$10 million for Eric Gagne. A pitcher with a history of arm injuries, who had a 6.47 ERA after the all-star break gets $10 million.
Clearly the Brewers GM agrees that the NL is much weaker than the AL, that's the only explanation.
I will also say this — all game long (because of my Cleveland paranoia) I was sure the Indians would lose Saturday. Absolutely sure. It was that feeling in the pit of your stomach, and it was there for all 73 hours (time actually stands still when Rafael Betancourt pitches, so it was even longer than 73 hours) … UNTIL … Eric Gagne came in from the bullpen.
A few years ago, I went to the Olympics in Greece when my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was only two years old. I was away from her for three weeks, and it was awful. For three weeks, I thought about how much she was changing, how much I was missing, how bad a father I was, how desperately I missed her. And then, finally, the Olympics ended, and I took the long plane ride, and then another, and finally I arrived at the airport, and I walked on the concourse, and there she was, my Elizabeth, and she ran into my arms and shouted “Daddy” and it was just about the best feeling I’ve ever felt.
Yeah, that’s just about how happy I was to see Eric Gagne.
Since I didn't post a series preview, I figure I owe some kind of substantial contribution for the last regular-season meeting between the YANKS and the SAWX, as Michael Wilbon might say. As I said in the comments below about the pitching matchups, I think the Yankees have a slight advantage tonight because of Matsuzaka's recent struggles, I think tomorrow is even, and I think the Red Sox have a slight advantage on Sunday because of Clemens' elbow. So I'm a little down on tonight's game, but still excited.
Manny's still out of the lineup for the Sox, and Crisp was scratched at the last minute, so Boston's throwing out the ever-intimidating Kielty-Ellsbury-Drew outfield. That's about all that's newsworthy from the pre-game, so let's get going...
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7:12 - Damon reaches on an infield grounder that tipped off of Matsuzaka's glove. He was rushing to field the ball and get to first base at the same time, because for some reason Youkilis went after the ball as well. Not an encouraging start.
7:17 - Matsuzaka misses his spot badly on a 2-2 pitch and throws a heater up and in on Jeter, and the Boston crowd eats it up. You have to love drunken Bostonians. Or not.
7:22 - With Damon running on the 3-2 pitch, Abreu grounds it to second. Pedroia flips to Lugo to try to get the lead runner, and Lugo drops it for the E-6. You know, J.D. Drew gets all kinds of crap in this town for underachieving, but Lugo is having just as bad a year relative to his expectations, and he's getting a comparative free pass. I just wanted to point that out to everyone who thinks Boston is a racist town.
7:23 - Matsuzaka hits A-Rod on the first pitch with a curve that didn't break, and the Pink Hat Brigade cheers. Nothing like loading the bases with one out in the first inning to excite the home crowd. On the bright side, he avoided running the count full for the third straight batter.
7:29 - After getting Johnny Bench Jorge Posada to ground into a force-out at home, Matsuzaka gets Matsui to ground to short on his 22nd and final pitch of the inning, leaving the bases loaded. It could be a long night for Matsuzaka, and the rest of us, as the first half-inning took 19 minutes.
7:33 - "Gold Glover" Derek Jeter makes a low throw to first on a Julio Lugo grounder, and DH Jason Giambi can't dig it out, for another E-6. Yup, it's definitely going to be yet another of those four-plus hour Red Sox-Yankees games tonight. Hang on tight.
7:38 - Ortiz hits a double play ball to short, but Captain Intangibles boots it and can only get a jogging Ortiz at first for the second out. Let the record show that Manny Ramirez would get killed in this town for dogging it down the line like Ortiz just did.
7:42 - Pettitte strikes out Mike Lowell on a full count to end the first. Mike Lowell is this year's Mark Loretta: the gritty veteran with a good glove who won't be re-signed much to the fans' chagrin. There's already a groundswell of support to get him locked up out here. Um, he's 33! You don't just give guys his age long-term deals. Haven't these people learned anything from the Theo Epstein era?
