Archive for Rants
Time For A Reality Check
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Even though the Yanks walked away with a win yesterday, neophyte righthander Joba Chamberlain labored through yet another start, struggling with his command and failing to put hitters away with two strikes. After the game Joba said he thought he did pretty well and there wasn’t much he could do, but the most damning quote was: “At the end of the day, the sun comes up and I still have a job.” That’s beyond delusional, because at this point in his career Joba isn’t guaranteed anything. All he needs to do is look across the clubhouse at Phil Hughes for an example of that. Joe Girardi commented that they’ve been working with Joba on improving his tempo and plan to continue doing so, but we’ve seen absolutely zero improvement in five starts now.
Yet because Joba is the darling that he is, fans blamed grumpy old veteran Jorge Posada for his struggles, pumping out excuses about his inability to call a good game and work with pitchers. Meanwhile, the pitching staff went from allowing 5.27 runs per game to 4.15 runs per game after Posada returned from the DL on May 29th. So whatever problem Posada has working with pitchers, it appears to be confined to Joba. Either that, or the rest of the staff is just better at overcoming those problems. The most likely explanation: Joba is the problem.
In hindsight, calling Joba up and moving him to the bullpen in 2007 was the worst possible thing the organization could have done. Oh sure, the Yankees wouldn’t have made the playoffs that year without Joba’s stellar relief work, but as is often the case with the Yanks, they mortgaged part of the future for the present. Joba was thrust into the spotlight far too soon; he had New York eating out of the palm of his hand thanks to his triple digit fastball and explosive fist pumps before he was ready for it. First there were the “We want Jah-Ba! clap clap clapclapclap” chants, then there were the Joba Rules shirts, then there were Phiten and Modell’s commercials. But it was all too soon.
Don’t get me wrong, Joba was more than ready physically. His stuff was unbelievable and the results were astonishing. But mentally, Joba was still just an immature 21-yr old kid unprepared for the spotlight. He came into camp in 2007 and promptly missed the first month of the season after catching a spike during PFP and pulling a hammy. After just seven dominant starts with High-A Tampa, he was bumped up to Double-A Trenton. Six starts later, Joba was in Triple-A readying himself to come out the bullpen. He didn’t have enough time to even catch his breath all season, let alone learn how to get by on days when he didn’t have his best stuff or deal with failure. He was rushed and everyone is experiencing the consequences now.
However, it’s not to late to correct that. It’s time to ship Joba to Triple-A. Call up Sergio Mitre, move Phil Hughes or Al Aceves into the rotation, do whatever has to be done to soak up those innings, but right now it’s best for Joba to pitch in an environment that’s geared more toward development than production. Make him carry around his own bags and twiddle his thumbs on the bus. Make him watch 35-year-old Jason Johnson pitch with a torn labrum just because it might be the last chance he gets to chase his dream. Have him sit and watch good friend Ian Kennedy rehab from an aneurysm that could have potentially ended his career. Give him a dose of reality, and let him realize just how fortunate he is.
Again, don’t get me wrong. I love Joba as much as the next guy, and I look forward to watching him anchor the Yankees’ rotation for the next decade, but at this point a demotion is what’s best for him. Have him start every five days and work on his command, his tempo, his everything. Let him face experienced hitters in Triple-A and learn how to attack them. Simply put, it’s time for Joba to make up for the development time he missed out on by being rushed to the big leagues back in 2007. For once, the Yankees should put long terms plans ahead of short term gains.
Note: This goes beyond Joba as well. Young players are being rushed to the big leagues more than ever these days, even though almost all of them need more innings/at-bats in the minors to hone their craft. It’s not just about production and physical gifts, the mental part of the game also needs to be developed. Remember that the next time you want Jesus Montero moved to the outfield or some young kid promoted after he hits a few homers or strikes a bunch of guys out.
