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.