7:47 - After Matsuzaka walks Giambi to start the second, NESN cuts to their sideline bimbo, Tina Cervasio, to introduce an interview clip that they already showed on the pre-game show that will prevent the audience from seeing two pitches to Cano. Gotta cater to those casual fans.
7:53 - With two out and Damon batting, Torre sends Giambi on a 1-2 count. Luckily for him, Damon fouled the pitch off, but what was he thinking? Somebody must have spiked his green tea. In the meantime, Damon strikes out looking to end the inning. 44 pitches for Matsuzaka.
7:59 - Yoooooooouk!!! The Greek God of Walks works the count full and then drops an opposite-field single to lead off the inning. This game may last until midnight.
8:01 - Or not, as Drew strikes out on four pitches. And Drew, who's OPS is 1.043 in September, gets booed off of the field. By the way, did you know Pettitte is the first Yankee to win the Pitcher of the Month since Kevin Brown in April of 2004? Every Yankee fan watching this broadcast just got sick to their stomach.
8:05 - Varitek walks to put men on first and second. It's a little early to say that this is a "miss" for hit-or-miss Andy Pettitte, but he hasn't been sharp this inning.
8:08 - Whatever happened to ESPN's dead-centerfield camera? Pettitte just threw a pitch that was called a strike that the commentators thought was a ball, and then a ball that they thought was a strike, and I think they were wrong on both, but it was hard to tell from this slightly askew angle. I liked the dead-center cam - they should bring it back.
8:10 - After Kielty forced Varitek at second, Ellsbury singles to center to bring in the first run of the game. To quote Ken Tremendous, "I have resisted drinking the Ellsbury Kool-Aid -- although it looks effing delicious."
8:13 - Lugo pops to second to end the inning. 1-0 Red Sox after 2 full, and they've already led for longer than they did in all three games in the Bronx two weeks ago.
8:15 - Patrice Bergeron and Glen Murray of the Boston Bruins are in the NESN booth right now, and within 20 seconds Don Orsillo casually mentions that tickets go on sale tomorrow (for a team that is now on their third coach since the last time they made the playoffs). Can I please just watch the Red Sox and Yankees play nine innings? Is that too much to ask??? They've already named the guy from "Entourage" their fan of the game (in the first inning, too... that has to be a record) and zoomed in on Tom Werner schmoozing with some actor whose name I don't remember. They have to realize that their hardcore fans are sickened by this inane noise on the side, right?
8:22 - There's a quick, 1-2-3, twelve-pitch inning for Matsuzaka. If he can build on that, I'll feel roughly 200% better about the Red Sox's chances in the playoffs.
8:28 - DeMarlo Hale stupidly sends David Ortiz and his bad knees home from second on a single, where he's easily gunned down by Willie Mays Melky Cabrera. DeMarlo must have thought Damon was playing the field tonight. By the way, that's Melky's 14th outfield assist. I don't watch him every day, obviously, but that's pretty amazing, no?
8:32 - Drew hits a hard grounder right at Giambi, but it goes right through him, scoring Lowell from second. That's only Giambi's first error of the season, which is slightly more amazing than Melky Cabrera's 14 assists.
8:37 - Pettitte strikes out Varitek to end the inning. 2-0 Red Sox after three.
8:40 - Back to the sideline bimbo to interview two race car drivers from the Roush Fenway Racing team, whatever the hell that means. One of them drives the Red Sox car, and the bimbo is now asking them if they "find themselves watching more Red Sox games" now that they're on the Roush Fenway team. This is riveting. While this was all happening, Posada worked a 3-1 count and doubled to deep center.
8:43 - Matsui triples to left, driving in Posada on a ball that almost went out and may have been misplayed by Drew, for his first hit ever against his countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka. I blame the sideline bimbo and the entire NESN brain trust for whatever happens in the rest of this inning.
