What to make of Phil Coke

What good is a lefty in the pen if he’s vulnerable to lefties? Chris Davis’s homer yesterday was the sixth Phil Coke has allowed to fellow lefties, calling his effectiveness into question. And with good reason. He’s had stretches of effectiveness, but there have been times when he’s just plain bad. Unfortunately, many of those bad times come against left-handed hitters, the very ones he’s most often charged with retiring.

This has left many wondering whether Coke is fit for duty in the Yankees bullpen. After yesterday’s game he has a 5.05 ERA, up from 3.15 on July 3. Clearly he’s on the downswing, right? Well, maybe not. While Coke isn’t nearly as good as he was earlier in the season, he still might have something to offer the Yanks.

Phil Coke had a great run in June and July. In 22.1 innings, he allowed just seven runs, striking out 22 against five walks. Opponents managed just a .508 OPS against him, and his GB/FB ratio was 1.85. After a rocky start to the season, it looked like he had settled into his bullpen role, which was mostly relegated to the seventh inning and lefties in the eighth.

(Of those seven runs he allowed in those two months, four came in one game, against the Angels when seemingly none Yankees managed to pitch well. So outside of one game, he was even more remarkable.)

Unfortunately, August started off quite poorly for Coke, as he allowed six runs while recording just one out on August 1 against the White Sox. That pumped up his ERA from 3.77 to 4.98, further showing why ERA is a poor indicator for a reliever’s effectiveness. He blew one game, which was pretty much blown in the first place, but had his ERA climb by more than a run. That should tell you all you need to know.

Then, of course, came the home run to Victor Martinez, which left a sour taste in our mouths. The Yanks came back to win that game, but that doesn’t erase Coke’s troubles. And then again yesterday, he gave up that three-run jack to Davis, putting a 3-2 game pretty much out of reach.

For the most part, Coke hasn’t been bad. He’s had a number of outings in which he has allowed multiple runs, which is never a good thing. He also has three blown saves, five if you count the two he recently blew that the Yanks came back to win. But he’s also had stretches where he pumps strikes and gets the Yanks through the later innings. He’s also done a decent job of keeping opponents off base — .223 batting average against and a .290 on-base against.

The problem with Coke this year is leaving sluggable balls over the plate. That is evidenced by his slugging against, .418, which is pretty bad considering the .223 average opponents have off him, and his HR/9, 1.6. We know Coke can pitch well. He did it for two straight months, minus one blip. He’s had some struggles lately, but for all we know that could be related to his new role, a reliever (he was a starter all of his career prior to last year), and a new setting, the majors. With rosters expanding, the Yanks can afford to give him time to settle down. Given the way he pitched earlier this year, he could be an asset in the playoffs.