Monday, July 28, 2008
Yankees: Pretender or Contender
After winning nine straight division titles, and making the playoffs every year since 1995, the dynasty known as the Yankees are in a decline.
Last season we saw the Yankees stumble out of the gate only to regain their footage, make a run towards the playoffs fitted with young stars who came up and damn near saved the season. Oh, they also had an MVP named Alex Rodriguez.
This season is almost a replica of last year. Poor clutch hitting, bullpen implosions, and another slow start. At least they still have that MVP fella.
A rash of injuries have taken playing time away from A-Rod, ace Chein-Ming Wang, pitcher friendly Jorge Posada, two break through seasons from Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, plus the injuries from Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Brian Bruney (was paid to mention Bruney's name).
The Yankees, in desperate need of relief pitching and a live bat have made headlines.
Joba Chamberlain was removed from the pen to the starting rotation raising questions on who the bridge will be to Rivera. Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins do not have impressive resumes.
Richie Sexson was recently taken from waivers and thrown in the line up and will be used against left-handed pitchers giving more power to the line up who suffer heavily under lefties.
But before I give my two cents, it does amaze me how things just fall in place. Mussina has already matched last seasons win total, Chamberlain has been a very effective starter, and Farnsworth made a turn around providing just enough support to get to Rivera. And speaking of Rivera, 23 for 23 in save opportunities is something to be noticed.
What the Yankees need to do before the July 31 deadline is trade away a bat for an arm. Granted the Yankees are suffering in the once surplussed outfield, I say trade Bobby Abreu for a #2 or #3 starting pitcher.
Randy Wolf of the Padres, Paul Byrd of the Indians, and even Bronson Arroyo from the Reds are all possibilities.
The Yankees have plenty of bats, trade one for a pitcher to bolster the rotation, and better yet, the relief corps. Granted, good relievers are hard to come by, but if there is a will, Big Stein will pay.
The offense is still there, only down by about a run per game from last year. Hitting will only improve. If the pitching stays the same, and the Yankees add one arm, whether it be a starter or reliever, the Yankees have a great chance of reaching the playoffs again.
With that, the Yankees can be a contender. But until then, and it pains me to say this, right now they are pretenders.

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Labels: 2008, bullpen, pitching, trade, trade deadline, Yankees


Posted by Steve Kenul at 3:54 PM

Thursday, April 26, 2007
Oh Hell
Short and Sour:
Six losses in a row and Boston this weekend, very damnlicious.
This is sickening.
We have used
nine different starters in a five man rotation: Andy Pettitte, Carl Pavano, Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa, Darrell Rasner, Philip Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Chase Wright and Chein-Ming Wang. Four of them minor league call ups to replace the injured staff. Pavano, you have no excuse, unless you got into another car accident.
Something has to be done, and it has to be done quick.
Raise more young arms in the rotation, dump Pavano since he can't pitch without visiting the disabled list, Mussina is aging, and Igawa so far is a bust.
The bullpen is a waste of time allowing three sure wins to be wasted with two of those against Boston last weekend.
What the Yankees need to do is appear on a new reality show:
Extreme Makeover: Bullpen Edition.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labels: bullpen, pitching, Yankees



Posted by Steve Kenul at 10:22 PM

Monday, April 16, 2007
Analyzing a Loss

The Yankees have had some tough breaks with their pitching.
Well, not breaks, but a repeat of last year.
Four starters landed on the disabled list, and the bull pen is showing signs that the Death Star can blow up again.
Chein-Ming Wang, last years Cy Young runner up and TYIB Pitcher of the Year started the season on the DL and is expected to return after a rehab start this Saturday in AAA Scranton.
If his rehab goes well, expect him to pitch for the Yankees next Wednesday or Thursday, just after the Yankees and Red Sox battle.
Mike Mussina returned to the DL with a strained left hammy, and for a pitcher, a hamstring injury can affect a pitcher's push-off or his stop, depending on what hand they throw with. For Moose, it's the stopping that is affected.
Carl Pavano....well, he's Pavano, this was expected.
The Yankees fifth starter, Jeff Karstens was sent to the DL with Wang before the start of the season with tendinitis in his right (throwing) elbow. However, he is young and can overcome this injury quickly and is expected to return around the same time as Wang.
As for the bullpen, better than last year, but still, lacking essential winning power.
Kyle Farnsworth was a laugh last year, but has improved dramatically to be a great set-up man for Mariano Rivera.
His last two appearance have been less than noteworthy allowing tying and winning runs to cross the plate and earning a loss in a game in which he allowed four runs through. He is making an effort to resolve this problem going over video footage of his pitching and spotting mistakes, one of them being releasing the ball to early and rushing pitches.
Mariano Rivera, who gave up last nights game to a rare home run was cold as far as preparedness goes.
He has only pitched four innings before last night striking out six and getting a few splinters from sitting on the bench too long.
In my personal diagnosis, I think sitting on the bench may have convinced Rivera that innings only last two outs since that's all he pitched before allowing two on base and sending a moon shot from a .050 hitter over the fence for the game-winning home run.
As for the "new" starting line up, Andy Pettitte and Darrell Rasner will be joined with AAA pitcher Chris Britton and AA pitcher Chase Wright who leads the Eastern League with 19 strikeouts in 14 scoreless innings and is already on the 40-man roster.
Do not expect to see Philip Hughes till late this season or even next year, Brian Cashman has made it clear he wants to build for the future and having Hughes rush into the majors will be a huge mistake.
It's about time some one in the Yankees front office read my blog.
Recent forum talk: Woe is Us: Pitching
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Labels: bullpen, Chein-Ming Wang, loss, Mariano Rivera, minor leagues, pitching, starting rotation, Yankees



Posted by Steve Kenul at 9:35 PM