Photo Credit: Kathy Willens, AP
Olney’s premature obituary for A-Rod
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday, Buster Olney wrote a premature obituary of sorts for A-Rod. Noting that A-Rod’s numbers are way down this year, Olney speculated that the post-steroid-confession, post-surgery A-Rod isn’t anything close to the late-20’s A-Rod of five or six years ago.
With a premise like that, can you guess where this is going? Olney alleges that A-Rod is no longer as marketable as he once was. But first he drops this bombshell with the help of a few anonymous scouts:
The question is this: Is Rodriguez, a month from his 34th birthday, much less of a player because he presumably no longer takes performance-enhancing drugs?
It’s a question that can never be answered, but it’s a question that will continue to be asked, probably more within the Yankees organization than anywhere else. And really, if you want, just consider the question in terms of money.
The Yankees are still on the hook for about $250 million in the next eight-plus seasons. The player who will receive that money can never give them quite what they paid for, in a sense, because A-Rod, as a marketing tool, is damaged forever. They would settle for paying him just to hit well, field effectively and run the bases as well as he did for 15 years — doing all the things on the field they needed him to do when they signed him to the highest salary in the game.
The quotes are even better. “He looks old. He’s a first baseman. How many years does he have left on the contract?” one said. “He looks like a record playing at a slower speed,” said another.
For Olney, this is all about steroids. He writes, “Now he is the best player to admit past steroid use, and that has made him something of a lab rat. His performance will be dissected as talent evaluators continue to ask the question that can’t be fully answered.”
It’s a hackneyed piece that devolves into some steroid talk but it’s based on a solid premise: Can the Yankees get their value out of A-Rod? Now, from an on-field perspective, the answer is probably yes. Since resting for a day and a half over the weekend following six straight weeks of baseball after a major surgery, the A-Rod of old has emerged. He’s 5 for his last 16 with 8 RBIs and 4 walks. He says his legs feel stronger, and the Yankees are stressing health and rest as they approach A-Rod’s hip.
In reality, A-Rod’s slump was just that. He had a bad stretch brought about by fatigue in his hip. Yet, despite that reality, despite the surgery, we’re going to get eight years of badly written columns about A-Rod’s decline, A-Rod’s being a shell of his former self, A-Rod’s no longer steroid-filled physique. Forget the natural decline brought about by age. Forget talent. That’s the baseball world in which we live. Olney, though, should know better.
A review of MLB’s instant replay
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Click the image above. It gets very big, and I promise it’ll open in a new window. The play is a bit of a blur, but what do you see?
I see Mark Teixeira with his glove firmly around a strong throw from Alex Rodriguez and his foot planted on first base. I see Cristian Guzman still in the air above first base. I see unequivocal evidence that Guzman was out, and yet, a split second later, the umpire called him safe.
For a blown call, it was both monumental and underwhelming. It was monumental because Nick Johnson, the next hitter for the Nationals, blasted a two-run triple (not helped by a ill-conceived dive by Melky) that plated Cristian Guzman. It was underwhelming because, while the bleachers saw the replay and booed, it generated what looked more like a polite protest rather than a heated discussion from Joe Girardi.
Generally, when the umpires get it wrong, they don’t do so in such an obvious fashion. Bang-bang plays, slightly missed tags, balls that are just foul or kick up maybe a milimeter’s worth of foul line chalk — those are tough to see. This one, on a routine play at first, isn’t, and considering that umpires often listen — for the ball hitting the glove, for the foot hitting the bag — to make this call makes this worse.
Last year, Major League Baseball became the last major sport to institute instant replay review. It drove the purists nuts, but MLB had to embrace what has become a day-to-day technology in every broadcast of its events. When regional sports networks can replay bad home run calls to death, something has to give.
The way they implemented it, though, was entirely arbitrary. Only home run calls — fair, foul, over the fence or not, fan interference — would be subject to review. In a way, MLB modeled review after the NHL’s review of disputed goals, but the analogy lays bare the problem with it. Home runs may lead directly to runs, but baseball is a sum of its parts. A bad call at first base can be just as important as a home run. Why should one get special treatment while the other is subjected to bad calls?
