River Avenue Blues

  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Features
    • Yankees Top 30 Prospects
    • Prospect Profiles
    • Fan Confidence
  • Resources
    • 2019 Draft Order
    • Depth Chart
    • Bullpen Workload
    • Guide to Stats
  • Shop and Tickets
    • RAB Tickets
    • MLB Shop
    • Fanatics
    • Amazon
    • Steiner Sports Memorabilia
River Ave. Blues » Al Aceves » Page 4

An eighth inning solution: Alfredo Aceves

June 3, 2009 by Benjamin Kabak 95 Comments

As the Yankees put together a hot May, the team’s fans have watched Alfredo Aceves blossom into a very effective and useful piece in the bullpen. While he has made just nine appearances, he has shown poise and ability that could provide the shaky Yanks’ pen with a solid piece.

On the season, Aceves has hurled 19.2 innings over those nine appearances. He has allowed 16 hits and has walked just three while striking out 18. He is 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA, and opponents are hitting .219/.256/.342 off him. While his BABIP allowed is .259, lower than the average and thus suggesting that opponents may hit him better in the future, he has limited the damage by throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes. It’s amazing what confidence and good stuff can do for a reliever

Over the last few weeks, we’ve explored the various roles of Alfredo Aceves. Rebecca wrote a guest post suggesting that he could be the next Ramiro Mendoza, an unheralded but valuable member of the Yankee championship teams, and the Yankees have deployed Aceves as such. Six of his nine appearances have been of the multiple inning variety. The other three were either in extra innings or in the 9th inning of what was then an 11-0 blowup.

Meanwhile, the infamous Eighth Inning debate rages on in the Yankee Universe. More important than any of the other eight innings, the eighth inning has been a thorn in the Yankees’ side since the end of Steve Karsay’s career. (Ed. Note: Hyperbole.) As the Yanks remain committed, as they should be, to keeping Joba in the rotation and as Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte work their ways back from injuries, the Yanks have struggled to build a proper bridge to Mariano. Jose Veras is a nightmare; Phil Coke hasn’t been able to get the job done. You know the story.

Today, in a very well-researched piece that relies upon some advanced bullpen metrics not often seen among the Yankee beat writers, Marc Carig proposes Alfredo Aceves for the eighth inning. Aceves, notes Carig, is second among team relievers in WXRL or expected wins added over a replacement level pitcher, and he has excelled so far in high-leverage situations. Noting that the analysis is subject to a small sample size warning, Carig concludes:

But Aceves has many of qualities typically associated with good set-up men, specifically impeccable command. And though he’s not overpowering with his fastball, Aceves can throw any pitch at any time, making him equally effective against lefties and righties.

To me, it only makes sense to reward Aceves by having him work in these high-leverage situations as much as possible. And the only way for the Yankees to do that is to scrap the idea of using him as a jack-of-all-trades reliever.

Using Aceves for multiple innings essentially wastes him in non-essential situations that can be worked by lesser relievers. What’s worse, multiple inning stints would mean at times that Aceves would have to rest as much as two days between appearances.

He’s much too valuable for that.

I certainly see Carig’s point, and he makes a very compelling case for the move. Yet, as I believe that Mariano Rivera should not be saved for a save situation that may never come and should be used in the highest leverage situations late in games, I don’t think the Yankees need to limit their use of Aceves to just the eighth inning.

What they have in Aceves is a versatile reliever who could pitch the eighth in close games and can prevent other games from getting out of hand. He can throw multiple innings on back-to-back days and can provide flexibility in a bullpen short on that very trait. There is no need to mess with that, and Joe Girardi seems to agree.

“You could think about it but I do like the flexibility he gives us,” Girardi said. “And with a couple of young starters that we have, sometimes you need a little bit of length out of your guys.”

Filed Under: Death by Bullpen Tagged With: Al Aceves

Yanks move into first with nondescript win

May 30, 2009 by Joe Pawlikowski 40 Comments

The best way to describe this game to someone who didn’t see it: the play of the game was a Mark Teixeira scoop at first on an off-line Derek Jeter throw. Sure, it was a good play, but when you think play of the game, don’t you think of a homer or a big RBI? The Yanks didn’t get one in this game. They scored on a Jeter single, a Teixeira groundout, and a Swisher sac fly. Nothing flashy. Just three — dare I say it? — gritty runs and some timely pitching. The Yanks rode it all the way to first place in the AL East, beating the Indians 3-1.

