A fresh arm for the bullpen: who’s available?
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The Yankees’ bullpen has been worked pretty hard of late, and the table above a) comes from the great site Daily Baseball Data, and b) shows who’s pitched when and how much over the last week. You can click it for a larger view, if needed. Joba Chamberlain has pitched in four of the last six days, David Robertson in three of the last five with a lot of pitches thrown, 41-year-old Mariano Rivera in three of the last four, and on it goes. Boone Logan has worked so much of late that his arm is apparently barking, as Joe Girardi indicated that the ice pack on his lefty’s elbow last night was more than just routine maintenance.
After taking one for the team in extra innings last night, Hector Noesi is likely to be sent back to Triple-A Scranton today just to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. It’s a cruel world, but the kid certainly earned himself another look and will be back with the big league team sooner rather than later. So who is available to come up tonight? Turns out the answer isn’t very obvious…
40-Man Roster Guys
- Andrew Brackman, RHP: Threw 92 pitches on Sunday, so tomorrow would be his regular turn. Might be a bit of a long shot, but not completely off limits.
- Buddy Carlyle, RHP: Threw 35 pitches yesterday and 11 on Sunday. Unlikely, but possible.
- Lance Pendleton, RHP: Threw 50 pitches yesterday, so he’s a definite no.
- Ryan Pope, RHP: Threw 50 pitches on Tuesday, so he’s almost certainly a no.
Non-40-Man Roster Guys
- Randy Flores, LHP: Just signed a minor league contract, threw eight pitches yesterday and hadn’t pitched since last Friday before that. He’s just a lefty specialist though, I assume they’re looking for someone that can give them at least two innings.
- George Kontos, RHP: Threw 37 pitches on Saturday and hasn’t pitched since. He’s a definite candidate.
- D.J. Mitchell, RHP: Started and threw 113 pitches on Saturday, so today would be his regular turn. Carlos Silva is starting for Triple-A Scranton tonight though, and I’m not sure if Mitchell got pushed back to tomorrow or if he’s scheduled to come out of the bullpen after Silva.
- Andy Sisco, LHP: Another LOOGY, he threw 31 pitches on Tuesday and 14 on Sunday. Nope.
- Kevin Whelan, RHP: Ten pitches yesterday, 11 pitches last Friday, and 16 pitches last Thursday. It’s possible.
- Eric Wordekemper, RHP: Just three pitches on Tuesday but 32 on Sunday. Maybe.
David Phelps and Adam Warren have started the last two games for Triple-A Scranton, so they’re not options. Assuming Kontos isn’t hurt (just seems odd that he hasn’t pitched in four days, though SWB got rained out one of those days), he and Mitchell seem like the odds-on favorites, though Brackman’s in the mix as well. A 40-man roster spot isn’t much of an issue since Phil Hughes could just be moved to the 60-day disabled list, and if I had to guess, I’d bet on Mitchell getting the call just because he can provide some serious length if needed. Then again, so could Amaury Sanit, and perhaps a true short reliever with strikeout stuff like Kontos makes more sense. Me? I’d prefer Kontos, but what do I know.
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The Mason Williams Watch
i can go 1 inning and possibly two if I keep my pitch count under 10 in the first.
just waitin’ for the call!
You make more sense then Girardi.
Brilliant move by Girardi to pull Colon so we can get a look at all these guys.
Northwestern engineering degree smarts>>>>>>>>ours
Mariano or Colon at 80 something pitches? Hmmm
The way he was pitching, the correct answer was Colon.
I’m dumbfounded that people are complaining about pulling Bartolo “My-Arm-Is-Held-Together-By-Duct-Tape-And-Stem-Cells” Colon in favor of Mariano Rivera.
I’m dumbfounded by a manager who seems intent on not letting his pitchers go the distance.
The “It’s Mariano Rivera” defense works for a 30 year old Mariano Rivera. This is a 40 year old Mariano Rivera. You’d think he would welcome the chance to give him a night off.
Mariano Rivera is a better pitcher than Colon. This year and for his entire career. The choice is easy. Go with the better pitcher.
In reality it’s not that simple. There were so many other factors to take into account. Be that as it may…that’s just my opinion.
In reality it is that simple. Assuming that Mo hasn’t been overworked, then he’s the right choice.
Sure thing. You win.
Thanks. I never thought it would be that easy.
Dude. 87 pitches thru 8. He had definitely earned the right to try n finish the game. If you watched as many games as I’ve had you would know Rivera is shaky sometimes against O’s. Colon wasn’t on fumes 110+ or anything and it wasn’t the playoffs. I just feel he had the right to start the 9th.