Last night’s play at first base was unavoidable, and while critics of instant replay bemoan the time it takes to review plays, that is simply a red herring call. I got home, fired up the game archive on MLB.tv and zipped ahead to the 5th inning. Twenty seconds later, I had that screenshot and an unequivocal view of an obvious out that an umpire ruled safe. While Joe noted that the game probably unfolds differently if Guzman is out, we can’t dispute its impact on the Yanks’ loss, and I’d be happy to sit through a short 20-second review in exchange for the right call.
Right now, I don’t have a better solution. MLB can’t open instant replay to every ball and strike, to every close play. But when an umpire gets something so wrong and it changes the game, something has to give.
Not the last dance for Chien-Ming Wang
Posted by: | CommentsDuring his last outing in Boston, Chien-Ming Wang couldn’t escape the third inning. He threw 29 pitches in the first inning, and while his fastball was up in the mid-90s, his sinker had no sink. Boston tattooed him, and the Yanks would go on to lose 6-5.
After the game, Joe Girardi didn’t commit to another start for the Yanks’ erstwhile ace. “I’m not ready to make that decision right now,” he said.
Less than 24 hours later, though, Girardi was ready to make that decision, and he did so in the form of an ultimatum. Wang would get one more start this week against the Nationals. If he falters against Washington, the Yankees will need to come up with a new plan, Girardi seemed to intimate. With Al Aceves and Phil Hughes both on the 25-man roster, the Yankees could easily find someone to take Wang’s place in short order.
Yesterday, following the Yanks’ victory over the Mets in the most lopsided Subway Series game in Interleague history, Brian Cashman sat down for a short state of the organization chat with Newsday’s Arthur Staple. While Staple and the Yanks’ GM chatted about the importance of Brian Bruney, Cashman’s need of Steinbrenner approval for any payroll increases and the vague state of the trade market, Cashman’s most pregnant words were reserved for Wang.
Staple wrote:
Cashman said Wang’s start Wednesday against the Nationals would be a big factor in determining what happens next.
“We need Chien-Ming Wang,” Cashman said. “This is an important step. We know what he’s capable of. The velocity and the sink are there. Maybe his confidence isn’t there.”
After Wang flamed out again in Boston on Wednesday, Cashman, Joe Girardi and pitching coach Dave Eiland met to decide Wang’s future. They chose to give him one more chance at starting before demoting him and returning Phil Hughes to the rotation. Hughes pitched a scoreless ninth inning yesterday.
“Clearly, our bullpen and our team can’t continue to deal with this issue,” Cashman said, “especially when we have someone who can do the job better.”
That’s a very public way of dealing with an internal matter that would have short- and long-term ramifications. As the Yankees have evaluated their pitching prospects, Wang has always been a big part of their plans. He along with Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Al Aceves and Ian Kennedy made up the internal, cost-controlled pitchers who would complement the big free agents. With Wang lost, the Yanks’ plan relies very heavily on young talent.
Meanwhile, I don’t see the need to put so much emphasis on one start. Four days ago, I was ready to throw Chien-Ming Wang to the wolves. I couldn’t bear to watch the Yanks spot their opponents to four runs and have to rely on the bullpen to get 15 or 18 outs. Yet, after reading the comments on my game recap and having a few other discussions, I don’t believe the Yanks should be so easy to give up on Wang.
It is certainly important the Yankees field the top five guys who can best put them in a position to win right now. They’re two games out of the AL East and lead a hard-charging Tampa Bay Rays team (as well as the Angels and Blue Jays) by three games in the Wild Card. They need victories, and they can’t really afford to write off at least one out of every five games.
All things considered, though, if the Yankees believe that Wang’s problem is not physical and is only mechanical in such a way that confidence impacts his approach, they are doing themselves no favors in limiting their evaluation of him to one start. Chien-Ming Wang was 54-20 with a 3.79 ERA prior to this year. That isn’t talent readily available anywhere, and while I don’t believe the Yanks owe it to Chien-Ming Wang to let him pitch, they owe it to the team now and the team next year to straighten him out.