8:49 - Robinson Cano pulls a Dustin Pedroia and swings through 2 high fastballs with men on the corners, striking out for the first out. Big out for Matsuzaka, but he's still got some work to do to get out of this jam.
8:52 - Matsuzaka gets out of the inning by getting Melky Cabrera to ground into the 6-4-3. Melky finished it off with something I've never seen - the feet-first slide into first base. What?!?!?!?
8:53 - My fiancée just called from Fenway to tell me that Sam Horn is making his way through the stands and campaigning for the fictitious "presidency" of Red Sox nation. I swear, the Red Sox will do anything to make money and/or make me want to poke my own eyes out.
8:55 - Mmmm... Ellsbury Kool-Aid. Jacoby singles to center to put men on the corners with no outs.
9:14 - Sorry for the delay, but I just got off the phone with my brother in New York - his TV feed was a few seconds behind mine, so I had to reign in my cheering while the Red Sox hung a crooked number. Quick recap: Ellsbury got picked off of first, but beat the throw to second, Pedroia singled in Kielty and Ellsbury, and advanced to second on the throw home (just beating the relay from Posada), Ortiz singled through the shift, sending Pedroia to third, and Pedroia scored on a high chopper from Lowell that died after Pettitte knocked it down. 5-1 Red Sox after four, Pettitte's sitting on 101(!!!) pitches already.
9:19 - Another guy from Roush Fenway Racing is in the booth with Don and Jerry. This is painful. I heard there was a high school football game on ESPNU... I'd probably check that out if I actually got ESPNU. If there's another NASCAR cross-promotion during this game, I'm promising right now that I'll start watching TiVo'd episodes of Jeopardy!
9:29 - After getting Damon on a fly out to right, Matsuzaka strikes out Jeter and A-Rod looking on opposite ends of an Abreu walk to end the top of the fifth. Matsuzaka's at 98 pitches through five, 5-1 Red Sox. I'd be mildly surprised if Pettitte came back out to start the bottom of the fifth.
9:32 - And here's Jose Veras, making his second appearance of the season.
9:39 - And here's Jose Veras, sending the side down in order. Bah.
9:42 - Posada misses a home run by less than a foot, and misses getting thrown out at second by a little bit more. 100 pitches for Matsuzaka now, and double-barreled action in the Red Sox bullpen (Lopez and Timlin).
9:45 - Matsui walks as we cut to highlights of the Tigers game (they're losing 2-1 to the Twins). Giambi's now up with 2 on and nobody out. This would seem like a good time for Javier Lopez, but Terry Francona disagrees. Hey, Giambi's only 3-for-5 lifetime against Matsuzaka - what do I know?
9:47 - Nothing, apparently. Giambi strikes out swinging. 108 pitches now as Cano (0-for-2, 2 K's) comes to the plate.
9:55 - After Cano flies out, Cabrera walks to load the bases, and that will do it for Matsuzaka after 120 pitches. With Damon coming up and the situation ripe for the Yankees to get back into the game, Francona naturally calls in... the righty, Mike Timlin! Look, I love his veteranosity as much as anyone (note: this is a lie), but you need this out right now. I think you have to go to the lefty to try to get out of this inning.
10:00 - Timlin just threw a curve inside that Damon slid out of the way of. He should have taken the HBP - it would have meant a run. 1-2 count now.
10:01 - Infield single on a chopper over the mound; 5-2 Red Sox with Jeter coming up. Now I guess it's good to have the righty in - this must have been the match-up that Francona was playing for.
10:06 - Jeter strikes out swinging, and Varitek touches the plate after dropping the third strike. 5-2 Sox after six full. It's a battle of the bullpens now.
10:15 - What do you call it when you've got two pitchers warming up, but they're both lefties (like Lopez and Okajima now)? Would it be dual-barreled action instead of double-barreled? I think something like that needs a name.
