Yankee Talk: No Bull from Pen

Bullpen emerging as strength

NEW YORK – You realize very quickly how long a regular season is.

We make our snap judgments because we see what is in front of us and never really look too far ahead.

Earlier in the season, the bullpen of the Yankees outside of Mariano Rivera (known as “the bridge”) consisted of rough terrain and Russian roulette.

Manager Joe Girardi had no one he could trust. Every time he would make that slow walk to the mound, he would tap his right or left hand and hope against hope that was making the right decision.

As of late, the bullpen, once an extreme weakness has emerged as an incredible strength.

The starting rotation, a rock in the first half of the season with pitchers taking the ball into and through the seventh inning, has hit a rough patch. During this time, the bullpen has stepped up incredibly to continue to keep the Yankees as leaders in the AL East.

Before the beginning of the season, I championed that this Yankee bullpen would be among the best in the league.

Everything was in place in terms of quality arms and each man in a specific role that there never a thought it could be a problem.

Of course, things did not work out that way.

As we find out every season, there is never a thing as an absolute. The Yankees found this out the hard way over the first three months of the season as the relief core showed holes and their ineffectiveness made things worrisome.

The original plan was to have Joba Chamberlain team up with Mariano Rivera as a lethal tag-team to lock down games after the seventh inning.

David Robertson and, who put up impressive numbers last season, was to man the seventh inning.

Alfredo Aceves was to be the “jack of all trades” for the bullpen. He had the ability to get out one batter, or throw as many as four innings if a starter was roughed up early.

Damaso Marte and Chan Ho Park were to be power, situational arms as well.

Safe to say, none of this worked out.

Chamberlain battled control, velocity and mental confidence in his role.

Robertson could not find the strike zone, and when he did, balls were hit hard and some were leaving the park.

Aceves injured his back in late April has not been back with the team since.

Marte was also injured and Park had a mysterious loss in velocity upon signing with the Yankees and was nowhere to close to the pitcher he was last year for Philadelphia.

With a bullpen in shambles, questions rose as to what they would be able to do about it. General Manager Brian Cashman held firm that bullpens grow over the course of a baseball season and did not feel a major need to seek outside help.

For the most right, he was proven right.

Girardi continued to stick with Chamberlain in the eighth inning as the Yankees continued to remain in first place, but in the middle of July, he saw enough and without actually saying it, he removed the enigmatic right-hander from the role and replaced him with Robertson as he began to regain the form that he had the previous year.

Boone Logan took Marte’s spot as the primary lefty. Logan’s career has always been high on talent, but low on results. He had a stint with the big club early on, but to the minors after continuous career control problems.

Before the trade deadline, the Yankees release Park to the delight of many, replacing him with Kerry Wood, who was pitching for the Cleveland Indians. Wood had battled injuries over his career and despite good stuff, could never stay healthy. However, the Yankees decided to take a chance.

The results from Wood and everyone else has been amazing.

Since arriving, Wood has pitched in nine games, allowing only one earned run in 10 2/3 innings. He has shown his old velocity and his classic breaking stuff that made him one of the league’s most prized pitchers before injury.

Robertson, after starting out slow, has become one of, if not the best relief pitchers in the league. While his current 3.63 ERA is good, considering how far he came is even more impressive. Since June 5,
Robertson has pitched 28 2/3 innings, amassing a 1.59 ERA with 33 strikeouts and has not allowed a run since July 4.

After losing his eighth inning role, Chamberlain sought to rededicate himself and with the other stepping up around him, he wanted to remain in an important role. Over his last 12 appearances, covering 12 innings, he has given up only one earned run.

Logan also has a streak going of his own. Since June 29, he has thrown 13 innings, allowing only one run covering 16 appearances. Even Chad Gaudin has become a successful long man, giving up only two runs over his last 11 innings. His three scoreless innings on Saturday was a key part of the

Yankees 9-5 victory over Seattle when Javier Vazquez again continued his second half struggles.

At the end, the indomitable Rivera is always there, having another one of his traditionally great seasons.

Rosters expand on September 1, so that would allow for the returns of both Aceves and Marte to what has now become a deep bullpen.

With the innings restriction on Phil Hughes and the inconsistencies of Vazquez and AJ Burnett, the pressure is going to be on for the bullpen to continue their stellar performance.

As currently constructed, they are built to withstand an eventual struggle from one of their relievers with others picking up the slack.

However, with everyone on a hot streak, the Yankees hope this will continue for the rest of the season.

Time for Yankees Random Thoughts

After losing the first game of each series to Detroit and Seattle, the Yankees won the remaining five games to finish with 5-2 mark.

You can attribute this to the performance of CC Sabathia, who has proven to be an irreplaceable piece to this team and a true consummate ace pitcher.

At 17-5 with a 3.02 ERA, he is having arguably his best season. With at least seven more starts left, he only needs to win three of them to achieve 20 wins.

He has been absolutely worth the $161 million the Yankees paid him a year and a half ago.

Sunday against the Mariners, he was at his absolute best.

He did not allow a hit for the first three innings and after Austin Kearns’ homerun gave the Yankees the lead, the way he was pitching, there was no reason to think he would give the lead away.

The rain began to come down, so there was some fear that he start could be a waste. Instead, he worked quickly, throwing only 74 pitches and 54 for strikes. When Robinson Cano drilled a grand slam to make the score 5-0, Sabathia had nothing to worry about.

As it stands, it feels as if the Yankees need to win every game that he starts with all of the other pitching issues.

Sabathia brings a feeling of assurance.

I’m really starting to like this Austin Kearns kid.

Since coming to the pinstripes, he is hitting .341 and has an 11 game hitting streak through Sunday.

He always put on a tough, quality at-bat, and that is all you can ask for.

Right now, the results have been positive. Keep it up.

Of course, the same cannot be said of Francisco Cervelli.

Ever since his freakish start to the season that saw him hitting an unsustainable .781 in 14 at bats with runners in scoring position, is proving more and more that he will not consistently be able to hit major league pitching.

One of the most quirky statistics of the season is that the Yankees are 12-0 without Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.

Rodriguez, who had to leave the game on Friday night after his first at-bat, suffering a setback when he injured his calf on his way to first base, is now the disabled list and will miss the next two weeks.

In his absence, the offense has stepped up, averaging 8.2 runs per game. The main reason for the explosion has been MVP-candidate Robinson Cano.

Cano, in Rodriguez’s absence is hitting a blistering .375, with 6 home runs and 19 RBI in the games he has been in the cleanup spot.

Surely, the Yankees will eventually lose one without Rodriguez in the lineup.

Of course, there are some thought the Yankees should sit in the playoffs.

Um, no. At last check, he is still pretty good.

In Rodriguez (97), Mark Teixeira (89) and Cano (86), the Yankees possess three of the top 10 run producers in all of baseball.

Then why I do I complain about the offense?

One person I will continue to complain about is AJ Burnett, who turned in another clunker on Friday night in the Yankees loss to the Mariners.

You knew he didn’t have it in the very first inning, the most deflating feeling for any fan watching.

He had nothing and the Mariners hit him over the park for the first four innings. Girardi then came to the mound we thought to put us all out of our misery by taking him out. Instead, he made a smart move. He told him that because the bullpen had been taxed in the previous games, he was going to have to take one for the team and stay in there, which he did through seven innings.

Who knows what to expect when he pitches in front of my eyes on Friday night in Chicago. If last year on my birthday was any indication, the expletives will be flowing from my mouth at an unbearable rate by the third inning.

Oh, the pain.