When you look at Pettitte’s final line, it’s surprising he allowed only one run. He threw just 45 of his 84 pitches for strikes (54%) and allowed 11 baserunners in five-plus innings. This led to a number of Indians threats, none greater than one he left in the sixth. After a single, walk, and a 2-0 count on the next batter, Joe Girardi had seen enough. Pettitte clearly wasn’t feeling 100 percent; Girardi and the trainer had to visit the mound in the fourth for a possible injury concern. With a bases loaded, no outs situation just two pitches away, Girardi insisted that his starter hand over the ball.

Al Aceves took care of the next two balls, but bore down after that. To allow just one run with the bases loaded and no outs is admirable, and that’s just what Aceves did. Then he did some more, shutting down the Indians for two more innings and yes, laid the bridge to Mo. Since Mo is Mo, and Mo has already had his freakout moment of the year, he was just fine, striking out Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore before getting Victor Martinez to ground out, giving the Yanks the W. With a Boston loss against Toronto, the Yankees are in first place by themselves for the first time since the last day of the 2006 season.

While the Yanks’ offense did a good job of manufacturing a few runs, pitching won the day. Pettitte was shaky but limited the damage with runners on base. Aceves allowed just one baserunner of his own in three innings pitched. And, of course, Mo did what Mo does. The offense did have a few chances to lay it to the Indians, but they went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. That’s why pitching is so damn important. The Yankees have been hitting better lately with RISP, but sometimes they’re going to have games like this. When the pitching doesn’t go out and allow five runs, as we saw countless times last year, the team has a chance. Those two hits with RISP, plus the sac fly, was enough with this staff.

The Yanks won on Wednesday and they won today. One more and that’s a winning streak. Thankfully, they’ll call on their best man to do it, as CC Sabathia takes the hill tomorrow evening in his return to Cleveland. I’m certainly looking forward to this one. It’s one of the benefits of having the Yanks being in first place: I’m always looking forward to the next game. Not that I’m not when they’re in second, third, hell, even last. It’s just when the team is going well, I just can’t wait to get to the next game. It’s quite the feeling. Hopefully the Yanks keep it going.

Filed Under: Game Stories Tagged With: Al Aceves, Andy Pettitte

Guest Column: Aceves is the new Mendoza

May 22, 2009 by Benjamin Kabak 71 Comments

The following is a guest post by Rebecca Glass. RAB regulars may know her better as Aunt Becca-Optimist Prime. While not chatting up a storm on RAB, Rebecca maintains her own site at This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes. Any readers interested in submitting guest posts can contact me via e-mail at ben at riveraveblues dot com.

During Thursday’s game, Ken Singleton asked Michael Kay if he remembered Ramiro Mendoza. Kay sputtered for a minute, wondering why Singleton would ask him such an obvious question before Singleton corrected himself and asked after Mario Mendoza.

While the exchange was innocuous, just the mention of the name “Ramiro Mendoza” while Alfredo Aceves was on the mound seemed, at the very least, apropos.

***

The long man is traditionally the bullpen’s least important reliever: to be used in mop-up duty, low-leverage type situations when the starter’s appearance is cut short due to ineffectiveness or injury, and the manager needs an arm to abuse for an inning or five. Some long men are quite good. Some…well, some you end up with a 20-1 Twins win over the White Sox or that game where Texas scored 30 runs against Baltimore.

Typically, long men are the least acknowledged players on a team because when things are going well, they don’t appear. When a starter gives inning and the set-up men and closer do their jobs, the long man becomes redundant.

Still, the Yankees should know — perhaps more than any other team — that a good long man can make all the difference in the world. Even when things are going right.

The most underrated player of the Yankees during the “Dynasty Years” may very well have been their long man, Ramiro Mendoza. It wasn’t that Ramiro Mendoza was an exceptionally good pitcher–he had a career ERA of 4.30 and WHIP of 1.34 , but that Mendoza was more than a long man.

He didn’t just come in and mop up; he could spot start, throw short relief and do pretty much whatever the Yankees needed of him that day. The day after, he could then do something completely different and perform all of these roles to a standard of general competency.

Mendoza’s number will never be retired by the Yankees and only hard core fans beyond our generation will ever know his name. But I’m not entirely sure the Yankees win three straight, and four of six over all from 1996-2001, without him. (Ed. Note: In 1996, Mendoza made 11 spot starts and one relief appearance, but from 1997-2002, he was a pitching savior for the Yanks. Over six seasons, he won 50 games and had a 3.86 ERA and a 118 ERA+. You can’t buy that kind of versatility anymore.)