10:20 - With the runners going, Lowell flies out to Abreu, who tries to double Ortiz off of first to end the inning. And he had him by at least ten feet, only Giambi dropped the ball and fell off of the bag trying to reach for it after he dropped it. This at least makes up for all of the highlight reel plays he made in the last series.
10:23 - Youkilis capitalizes on the error by singling to center, driving in Lugo. 6-2 now, and that will do it for Veras, who pitched pretty well before being done in by bloops and errors.
10:27 - Facing Sean Henn, Drew singles in Ortiz, with Youkilis barely advancing to third on the play. 7-2 Sox now. Updating the Tigers score, it's 4-2 Detroit in the seventh.
10:31 - Henn walks Varitek to load the bases, and in comes Brian Bruney. By the way, we're still in the sixth inning.
10:35 - Bruney leaves 'em loaded by striking out Kielty, and it's 7-2 after 6. The four and a half hour game Danielle and I went to last year during the 5-game sweep was the longest 9-inning game in history, but this has a good chance of beating it. Which would mean my fiancée has been at the TWO longest nine-inning MLB games of all time. That's pretty crazy.
10:38 - Lopez is in finally to face Abreu - if he gets him for the first out, then you might as well let him keep going. It'll be interesting to see how Francona plays the late innings if they're still up five - no need to burn Okajima and Papelbon if you've still got a big lead, but this is an important game.
10:44 - And in comes Okajima after Lopez gets two outs before walking Posada. Not sure why you'd take one lefty out for another, but that's why I'm not managing a major league team.
10:50 - Matsui flies to left to end the inning. I can't believe there are at least two full innings to go.
10:57 - 1-2-3 seventh for Bruney. I'm almost ready for bed.
11:01 - Giambi leads off the top of the 8th with a solo shot off of Okajima. You're not helping, Jason. 7-3 Red Sox.
11:03 - Oh boy... now Cano goes yard and it's 7-4. Papelbon is warming up, and I went from wishing they didn't have to use him tonight to hoping that they hang on for the win.
11:07 - Ugh, now Damon's on second and Cabrera on third, and Papelbon has to come in for six outs. This is about as bad as it could get given where we were ten minutes ago.
11:11 - Jeter inevitably singles, and now it's 7-5 with runners on the corners and nobody out. This is unfortunate.
11:12 - Oh, fuck. Abreu doubles high off the center field wall, tying the game at seven, and advances to third on the throw to the plate. Good lord, there's still nobody out.
11:14 - And... A-Rod gives the Yankees the lead with a single to left. Why the hell was Okajima in this game? Now Rivera's warming up, Papelbon's got nothing, and you're counting on Gagne and Delcarmen to hang onto any late leads you might have tomorrow. This is just going swimmingly.
11:16 - Yes, I'm incredibly bitter right now, but I'm going to say this anyway... I'd like to punch Shelly Duncan in the face. He's just really annoying-looking.
11:22 - After giving up the lead, Papelbon gets the next three guys in order and screams at himself on his way off of the mound. Unless the Red Sox score two quick runs in the bottom of the 8th, this will break the record for longest 9-inning game ever, which is ludicrously amazing (on a related note, I'm never doing a liveblog again).
11:26 - In probably the biggest at bat of the game for the Red Sox, Luis Vizcaino gets Ortiz to ground out into the shift. They need something now to avoid having to come back against Rivera.
11:28 - Lowell strikes out but reaches on a passed ball. Of course - how else could this game get weirder? Crisp is in to run, guaranteeing that we'll see some of Eric Hinske before it's all said and done. Manny had better be available to pinch-hit in this game.
11:31 - A quick fly out from Youkilis is followed by Crisp getting caught stealing second (barely), and it's almost time for Rivera to face the bottom of the order. We're at 4:20 and counting, and I'm very grouchy.
11:34 - In comes the gas can (Eric Gagne) to put the finishing touches on this brutal loss. I smell insurance runs.