If an engineering degree guaranteed success, my ass wouldn’t be writing a blog.
…but this blog has to be way more fun!
And we are all happy you are writing this blog Mike. Keep up the good work!
Yeah, through that engineering degree away! It did what it was supposed to do; get you a career as a MLB Blogger!
throughthrowGive me some Whelan. He has a definite shot to stick if they bring him up. Of course I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brackman up for a turn as Girardi loves to have a true long man in the pen. How badly would that screw up his innings build-up? I suppose he is old enough where it might not be a big deal.
If only the Yankees would carry an 8 man bullpen, then they’d be fine.
Maybe, but then Girardi would still overuse them and they’d need a 10 man bullpen.
These poor kid’s arms are gonna fall off. Maybe that’s why you don’t pull an ace starter in a 1-0 ballgame when he’s only thrown 87 pitches.
Glad to see Colon is now an ace
That spineless SOB manager!
haha..nice.
CC didn’t pitch last night, did he?
Colon has been great, but he’s playing with house money. His body could blow up at any point.
99% of the time Mo gets that save and game over and there is none of this nonsense talk.
It’s BARTOLO COLON, not an ace starter. He’s been pitching great this year, but he’s not an ace.
On the flip side, you have Mariano Rivera, who is the best closer in the history, and is pitching better than Colon this year.
Girardi hasn’t always been the quickest to get someone called up into a game, so chances are this person won’t even pitch
I’m amazed at the criticism Joe G. is getting…i’m more pissed about the lineup not scoring than I am the bullpen issues. what the hell else is Joe supposed to do in a 15 inning game?
I’m not pissed about anything. Britton is nasty. Maybe it was a little frustrating last night but they won and we found out that Noesi can potentially help at the ML level this year. Not such a bad night.
i’m not really pissed…and kudos to the O’s staff…they held tight.
a win is a win…i’ll take a win in any way, shape or form.
make it a 9 inning/one pitcher/complete game?
Is that possible anymore? Colon’s only chance was to be pitching a no hitter, not a 3 hitter with 3k’s in the eighth/87 pitches and 95 mph heat and location.
Joe controls the pitching decisions/not the risp failure.
Manage the game you have watched for 2 hours with your own eyes and 40+ years of baseball experience. Don’t manage by the binder and by fear of criticism.
So he should make decisions during the game so he can avoid this criticism afterwards instead of out of “fear of criticism”?
Unless Colon said he couldn’t go out there, he should have. I assume Girardi didn’t give him the option.
Joe: “Great job Barty-I’m going with Mo for the 9th.”
My suggestion:
Joe: “How do you feel Barty?”
Joe: “Hey Jeter want to lead off the entire year”
Jeter: “Sure why not”
Joe: “How do you feel about hitting 9th Georgie?”
Posada: “You know, I’m feeling good about my at-bats lately so why not move me up to the four spot instead?”
He’s the manager, let him make the decisions, most players are dumb when it comes to that sort of thing
Absolutely. I wouldn’t call them dumb as much as I would emotional when it comes to those decisions. Of course a player is never going to admit he’s hurt or tired…oh wait…we have Soriano.
Eh, if they had a 3-4 run lead maybe they let Colon go for the shut-out considering his pitch count. Hard to kill Joe though for handing it over to Mo in any one run game. Not saying it was right, as it obviously didn’t work out, but if Colon stays in and coughs up a run, everyone will be ripping him for not going to Mo. Either way, if they gave one up in the 9th he was gonna be second guessed.
Don’t manage by the binder and by fear of criticism.
He was managing like he had the greatest 1 inning pitcher in the history of baseball waiting to pitch. Unless it was his 3rd straight game or 4th game in 5 days, I don’t see how anyone can ever question bringing in Mo to start the 9th with a 1 run lead.
Exactly, why is this such a difficult concept for people. The chances Rivera gives up a run is much less than Colon even if he is on his game.
At some point we WILL question this. Mo cannot go on forever. What if Mo gave up 2 runs and lost the game?
That will happen at some point. Let’s hope it’s not after a gem from one of our starters.
All things come to an end-including the greatest one inning pitcher in the history of baseball.
We so rarely have an 8 inning/low pitch count gem from a starter especially with a 7th and 8th inning specialist (gag). 9 inning/low pitch count gems are sadly, foreign territory.
So because someday Mo’s career will end, he shouldn’t be put in 1 run games? If he had given up 2 runs last night, would that have signified the end?