***

So why bring this up? Because if you’ve been watching Yankees baseball at all with the devotion that would bring you to RAB, you’d know that Alfredo Aceves is kinda sorta doing everything that Ramiro Mendoza did.

And he’s doing it better.

Okay, so there’s a giant enormous argument to be made for “Holy small sample size, Batman.” I acknowledge that. And hey, if Sabathia, Burnett, Joba, Hughes, Pettitte, and/or Wang all do their collective jobs, the sample size is probably still going to remain pretty small and not rival Mendoza’s 100+ innings pitched in four of the nine seasons he pitched (and four of his six seasons during the great run in the Bronx).

Still, though, Aceves’ meteoric rise through the minors last season, from high A to the majors, is Joba-like, and while, at 26, Aceves isn’t projected to be a future ace, he did come through as a starter. Given how successful Aceves has been in the bullpen thus far, it’s perhaps hard to imagine that he was a starter so recently.

Yet, few pitchers, starter or reliever, could throw two innings one night and then three the next. It’s different than a closer, who might throw one inning three nights in a row, especially if they are ‘easy’ innings, which many of the elite closers do without breaking a sweat.

Aceves threw two critical innings in the game on Wednesday, when it was still 5-3, and then three innings last night. While those innings were low-leverage by the 6-0 score, they become higher leverage considering that the Yankees needed to fashion so many innings from the pen.

That kind of versatility, especially in light of the relative (lack of) talent of the short relievers with any sort of hair, is invaluable for the Yankees.

Just consider this: Aceves was recalled from SWB on May 5. On that day the Yankees were 13-13 and had lost three straight. Since then, they are 11-4, and have won nine straight. Aceves didn’t win most of those games, and the ones he won, he didn’t do so on his own. But we can’t say that he hasn’t helped.

The sample size is too small right now to be able to do a full comparison — perhaps at the end of this season we’ll have a better idea — but right now, Alfredo Aceves could very well be that ghost of Ramiro Mendoza we have wanted for a while.

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: Al Aceves, Ramiro Mendoza

All is well: Joba OK, Yanks win 9th straight

May 22, 2009 by Joe Pawlikowski 45 Comments

Yankees fans collectively gasped during the first inning last night, as Joba Chamberlain took an Adam Jones comebacker off the knee. The concern started when Joba doubled over, ditching his hat and glove and holding his knee. Out jogged Girardi and the trainer. We could only hope that it was just tender, and that Joba could continue. He did, but after surrendering singles to Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff it was clear to the guys in the dugout that Joba wasn’t all there. Girardi removed him — to Joba’s chagrin, it appeared — and called upon Alfredo Aceves, who had pitched two innings the night before.

Even with Aceves throwing well, the Yanks stood to be in for a long night. Aceves was only available for a few innings, and after that there were slim pickings until the last couple of innings. The Yanks got all they could out of Aceves, as he finished the first and then pitched the next three, surrendering three hits and a walk, but no runs. Next up was Jon Albaladejo, who is looking more and more like the 2009 version of Ross Ohlendorf. He allowed four runs in 2.1 innings and allowed the Orioles to get back into the game. Thankfully, Jose Veras of all people bailed him out, finishing off the seventh and pitching a scoreless eighth before Mo came on to close it out.

The night was made possible by the offense and their surging first inning. Adam Eaton is the kind of pitcher the Yanks need to beat up, and that they did right from the start. Back to back to back doubles by Jeter, Cano, and Teixeira put the Yanks up 2-0. After two outs and a Nick Swisher walk, Melky Cabrera slammed a double to the gap, plating Tex and Swish. He himself was caught between second and third. To some it seemed boneheaded, though others defended it as him ensuring the run got home. I’m not so sure. Boneheaded sounds like a more plausible explanation.

Tuesday night saw two of the longest home runs yet hit in the new Yankee Stadium. Alex Rodriguez parked one in the left field bleachers, and Mark Teixeira hit one way, way out into the second deck in right, barely missing the seemingly impossible to reach upper deck. In the second inning Robinson Cano didn’t hit one nearly as far as those, but it was impressive nonetheless. It was an absolute pea, getting out of the park in roughly a half second. It put the Yanks up comfortably, 6-0, and Hideki Matsui piled it on in the fifth with a second-deck shot of his own.

