Damaso so good?

If there's one thing that's surprising about the Yankee postseason thus far, it's this: the bullpen has struggled more than we expected.

Mariano is still Mariano, but nearly everyone else has struggled at some point--even Robertson had a less than stellar appearance last night.

Despite the fact that the malaise seems to be so widespread, there's just one Yankee pitcher that seems to bear the brunt of everyone's emotions: Damaso Marte.

The thing is, although Yankee fans are generally astute (I hope, anyway), Marte might not actually deserve all the blame that is being heaped on him.

While it's true that Marte struggled in Game 2 of the ALDS, allowing two hits with no outs in extra innings, he has not allowed anything in the two innings (spread out over four games) he has pitched since then--no hits, no walks, no nothing.

While you might be thinking that spreading two innings over four games may not say much, keep in mind that, as a LOOGY, this is exactly how Marte is supposed to be used: to nab the left handed bats and no more.

In other words, then, what Marte has been doing is simple: his job.

It doesn't sound like much, but when you consider how much the other, normally reliable, relievers are struggling, it does matter.

Would I advocate, like I did with Robertson, for Marte to be used more? No, not really--being used as he is is the best way to use him, and the track record of using him too much isn't pretty--but what I would suggest is that perhaps he does not necessarily need to bear the brunt of our ire.

At any rate, tonight the Yankees need AJ Burnett to be solid. As important as Damaso Marte may or may not be, he will still not be important as the starting pitching the Yankees receive.

Constructing the ALCS Roster

The cool thing about the postseason is that teams that advance to the next round can adjust their roster, for whatever reason--maybe someone gets hurt, maybe someone is better against one team than another.

With the ALDS over, the Yankees can now construct their ALCS roster.

This roster will largely remain the same--the differences come down to basically whether or not, against the Angels, you want an extra pinch runner or an extra arm out of the bullpen.

For the ALDS, the Yankees went for the extra bullpen arm and stuck with just Brett Gardner and Jerry Hairston as pinch runners.

Here is the way I'd construct the roster for the ALCS, bold selections are explained below:

1) Derek Jeter
2) Johnny Damon
3) Mark Teixeira
4) Alex Rodriguez
5) Hideki Matsui
6) Jorge Posada
7) Robinson Canó
8) Nick Swisher
9) Melky Cabrera

10) CC Sabathia
11) AJ Burnett
12) Andy Pettitte
13) Chad Gaudin

14) Brett Gardner
15) Jerry Hairston, Jr.
16) Freddy Guzman
17) Jose Molina
18) Francisco Cervelli
19) Eric Hinske

20) Joba Chamberlain
21) Phil Hughes
22) Mariano Rivera
23) David Robertson
24) Alfredo Aceves
25) Phil Coke


Chad Gaudin/Joba Chamberlain: I put Gaudin in fourth starter's spot because, at the moment, I have more confidence in his ability than I do in Joba's. There are a couple of points here: Joba has not started since his final start of the season, which I was, uh, fortunate enough to attend in person. He was, more or less, awful.

While Gaudin, through the course of the season, was a roll of a dice once one hit the sixth inning, the five innings he did get through were much cleaner than those Joba pitched.

It's entirely possible, come Game 4, depending on what the scenario is, that Joe Girardi asks CC Sabathia to go on three days' rest and thus the Gaudin/Joba debate becomes moot. Still, Girardi has shown a tendency to play-by-the-book and it's hard for me to imagine him, in the ALCS, asking Sabathia to go on such short rest unless the Yankees were down 3-0 in the series.

There's no question about keeping Joba on the roster, merely a question of where he would best be used. If you think Joba, and not Gaudin, should be the game four starter, please feel free to say so in the comments.


Freddy Guzman: My major move here is that I take Damaso Marte off the roster and put Freddy Guzman on it. It's not just that Marte was completley ineffective in his one appearance, but that if Johnny Damon continues to struggle as he is, Girardi might give a thought to starting Gardner--the considerable loss of potential power may, in fact, be negated by the improvement in outfield defense--and having Guzman on the bench means that doing so would not leave Girardi without a pinch runner for Posada or Matsui.

I still remain of the opinion that if you're going to have someone not named Jorge Posada catch--which I don't agree with, but can live with--that your better option is Cervelli, who is a more than adequate defender and not an automatic out in the line up.

Since there's utterly no chance of Girardi removing Molina for Cervelli, however, I will have to let the three catchers stand as is. If the Yankees are going to start Molina, they almost have to carry Cervelli--as, in game 2, if Posada pinch-hits for Molina and then someone pinch runs, you still need another catcher.


It's extraordinarily tempting to want to add another pitcher. Six doesn't seem like enough, and while I still stay far, far away from Brian Bruney, there's a part of me that doesn't have any issues with putting Mark Melancon on said roster, even if he's just along for the ride in the sense that Jeter and Rivera were in 1995.

If you keep Guzman on the roster, and you don't remove either Molina or Cervelli, the tempting thing to do would be to remove Eric Hinske--Hairston is probably better defensively in the outfield, and certainly the faster runner--but the extremely superstitious person in me balks. Hinske's got some seriously good World Series luck that you don't want to touch.