For what imaginable reason was he put into the Tampa game?
It would be nice if the Yanks so-called “ace” could pitch like one tonight and go 9 rather than 6-7 innings with 100+pitches which has all too often been the case this season.
Are you implying that CC isn’t an ace?
This season, so far, he hasn’t pitched like one IMO.
But he is an ace. So is Cliff Lee, even if he hasn’t pitched like one. There are many non-ace pitchers who have pitched like aces so far.
Yeah exactly. He hasn’t been Phil Hughes. He’s had a couple off starts, but it doesn’t drop him from ace status. Still has a WAR almost twice as high as any other pitcher on the staff.
How are we figuring WAR 2x anyone else on the staff?
Fangraphs has CC at 1.4, with Mo and Colon at 0.8.
OK Baseball-Reference has Colon at 1.2 and CC at 1.0. I won’t pretend to know which is more reliable.
I checked BRef first and saw that, too. I wish we’d go back to prefacing WAR with its source, as they do calculate the numbers differently.
Sorry Rob, I shoulda been more specific. Hadn’t checked B-Ref…crazy discrepancy between the two though.
you would be surprised how many ppl have implied that
the internet is great for sure but it also contains a lot of ridiculous sports posts…servers full of them!
CC is only an Ace if he doesn’t allow a run for the rest of the year.
lol it’s funny but true.
It always seems like whatever he does it’s not good enough. I remember hearing Yankee fans say the team needed to get Halladay at the 09 trade line because CC could not be counted to pitch game 1 in any playoff series.
Go 9? It will have to be a no hitter or a 2-3 run margin.
Funny to all the comments about Colon. How his arm could fall off at any moment. Baseball has been riddled with pitcher injuries and bs injuries lately. Any pitchers arm can explode at any moment. At what point this season will we stop questioning, and say this guy has been the best starter on the staff THIS YEAR. June? July?
Fair point, but it’s hard to stop questioning a pitcher who is built like Jabba the Hut.
LOL Fair enough point 101!
But had Jabba been rebuilt with stem cells……Oh the pitcher he would be!
He didn’t start at all last year. The risk is there for anyone, but you have to be logical in assessing the situation.
As for saying whether Colon’s the best man on the staff, that comes down to hindsight. On July 1st of last year, you would have said that Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes were Cy Young candidates. If it’s October fifth and Colon has been, definitively, better than CC, then I will say he has the best starter on the staff this year.
The more I write this, the more obvious it seems to become.
Great post. My point was that so far this season he has been the best on the staff, in limited role obviously. In a must win tomorrow we’ll all take CC. But at what point do we stop taking what Colon’s doing for anything other than what he’s capable of?
His arm is only going to fall off when he stops taking the HGH.
Why would Brackman be considered over Kontos or Whelan? Brackman has a allowed 32 base runners in his last 13IP. That’s pretty terrible.
Kontos has been pitching well and has pitched at least 3 innings twice this year. Seems to me he’s the best choice if the Yanks are looking for a reliever who can give them innings.
As far as pure stats, Whelan has earned the call up, but he’s pretty much a one inning guy – so I could understand him being passed over.
Brackman’s on the list because he can pitch today if necessary and is on the 40-man roster. Both Whelan and Kontos need someone either waived or moved to the 60-day in order to have a roster spot. I agree, it should be Kontos (with Hughes moved to the 60-day). However, if it’s just to have someone available, Brackman might be the best choice for one game only.
The should add Kenny Powers to the bullpen and save him for when they play the Red Sox, more specifically Pedroia or Youkalis.
But Brackman is part of the Killer B’s!!!!
>_>
y…yeah?
Not for nothing, Girardi could have gone with giving EVERYONE a day off, instead everyone(with the exception of those who were scheduled for a day off) ended up getting used. What a shame. There’s times I love this manager then there’s times I feel he couldn’t manage his way out of a cereal box
+10. “There’s times I love this manager then there’s times I feel he couldn’t manage his way out of a cereal box”
I wondered why he didn’t come out for Burnett after the 2nd homer, then came out right after the 3rd one that gave TB the 6-5 lead. Burnett looked shaky. On the other hand, Colon looked solid and yet he replaced him instead. It’s not an ea
continued…
It’s not an easy job, but sometimes you have to take a chance to keep everyone fresh/healthy.
It’s interesting to see which pitchers are used. However, one important thing to note is that pitchers sometimes warm up but don’t play. This seems to be the case a lot with Robertson, especially earlier this season. The dude seemed to be warming up every game.