River Avenue Blues

Anatomy of an effective bullpen

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In 2007, the Padres and the Red Sox topped their respective leagues in bullpen ERA and batting average against. Thing is, entering the season, neither team had much to boast about in that department. In fact, the Sox pen was in such shambles that Jonathan Papelbon told Tony Francona that he wanted to move back to the closer role (or at least that’s how Boston tells the story). So how did these two teams come out ahead?

Skilled closer

Obviously, the first step in building a bullpen is creating a viable endgame. Both Trevor Hoffman and Jonathan Papelbon qualify as such. They keep things relatively stable at the end — Papelbon more than Hoffman, though, as he blew just three saves last year (and we remember a couple of ’em), while Hoffman was the goat in seven games, including the most important one for the Padres.

There’s not much else to say about this. We have it in Mo, who I think we all can agree is better than Hoffman at this stage of his career.
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Who’s next at the top?

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Pitchers and catchers are still at home. Position players have a few weeks left in vacation. Yet, the Brian Cashman Job Watch is already on the go.

Today, Joel Sherman checks in with his latest: Brian Cashman may very be building a farm system for his successor. Using the Super Bowl Champs as an example, Sherman draws parallels between Cashman and Ernie Accorsi, the former New York Giants GM who built the current Giants team.

It is possible, and Cashman knows this, that he might be rebuilding a farm system for another man, that he will play Accorsi and hand off something ready to blossom to his successor. He insists he is fine with that prospect, recalling how fortunate he was to be gifted a championship roster from his predecessor Bob Watson, saying he owes it to that memory and to professionalism and to Yankees fans to guarantee his baton pass is as fruitful.

“You want to make sure it is sustainable for the next person,” Cashman said.

Cashman has just one year left on his contract. No one would be surprised if he returned again, that his love for the job and his long history with the Steinbrenner family produce another contract. But no one around the Yankees – or really around baseball – would be surprised either if VP of scouting Damon Oppenheimer, like Reese, graduates from heading a draft room to directing the big room. Oppenheimer’s outstanding recent drafts have provided much of the backbone to support Cashman’s vision of restoring youth and financial sanity to the Yankees roster.

A lot of Brian Cashman’s most vocal critics have long pointed to the Yanks’ farm system in the pre-Cashman days as a sign that Brian is an overrated GM. While this argument ignores the fact that Brian Cashman, as an Assistant GM before his days as a General Manager, was instrumental in building up the Yankees farm system, it also ignores what Cashman has been able to accomplish since 2005 when he seemingly wrested control away from King George and his Tampa minions in order to build up a franchise.

Since then, the Yanks have skyrocketed in prospect ratings from the low 20s to the upper echelons of the list. That is not to say that Cashman has been a perfect GM. I’ll happily defend Cash, but I know that the Yankees are a flawed team with an astronomical payroll. But it’s hard to understate the importance of their farm system.

They have top-notch arms in Joba, Phil and IPK ready to contribute at the Major League level now. They have position players who should develop just in time to contribute when they are most needed. And they have a new organizational philosophy that will keep them spending on the amateur draft and international free agents while maintaining a competitive Big League club through free agency.

Who knows what the future holds for Cashman? He may jet to Philadelphia as many have speculated. He may stick around. He could retire and come back after a few years away from the game. But no matter the outcome in 2008, he has left his mark on this team, and it’s for the better.

Bruney, Yanks avoid salary arbitration

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What do you get when you walk 37 guys and strike out 39 in 50 innings while pitching to an ERA worse than league average and getting sent down to AAA in August? Well, if you’re Brian Bruney, the answer is a raise amounting to nearly 100 percent. Bruney and the Yanks settled their salary dispute before arbitration, and the righty’s take will jump from $395,500 to $725,000 in 2008. He’s getting rewarded for not doing his job. In other news, Phil Hughes saw an alligator. It’s a slow news week.

He said. He said.

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“It was great to be able to tell them what I’ve been saying all along, that I’ve never used steroids or growth hormone. And I look forward to being here I guess in this room next week. So, thank you very much. Y’all have a good day,” Roger Clemens said after five hours of questions (and probably as many autograph requests). I’m sure Brian McNamee will say the opposite, and Congress will be none the wiser. Taxpayer time and money well spent.

Super Tuesday

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Today’s a big day for politically minded residents of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and a number of other states outside of Yankee territory. I just wanted to take a brief second to urge you all to vote today. This election – whether it’s Clinton vs. McCain, Obama vs. Romney or any other combination of match-ups – will be a big one, and it all starts with the primaries. Polls in New York are open until 9 p.m.; polls in Connecticut and New Jersey until 8. To find your polling place and for more information, the City Room blog has a rundown. Vote.

VT announces plans for Yanks exhibition game

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Virginia Tech released information about the ticket plan for the March 18 exhibition game between the Yankees and VT baseball team. As expected, the event is closed to the general public with 3000 tickets set aside for those VT students enrolled on April 16, 2007, 1000 reserved for VT faculty and the rest for those affected by the shootings. The game may also be telecast in the mid-Atlantic region.