Removing him after one more sub-par start and exiling him to the bullpen or the scrap heap isn’t really a stellar solution. Finding the cause of the problem and fixing it is. That is, after all, why the team has a coaching staff.
Players who make accusations should not hide
Posted by: | CommentsNote: I stand by the premise of the post, but I’ve chosen a poor example to illustrate it.
When baseball players talk, journalists listen. This is especially true when a ballplayer accuses another of an impropriety. Unfortunately, because of baseball’s walled-garden nature, most of those anecdotes reach the public anonymously. It’s the only condition under which journalists can print the accusations. Ballplayers simply do not want their names attached to criticism of fellow players, especially teammates.
Mark Feinsand relates an example involving ESPN broadcaster Rick Sutcliffe:
Sutcliffe said on the air that A-Rod had been feeding Teixeira verbal signs from the on-deck circle, giving his teammate a heads-up on the catcher’s location before the pitch was delivered.
While Feinsand didn’t reveal how Sutcliffe became privy to this controversy, it really comes down to one of two ways. He either made the observation himself, or he heard it from a player. Since he’s a broadcaster for a national network and hasn’t covered more than a handful of Yanks games this year, the former is unlikely. It’s fairly safe to say — though I’ll avoid making the concrete connection — that he got the information from a player.
Which player? We’ll never know. It’s the same as the pitch-tipping accusation in Selena Roberts’s book. An anonymous player made an accusation, and the journalist ran with it. This, I think, is a mistake. Journalists shouldn’t feed the public accusations from anonymous sources.
A glance through the comments section of RAB reveals the problems with anonymity. When people don’t attach their own names, and thereby their own reputations, to a comment, they’ll say things they would never, ever say if their integrity was on the line. But, because in many instances there is no way to connect the commenter and his real-life personage, the commenter is free to say whatever he or she likes, without any repercussions.
This can be applied to baseball players. Since their names will never be attached to the comment, they can say what they like. They could have a personal vendetta against the player and say something in a moment of frustration. They might relay a suspicion, grounded in nothing but a single observation. It could be any number of things, but since the player doesn’t have his name attached to the comment, it won’t harm his reputation. He’s free to say whatever he wants, really.
Please be clear: this is not to say that A-Rod didn’t tip pitches, nor is it to say that A-Rod doesn’t give Teixeira a verbal sign from the on-deck circle. The point is that if players are going to levy these accusations, they should either attach their name, and thereby reputation, to the comment, or not say it at all. How can the public determine the validity of the accusation if we don’t even know the source?
Anonymous sources are important for journalists. Through anonymous sources journalists can find out information that they otherwise would not have. However, there’s a point of abuse. If a player isn’t willing to attach his reputation to a comment, why should a journalist deign it worthy to print? The short answer, in my opinion, is that he or she shouldn’t. Leave the grenade-lobbing gossip in the clubhouse. If a player feels strongly enough about the accusation — both its accuracy and its gravity — he will put his name on the accusation. Otherwise, it should be left in the clubhouse, like just about everything else in baseball.
The Yanks’ 22-man roster
Posted by: | CommentsWith the Yanks up 10-3 in the ninth inning last night, Joe Girardi turned the ball over to Jose Veras for the final three outs of the game. Veras, as Mike said, pitched to the score, and it was ugly.
The first batter, Shin-Soo Choo, homered. Then, Jose Veras hit Mark DeRosa with a pitch. After a ground-out, Ben Francisco plated DeRosa with a double. All of a sudden, the Yankees were a Cleveland home run away from a save situation.
For Veras, his appearance capped off a May to forget. After beginning the season with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in April, Veras has been utterly terrible. This month, he has thrown 8.2 innings and has allowed 11 hits and 8 walks. He has a 7.27 ERA to go with that 2.31 WHIP. Jose Veras is now so bad that the Yanks can’t even trust him in a seven-run game.