It's pretty amazing how intricate the arguments can be when choosing between just one or two players that, all told, are not expected to have an impact on the series the way that Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez might, but then, it's not too hard to remember how Luis Sojo and Jose Vizcaino basically won the 2000 World Series for us, and then we know the importance of every spot on the roster.

At the Deadline, 2009 Looks Like 2008....Sorta...

With the All Star Break fast approaching, teams are beginning to have to make that most-crucial of decisions: buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?

With the Yankees, there isn't much of a question--with the third best record in MLB and first place in the Wild Card race (though no one's looking at this quite yet), it's clear that the Yankees are buyers.

So now the question becomes threefold:

1) What do the Yankees need?

2) Can they solve this problem from within?

3) What price are they willing to pay to solve the problem from the outside?


Strangely, although in many ways this season has felt much different than 2008, the needs in 2009 are strikingly similar at the same point in the season.

This might be attributed to the fact that Xavier Nady and Dámaso Marte have been non-entities this season (although credit should be given to Nady for trying to come back ahead of schedule and avoid a second TJ surgery, though that no longer looks possible).

Thus, the Yankees need, right now, the same sort of thing that they needed last year: an additional bat that can spell some of the outfielders if need be, due to age or slump, and a reliever.

The good news is that the Yankees do not necessarily need a left-handed reliever (although they wouldn't say no, I don't think, if the right one is available); but I'm thinking that the idea here is to have another decent (ie, not Veras/Ramirez/Albaladejo) reliever so that the Yankees have the option of bringing Hughes back to the rotation and not substantially weakening the bullpen.

Or, you know, giving the Yankees the option to not have to pitch Brett Tomko, or Proctor Phil Coke or Alfredo Aceves.


The bat is simple here: you want someone better than Cody Ransom available to come off of the bench if need be. As Ramiro Peña can field well, run well and is not an automatic out, I can't see the Yankees sending him down to AAA, even if that would ultimately benefit him the most, unless they can land a bat that can do these things, also. The cost for that, however, would likely be prohibitively high, and while I can't see the Yankees mortgaging the farm for anyone, they would like something better than what they have.




Could the Yankees solve this issue from within?

For a while it looked like the Yankees would be able to solve the relief pitcher issue from within, with Mark Melancon, but after a short stint in the majors where nerves seem to have gotten to him, he's struggled again in AAA. Some other relievers have performed well, but nothing that is that inspiring--except, perhaps, for the ambidextrous Pat Venditte, and he is only just promoted to High A. Certainly not Major League ready.

As for the suggestion that Austin Jackson should be promoted to the Major League level, the answer is a resolute: No. He is progressing nicely at AAA. He is not blasting through the system a la Chamberlain, but everything seems to be coming in time. He is performing well for his level of competition, but he is not, in no way, shape or form, overmatching it. The worst thing the Yankees could do right now is mess with his development.

John Rodriguez is another name that's been thrown around, but he's recently been placed on the DL with a hamstring injury, and as fun as Shelley Duncan is to root for, he's not really as versatile defensively as the Yankees would probably like--not to mention he strikes out way too often.



It's still pretty early, in terms of the trade deadline, and we're not entirely sure which players are available for the right price.

For the Yankees the price is always going to be high--since every other team out there knows the Yankees can pay it.

Let the speculation begin.

Yankees Snatch Defeat from Jaws of Victory (Postgame Notes 12 April 2008)

Must be something about my birthday but the Yankees didn't win on April 12th last year, either.

Anyway, it looked like the Yankees were going to have one of their best early season wins, coming from behind to take the lead against Kansas City's number one starter, and the Yankees were one out away from getting the baseball to Mariano Rivera.

Disaster struck, however, when Joe Girardi over-managed the bottom of the eighth. After Damaso Marte got two quick outs Girardi elected to play mix-and-match, but Veras walked his lone batter and Phil Coke gave up three earned runs and a 4-3 Yankees' lead turned into a 6-4 Royals win.

Joba Chamberlain pitched six decent innings, giving up one earned run and two unearned runs. Even with a line up that included both Gardner and Melky, not to mention Molina and Ransom, and without Teixeira or Posada, the Yankees still managed to score four runs. In that respect, today's game wasn't a disaster.

It just hurts like hell when you're that close.


The Yankees head next to Tampa. The Rays lost two of three to the Orioles, but won today by a score of 11-3.

Grading the Trade Deadline

One day removed from the most interesting regular-season day of the year, one can begin to analyze the moves the Yankees have made as buyers at the Trade Deadline.

To recap:

Bought
Dàmaso Marte, LHP, Pirates
Xavier Nady, OF, Pirates
Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, C, Tigers
Jhonny Nuñez, RHP, Nationals
Matt Cusick, 2B, Astros

Sold
Ross Ohlendorf, RHP
Jose Tàbata, OF
Jeff Karstens, P
Dan McCutchen, P
Kyle Farnsworth, RHP
Alberto Gonzalez, INF
LaTroy Hawkens, RHP


By the above lists alone, once can see that in the trades the Yankees did make, they came away very well, getting an outfielder having a career year, the best left-handed reliever on the market and a hall of fame bound catcher, for what looks like little cost (unless Jose Tàbata's power magically develops ad he becomes the next Vladimir Guerrerro).