There were really only two things to complain about in that game, and one leads to the other. The obvious one is Albaladejo’s performance. With Aceves presumably on the shelf and Phil coke still not 100 percent (he was only available in an emergency tonight), he could join Edwar Ramirez in Scranton if the Yanks decide they could use another reliever. Since Mo pitched two days in a row and likely won’t be available (hence the lack of Bruney last night), swapping Albie for Robertson or Melancon would be a good idea. Neither has pitched since the 18th, so it’s a pretty obvious move.

The good news is that Joba’s X-ray came back negative. It’s just a bruise, and I’m assuming it’s going to be just a tad sore tomorrow. Girardi seemed optimistic about Joba making his next start, but that’s probably going to depend on how he feels during his side session over the weekend. It’s doubtful, but I wonder if they reconsider Chien-Ming Wang’s status and decide to start him Friday or Saturday, pushing everyone back a day and allowing the Yanks to skip Joba’s turn in the rotation. Again, it’s unlikely, but it’s certainly an option.

Interleague play opens tomorrow night with the World Champion Phillies heading into the Stadium to wrap-up the homestand. It’ll be Brett Myers vs. A.J. Burnett.

Filed Under: Game Stories Tagged With: Al Aceves, Joba Chamberlain, Robinson Cano

Yanks recall Al Aceves

May 4, 2009 by Joe Pawlikowski 118 Comments

You’ve probably heard by now, but just in case: The Yankees have recalled RHP Alfredo Aceves from AAA Scranton. To free up room on the 25-man they’ve optioned RHP Anthony Claggett. This gives the Yanks a long man, though they probably don’t much need one at this point. I have a feeling this move is in anticipation of a rainout tonight. Aceves would probably start one game of a doubleheader tomorrow. That would keep the rotation on regular rest. If they were to go Hughes-Joba tomorrow, they’d have to find another starter to fill in on Saturday in Baltimore, since they wouldn’t dare throw either on three days’ rest. If the game gets called tonight, look for an Aceves-Hughes doubleheader tomorrow.

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: Al Aceves

Aceves to skip the WBC

February 16, 2009 by Mike 18 Comments

Via Bryan Hoch, The Mexican Gangster is going to pass on the World Baseball Classic this year, instead focusing his efforts on making the team. Aceves made a big splash last September by making four strong starts and finishing with a 2.40 ERA in 30 big league innings, but beware the low strikeout rate (4.80 K/9), low groundball rate (1.03 GB/FB), high FIP (4.80) and absurdly low BABIP (.234). Sample size is an issue, but he still could use a little more time in a minors after his meteoric rise last season. With the rotation full, Aceves will likely start the year in the Triple-A Scranton rotation, and will be among the first called up if a spot starter is needed. (h/t Patrick)

Filed Under: Asides Tagged With: 2009 WBC, Al Aceves

Questions about the upcoming rotation

August 25, 2008 by Joe Pawlikowski 77 Comments

It looks like today’s off-day will not be used to skip one of the current starters. The Yanks will trot out Mike Mussina on Tuesday, Sidney Ponson on Wednesday, and Andy Pettitte on Thursday to face the Red Sox. Sure, they could tell Sidney to take a day off, slide Pettitte into his spot, and pitch Pavano on Thursday. But is that any better? After all, Sidney tends to do well in his start after being blown out.

The real rotation issues actually begin on Saturday. This will be Darrell Rasner’s next start. He’s faced Toronto twice this year, each time coming up with at least acceptable results. So do you give him another shot? Or do you turn to Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves?

It’s not an easy question to answer. Aceves might seem attractive after last night’s performance, but is he ready for The Show? Hughes has been uninspiring his past two times out, but could eight days of rest cure what ails him? These are questions the Yanks will ask over the course of the week. The results against the Red Sox could play a large role in that decision.

Let’s toss this one up to the comments. Do you take a risk with Hughes and Aceves, hoping that they can piece together a few good starts in September? Or do you give Rasner the ball again and give those two another start in AAA?

Filed Under: Pitching Tagged With: Al Aceves, Darrell Rasner, Phil Hughes

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

RAB Thoughts on Patreon

Mike is running weekly thoughts-style posts at our "RAB Thoughts" Patreon. $3 per month gets you weekly Yankees analysis. Become a Patron!

Got A Question For The Mailbag?

Email us at RABmailbag (at) gmail (dot) com. The mailbag is posted Friday mornings.

RAB Features

  • 2019 Season Preview series
  • 2019 Top 30 Prospects
  • 'What If' series with OOTP
  • Yankees depth chart

Search RAB

Copyright © 2025 · River Avenue Blues