Meanwhile, also making an appearance last night was Angel Berroa. The Yanks’ 25th man pinch ran for Matsui and never made it past second base. In his last pinch-running cameo, Berroa was thrown out at the plate by about 15 feet on a foul ball down the line. He earned himself a whopping four at-bats this month and hasn’t done anything.
Finally we arrive at Brett Tomko. Since being called up by the Yanks during the first week of May, Tomko has made five appearances for the team. His last outing was a one-inning effort against the Phillies last Sunday when he gave up a hit and two walks in the 11th. He got the loss and threw just 14 of 30 pitches for strikes.
With these three players rarely used or underperforming to an extreme degree, the Yankees are playing at a peak level with a 22-man roster. At AAA, they have Shelley Duncan, the International League’s leading home run hitter who would give the bench far more pop than Berroa provides. They have Mark Melancon and George Kontos throwing well and throwing strikes for Scranton.
At this point, we don’t even need to offer up more analysis. The Yankees have three dead spots on their roster. They owe nothing to these players, and we’ve seen enough — sometimes by simply seeing nothing at all — to know that they don’t belong anymore. It’s time for the Yankees and Brian Cashman to pull the trigger on these three players. With a full 25-man roster, the first-place Yankees, 16-5 over their last 21 games, could be that much better.
Why listen to Francesa’s B-Jobber rants?
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday afternoon, the never-sanguine Mike Francesa got a little hot under the collar when a caller to the FAN dared to use facts and reality to dispute Francesa’s views on Joba Chamberlain. The video — which you can view here — is quite the tour de force. Francesa proves nothing more than the reality that he can scream louder and belittle people all while not proving his controversial and short-sighted view that Joba Chamberlain belongs in the sacred, more-important-than-any-other-inning, 8th.
Meanwhile, another B-Jobber — the RAB-originated term for fans and analysts who want to put the Yanks’ second best starter in the bullpen — offers up more of the same on the YES Network’s homepage. Jerome Preisler wrote a fact-free piece on why Chamberlain should be relieving. His argument is full of the same old same old. He overvalues a reliever and falls into the confirmation bias trap. Joba looked great as a reliever when he came up, and his success as a very young starter in the AL East notwithstanding, he should be moved back to the pen.
“It is now time to end the debate about Joba Chamberlain, to stop equivocating about his Yankee future to the detriment of the team. Joba should be returned to the bullpen’s eighth-inning setup role and groomed to replace Mariano Rivera as its closer. He is Rivera’s best, and perhaps only, realistic successor,” Preisler writes in one paragraph. You quickly get the point.
Now, everyday, Joe, Mike, and I field e-mails from Yankee fans shocked at this bullpen blasphemy. Take, for instance, yesterday’s missive from Doug, a hardcore Yankee fan from New Jersey:
Anyways, all these Francesa [listeners] call in all day long and agree with him and feed his ego. The only non “B-jobbers” that get on the air are usually ignorant to the game and rightfully get hung up on in a matter of 30 seconds or so. Rarely do they ever have any intelligent contributions. Myself, I am pretty knowledgable but lack the fiery personality it takes to argue with that slob. I am more the passive type to just let someone like that go off on a tangent and let him sound like the prick he is. When I do call, though, I usually cannot get through or get tired of waiting. I think once you disclose that you disagree with the B-jobber mentality, you are put on hold without ever actually having a chance of airtime.
What I ask of you is to make some sort movement towards totally getting the phone lines on WFAN jammed up with those who can make a viable argument for Joba the starter. You just have to have the intellect to get on and be able to argue your points with backup. You guys have the power and the right communication channel to put this jerk in his place for once. He is more pompous and arrogant than ever now that he has his own show and I can’t take it any more. The people of NY, NYC, the tri-state area, YES viewers, and Yankees fans far and wide deserve better than this clown and his stupid self-centered ideas.