The Yankees filled some of their most glaring needs--a right handed bat, a lefty reliever and a catcher to help take the strain off of Jose Molina--but there is one area that they were not successful: they did not get a starting pitcher.

While one can argue that the Yankee rotation as is can suffice, just remember that tonight Sidney Ponson is pitching against the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim of the USA of the Milky Way of the Universe...)

Now, just because the Yankees didn't get a strting pitcher at the deadline doesn't mean they're out of option--there's still the waiver deadline later this month, not to mention certain available free agents and Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, et al, in the minors...

The Yankees were much more active this year at the trade deadline than they were last year, and on the surface it looks as though they pulled off a coup, but all of their needs have not been solved yet.

It's up to the Yankees now to make something happen with the pieces they've gotten.

Eight Wins Up (Postgame Notes 26 July 2008)

In the first inning, Andy Pettitte simply could not get a pitch called a strike.

Boston pushed two runs across before the Yankees had their second at bat, and they were looking for more.

...and still, the Yankees won.

In terms of the games that the Yankees have pitched since the All Star Break, it wasn't the prettiest, but Pettitte got stronger as the game went on, and, as a true showcase of how good the bullpen has become, when Jose Veras struggled in the seventh, Joe Girardi went to Dàmaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson. The three did not allow another hit.

In fact, one may look at today's game as indictive of the differences between the Yankees' bullpen situation and that of the Red Sox.

Consider the statistics:

Yankee bullpen: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 ER
Red Sox bullpen: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 4 ER

In trading for Marte, the Yankees have made a strength stronger and kept the Red Sox from addressing what is probably the weakest part of their ball club.

More good news about today's win?

Today's offensive effort--ten runs in what is technically a come-from-behind win--means that the Yankees don't have to be concerned about the fact they only went 1-9 with RISP last night.

In fact, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Robinson Canò all had two out RBI (Canò had two and three RBI on the day).

Whatever this Yankee team is, the team it was in the first half is not it.

The starting pitching is giving them a chance to win every game, the offense is, post break, scoring 6.12 runs a game (read: what they were supposed to do all season) and the bullpen is phenomenal.

On July 6, the Yankees were nine games out of the division lead.

Today, on July 26, they are tied in the loss column with Boston for the Wild Card lead.

Everyone has said that if the Yankees were going to make a move, that it has to be now, this month.

That is precisely what they have done.

The Yankees will try to close out the series tommorrow evening. Whatever happens, the Yankees can rest a little easy knowing that no matter what they have taken two out of three from Boston at Fenway.

An Act of Piracy?

Was it pure piracy?

We won't know for sure for a couple of years, when Jose Tàbata should be major league ready, but for now, it sure looks it.

Who the Yankees got:

Xavier Nady: Corner outfielder with pop in his bat.
Dàmaso Marte: Left-handed relief pitcher who was more or less the most sought-after relief pitcher this season.

Who the Yankees gave up:

Ross Ohlendorf: You've seen him before. Hard throwing pitcher who could turn into a starter or a reliever.
Jose Tàbata: Last year, he hit .305 with a broken bone in his wrist. This year, the youngest player at the AA level, he has had some red flags go up with his attittude when dealing with a tougher level of competition.
Phil Coke: AA pitcher who has looked stronger recently, but is already 26 years old.
George Kontos: Potential servicable #5 starter.


EDIT:

Coke and Kontos have been replaced in the deal with Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutcheon.

Jeff Karstens: Marginal starter.
Dan McCutcheon: Could turn into a very reliable bullpen arm.


So, what does this do for the Yankees?

Well, going into the trade deadline, the Yankees had three needs, viz:

1) A right handed bat, preferably one that could play the outfield corners--left field this year, while Damon's shoulder is still not 100%, and potentially right field next year, if the Yankees decline to bring back Bobby Abreu.

2) A starting pitcher to spell Darrell Rasner or Sidney Ponson.

3) A left-handed reliever.

They have now, pending physicals, filled numbers one and three on their list, and done so without giving up anyone on their twenty-five man roster, without giving up Austin Jackson, Jesus Montero or Mark Melancon, and done so while the combined cost of Nady and Marte is under $11 million.


It's hard to know exactly how everything will play out, but right now, the Yankees could be heading into the latter part of the year with a starting line up of:

Johnny Damon DH
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Robinson Canò 2B
Xavier Nady LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Jose Molina C

Sound a bit longer than the line up currently in place? Thought so.

Now think about what the bullpen might look like:

Mariano Rivera
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Veras
Edwar Ramirez
David Robertson
Dàmaso Marte
Dan Giese (okay, so Hawkins will probably still be here, but that's not the point).

That is a formiddable bullpen.

For all of the talk of this being a rebuilding year, Brian Cashman and company have made a move that will do that much more to help this team well now.