as long as he keeps mashing and then benching him for nearly an entire road trip.

I'm hoping Cashman recognized this and made the move in order to protect Torre (and the Yankees) from himself.

This should be evidence enough that Torre is unfit to manage this team, or any team without "veterans with pre-defined roles." Bring on Girardi or Mattingly in 2008. Something in my gut tells me that's been the plan all along, and a possible reason why Girardi turned down the Orioles.

Labels: brian cashman, bullpen, chris britton, don mattingly, edwar ramirez, eric gagne, joba chamberlain, joe girardi, joe torre, redsox, scott proctor, sean henn, trades, trading deadline, wilson betemit

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:14 PM 0 comments

Friday, May 25, 2007

It's Already Been Sung, But It Can't Be Said Enough

All you need is faith.

And Joe Torre has ZERO in young pitchers. Look, Clippard wasn't stellar tonight (4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K), but he wasn't awful either. Torre decides to pull him after 76 pitches. If it were, say, Mike Mussina or Andy Pettite with the same line, don't you think they'd be out for the 5th?

Earth to Joe Torre: this is why your bullpen is burnt out. You can't keep going to the 'pen early in games for no reason other than your more than ample "gut" tells you so. You need to allow your starters to complete 6 innings if possible.

Look, if there were some sort of unreported injury, mea cupla. But I doubt it, because this is a continual pattern, and why Joseph Paul Torre is indeed one of the major reason the Yankees are performing so badly this season.

Labels: bullpen, joe torre, pitching woes, torre is dumb, tyler clippard

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 6:31 PM 3 comments