I couldn’t agree more with Doug, and I know he’s not alone. Long-time RAB reader Jamal G. is frequently facepalming over Francesa’s rants, and our Twitter followers often sputter at Francesa’s lunacy.
But better than clogging the phones, I have a better idea: Just stop listening. I know sports fans love to get riled up over disagreements; that’s what makes the comments to many of our posts so entertaining and enjoyable. But when someone shows a complete unwillingness to open up to the other side, when someone starts ranting about how callers and listeners are just flat-out wrong if they disagree with him…well, we should all just stop listening.
In the end, Francesa, Preisler and their ilk won’t go away. On the day Joba wins his 100th game as a starter, these guys will still be saying he should be in the bullpen. But the Yankees are immune to the lunacy. They have not wavered in their belief that Joba, always a starter before the Bronx, will remain in the rotation, and those are the voices to which we should be listening.
I did not watch last night’s game, and I don’t mind
Posted by: | CommentsFive straight losses is tough to handle, especially when you run a Yankees site and have to do a recap afterward. I took to all sorts of activities — MLB 09 The Show, sports trivia — to get over the emotional torment of the losses before writing them up. After yet another heartbreaking loss on Thursday night, I knew I needed a night off. Thankfully, I had dinner plans with a few friends (mussels, beer, pom fritte). We set out to the restaurant right before the first pitch, and didn’t return until the bottom of the ninth.
Some friends felt sympathy for me not having seen the game. “Oh, man, you had to deal with those losses and didn’t even get to see the redemption?” No, I didn’t. But I didn’t mind. After five straight losses, all in particularly gruesome fashion, missing an excellent win didn’t bother me one little bit. I didn’t sit around for the highs and lows, didn’t see any poor at bats, any failings to score with RISP…anything negative at all. It was mostly a baseball-free night (well, except when I started checking my BlackBerry in the 7th inning).
So I missed CC’s big game. Big whoop. I still have MLB.tv and can relive the glory this afternoon while waiting for the night game. While A-Rod’s homer was probably tantalizing to see live, I saw it enough on replay, and understand the implications well enough, that I’m only marginally worse off as a baseball fan for not having seen it. While missing the good parts I also missed the bad parts, and that’s a good thing.
It’s almost like when you have a week where you sleep three or four hours a night. Friday you’re in this zombie-like state, wanting nothing other than the end of the work day to come. Go to bed early, sleep until noon, and it feels like the batteries are recharged. By going out during the game and sharing good times with friends (and also incredibly good food and beer), I was able to forget about the lows of the past week. That we got home for the bottom of the ninth was even sweeter. This was a group of six Yankees fans, two of whom had been to all four Rays/Sox losses (and with whom I saw Saturday’s loss). We all could have used the break.
Last night’s victory was sweet — so sweet that I’m going to watch it on replay. Many Yanks fans watched the game with joy, but I’m fine having missed it. There are plenty more to see, all hopefully less painful than those we saw over the past week.
The Red Sox never forget
Posted by: | CommentsI know this one went around a few days ago, but with my finals schedule, I’ve had this tab open and no time to post it. Since we’re whiling away the hours until a 7 p.m. start time tonight, let’s get to some good ol’ fashioned mocking of the Boston Red Sox.
Earlier this week, with the Yanks trailing by a run and a runner already on base, Joba Chamberlain hit Jason Bay with an 0-0 fastball. At the time, I thought nothing of it and was more dismayed that the Red Sox had two runners on than anything else. Boston, apparently, thought otherwise.
As Rob Bradford detailed on WEEI’s Full Count blog this week, the Red Sox won’t forget that HBP. Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell had quite the rant too:
“Typically, we let the game play out itself because I think our guys have each others backs and they are certainly going to be supportive if a situation like that were to arise. Speaking specifically about last night, he strikes out 12 guys, doesn’t seem to have too many command issues, and if there was a purpose or intent to throw up and in you can disguise it a little bit more than making it very obvious with the first pitch in the middle of the back to Jason Bay. Those things aren’t forgotten. We know there is a history there between the pitcher in New York and our guys here and not to say that he was specifically out to do that but I think history speaks for itself and we’ve got a number of games left with these guys.”