11:37 - You know how inevitable it is that Gagne gives up runs here? Torre has Matt DeSalvo warming up in the ninth inning of a one-run game. Just the sight of Gagne makes the Yankees wonder if they could somehow save Rivera for another day. Unreal.
11:44 - With two outs in the ninth inning, Damon doubles off the left field wall in his sixth at-bat of the game.
11:45 - The Scott Boras connection (Gagne and Drew) retire Jeter on a fly ball to right, and here comes Rivera to ensure that I toss and turn all night.
11:47 - Drew, Varitek, and Kielty are due up against Rivera - if Manny doesn't hit for Kielty... I don't even know what to say.
11:49 - Drew singles under the glove of an unnecessarily-sliding Cano, and we're seven minutes from the longest nine-inning game ever. And yes, I keep thinking about the record to keep my mind off of bad things like double-play balls.
11:52 - Varitek strikes out swinging after chasing a high fastball on the previous pitch. Kielty is hitting for himself. This can't be happening.
11:53 - Kielty pops to center, and there's one out to go. It looks like Ellsbury's going to hit for himself. No pressure, kid. Two minutes away.
11:55 - Ellsbury strikes out one minute short of the record. I hate myself.
It's official. It's been two weeks, and I've given up on Eric Gagne. Small sample size and all that, but, I mean... come on. The Red Sox scored 4 in the bottom of the 8th tonight to take a 5-4 lead, Gagne comes in for the save (Papelbon got 4 outs for the save in the day game) and, after getting one out, promptly gives up a walk and three straight hits to give the lead right back. It's now 7-5 with one out and... check that. Garrett Anderson just lined into an inning-ending double play. So the Red Sox need two more runs off of K-Rod in the bottom of the ninth to sweep the double-header. Bollocks.
I was surprised when I saw the Red Sox bring in Gagne for Okajima in the 8th inning today. Okajima had walked Patterson (bad), then got Markakis to hit into a fielder's choice. That brought up a righty, Miguel Tejada. Tejada isn't exactly what he used to be, with only 10 home runs on the season, and a .777 OPS, his lowest this millenium.
Okajima is a lefty and they went to the righty Gagne, but I was surprised for a number of reasons. Was Gagne really brought in to "play the percentages" with Okijima and righty/lefty matchups? Is it good for Okajima to warm up and come in when he only gets one out and just 8 pitches? Or is that sort of wasting him?
Only four times all season, before Gagne arrived did Okajima pitch less than 1 full inning in an appearance. And while I don't think he's as good as his numbers (quite frankly who is as good as Okajima's numbers), he does have a 1.11 ERA, and righties are only hitting .180 off of him.
Gagne has also always been a 1-inning guy. And he's been putrid since going to the Red Sox, so why take Okajima out for him? I thought the reason to get Gagne was so you can have a 7th, 8th, 9th of Okajima/Gagne/Papelbon. Splitting time with Okajima in the 8th, doesn't make the Red Sox any better than they were. Not only that, it's proving so far to make them worse.
One question Gagne's performance brings up, is maybe he just can't pitch under pressure. Sure he's been a closer for a long time, but LA is not the pressure of New York or Boston. When has he ever been in such a pressure situation? He went to the postseason only once in his career, 2004 with the Dodgers. He pitched just fine, throwig 3 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk. However, while it was the playoffs, it wasn't exactly pressure baseball. His pitched in two games. His first outing came with the Dodgers down by 5 runs, and his second outing was with the Dodgers down by 4 runs. Not his fault he didn't pitch any pressurized innings, but he didn't.
Gagne has pitched in three all-star games. His first one was in 2002, he came in with the NL in the lead in the 5th inning, and he gave up a home run to Alfonso Soriano. He gave up another hit in the inning as well, but still left with the lead.
