Bullpen gets credit where credit is due
By 
The bullpen has been a source of early-season strength for the Yankees. (Photo courtesy of flickr user Rodrigo Amorim.)
So we know that the Yanks’ starting pitching has left much to be desired. I covered that early today. I can only hope that warm weather and a few times through the rotation will clear up this messy picture.
But on the other hand, the Yanks’ bullpen deserves some credit. Let’s take a look.
| IP | H | ER | BB | K | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariano Rivera | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Kyle Farnsworth | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Scott Proctor | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4.91 |
| Luis Vizcaino | 3.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Brian Bruney | 2.2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Mike Myers | 4.0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Sean Henn | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 22.1 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 1.21 |
So the Yanks’ bullpen has been the antithesis of the starting rotation. They’ve allowed less than a baserunner per inning and are recording just shy of a strike out per inning. Brian Bruney has been tremendous, and Mike Myers has been stellar in saving the arms as well. Even Andy Pettitte — not included on this list — got into the act today recording one more scoreless inning for the pen.
For Yankee fans, this early season bullpen success comes as a relief. For too long, we’ve watched Joe Torre trot out one subpar reliever after another. Remember Paul Quantrill? Steve Karsay? Felix Heredia?
Right now — and I know it’s early — those days seem behind us. The Yanks have a full slate of bullpen arms with whom I would feel confident seeing in any given situation. The blue door opens in left centerfield, and I feel relief instead of heartache.
Of course, the bullpen can’t keep pitching half of the team’s innings. But that’s a story for another day.
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If the bullpen can remain even close to this effective then the Yankees are in good shape. Wang is due back in a few weeks, and in theory, the Yankees could have replaced 60% of the opening day rotation by midseason with Wang, Hughes and potentially Clemens (if not another pitcher through a deadline deal). If the starting pitching just can’t get it done then much of it can be easily replaced. It would be very easy to say goodbye to Pavano, Igawa and Rasner. How much better does a Moose, Pettitte, Hughes, Wang, Clemens rotation sound? Put that in front of a great pen and you’ve got a team.
The pen HAS been great, but how long will that last if the starters cant go more than 5 innings consistently?
“For Yankee fans, this early season bullpen success comes as a relief. ”
Ha, ha.
yankz
I’m glad someone noticed that. I couldn’t resist the terrible pun.
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