To which I say: Give me a break. The last thing Joba wanted to do was risk falling further behind. That was probably one of Chamberlain’s least intentional HBPs, and it pales in comparison the Joba-Youkilis drama that gets played out every time the two teams meet. Maybe Josh Beckett will throw up and in to A-Rod or Hideki Matsui when these two teams next month, but that would just be blatant retribution for a meaningless hit batter. Let it go, Boston. Let it go.
The madness has to end
Posted by: | CommentsOkay, it’s time for this thirteen man pitching staff experiment to end. The starters have pitched into at least the sixth inning in nine of the last ten games and twelve of the last fourteen, and we’re getting to the point where guys like Mark Melancon and David Robertson are going four or five days between appearances. Even worse, the last two nights we’ve had to watch late inning, potentially game tying and/or game winning rallies die at the hands of Ramiro Pena and Jose Molina. Something has to be done about this.
I’ve long been a Brian Cashman supporter, but he’s asleep at the wheel here. I get that Jorge Posada’s hurt and I get that A-Rod’s out and I know Xavier Nady’s loss was unfortunate, but guess what? The other 29 clubs don’t feel bad for the Yanks. Cash had an opportunity to improve his bench when Jorge Posada hit the DL, but instead opted for the easy paper move of calling up Frankie Cervelli. A spare reliever (coughJoseVerascough) could have been DFA’ed, sending a message to the other assorted crap in the pen as well as freeing up a 40-man spot for PJ Pilittere, who was killing the ball in Triple-A (.317-.349-.488) and is just as capable defensively as Cervelli. Posada’s roster spot could have been used for Juan Miranda, giving the Yanks an actual, real life hitter off the bench. But no, instead Pilittere gets DEMOTED to Double-A to fill Cervelli’s spot. That’s the definition of ass backwards.
There are solutions to the bench problem, but the front office just seems uninterested in pursuing them. Brett Gardner has proven to be utterly useless at anything but running the bases, so why not give Todd Linden a shot? He’s crushing Triple-A (.346-.426-.577, career .873 OPS in AAA), switch hits, plays all three outfield spots, and has been a bench player in the NL his whole career so he knows the routine. Doesn’t it sound like he’d be more useful than the obviously overmatched Gardner? Even John Rodriguez would be better use of a roster spot, but Linden’s got him beat on the versatility front. Do they really like Anthony Claggett so much that they aren’t willing to cut him and free up a 40-man spot?
Instead of carrying thirteen pitchers and three useless players on the bench, they could have been rolling with a bench of Pilittere, Berroa, Linden and Miranda, with seven arms in the bullpen. Then when A-Rod comes back, Berroa goes away and Pena takes over the utility infielder spot. How much different would the last two games have been if you had Miranda available to pinch hit late in the game with runners in scoring position? We’ll never know, but I know I would have certainly felt better about the Yanks’ chances with an actual hitter up there.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do sympathize with Joe Girardi about the bullpen. His two primary set-up are on the DL, and everyone else has been shaky at best. That’s tough for any team to overcome, but the Yanks still have a nice mix out there. Melancon’s way better than he’s shown, Phil Coke’s been rock solid, and even Edwar Ramirez has been effective in short stints. Cash and Girardi are right to be patient with this guys, but man, that doesn’t mean you weaken another part of the team just to carry extra arms.
Roster spots are like outs, they’re precious and need to be maximized because there are a limited amount of them. Instead, the Yanks are wasting several of them on extra relievers or players that really have no business being in the big leagues. Sure, in cases like Angel Berroa that is due to injury, and that’s fine. But the front office is not putting the best available team on the field day in and day out, and that’s frustrating. Frankly, it’s inexcusable for any team, nevermind one that just opening a $1.3B stadium and has $200M tied up in payroll, to get lazy with the roster.