In the 2003 All-Star game, he pitched in more pressure. Having not given up a blown save all season, 31-for-31 at that point, he got to pitch later in the game. Hank Blalock still thanks Gagne for his All-Star Game MVP award. Gagne gave up three runs, including that home run, taking the Blown Save and the Loss. It was Gagne's only blown save of the season.
He got another chance in 2004 mid-summer classic, and this time pitched well. He allowed just a walk in his inning. However, unlike his other two appearances when the NL had the lead, by the time Gagne got into the game, the AL was already up by 5 runs, and the NL only had one Mariano Rivera inning to go.
It's also possible that it has nothing to do with pressure, but it could be that Gagne is a creature of habit, something you can be as a closer, but not in a setup role. Let's look back to 2003, the year he didn't blow a single save. He pitched 77 games that year, 55 in save situations, 22 in non-save situations. In the 55 games he came into to get the save, he went 0-0, with 55 saves, and a 0.30 ERA, allowing just 2 runs, and no home runs. In his 22 non-save situation games, he had a 3.33, allowing 10 runs (9 earned) and 2 home runs. While that's not horrible, it was 10 times the ERA he had in save situations.
Maybe it's pressure, maybe he's a creature of habit, it's hard to tell. What's not hard to tell is that there is something wrong with Eric Gagne in Boston.
Luis Castillo to the Mets
Nice, low risk move for the Mets - they basically gave up nothing for a slight upgrade, and they may get draft picks back if they end up offering Castillo arbitration. I hesitate to call it a great move since it's not a huge impact, but it's hard to see a downside here. I'm surprised the Twins couldn't get more for him. Bases loaded triple for the Mets, Out for the Twins.
Mark Teixeira to the Braves
The Braves have a good shot at the playoffs this year, and with the ages of some of their stars (Chipper and Smoltz), they need to go for it this year. Salty is a good young player, but he's not a great fit for the Braves with McCann there already, so they were always going to get the most out of him in a trade. As a Mets fan, I'm not too pleased about the Braves picking up a 1B - their hitters at that position have hit .212/.270/.363 so far this year (ouch!). Given Schuerholz's track record of trading prospects that don't end up panning out, I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to trading the raw Andrus. I think the Rangers did well for themselves, though, and they even look good PR-wise since they mentioned their offer of a contract extension. Double for the Braves, Triple for the Rangers.
Eric Gagne to the Red Sox
We already talked about this a bit. The Rangers ended up making a nice return for their original Gagne deal. Triple for the Red Sox, Double for the Rangers.
Wilson Betemit to the Yankees
The only downside I see for the Yankees is Joe Torre - I assume this move was predicated on the idea of bringing Chamberlain up, but there's no guarantee Torre will actually use him - his use of relievers is pretty odd. With Proctor gone, who is Torre going to actually use? Purely from a talent standpoint, this is a big win for the Yankees, and they have some insurance in case A-Rod doesn't come back next season. Triple for the Yankees, Out for the Dodgers.
Matt Morris to the Pirates
There was no Zambrano-Kazmir type of deal yesterday, but this one was pretty hilarious. I'm guessing no one saw this coming. Batter hits into a Triple Play and then has a heart attack on the way back to the dugout for the Pirates, Home Run for the Giants.
Well, this surprised the hell out of me. I first heard the rumors yesterday, after the Dye talks hit a snag, but it just didn't make sense to me. Now, after seeing how little the Red Sox had to give up, and how much it theoretically hurts other AL contenders like Detroit, Cleveland, and New York, who were also in on him, I'm starting to like it more and more.
I actually liked David Murphy and Kason Gabbard; Murphy is the perfect 4th outfielder now, with a chance to become a decent center fielder for a wild card contender, while Gabbard could be a serviceable 4th starter for a few years. They're valuable pieces to have, but for a team with the best record in the majors at the deadline, they're pieces that need to be cashed in, and if you can turn the two of them into the best bullpen in the major leagues, you have to make that deal.
Engel Beltre is more of a risk, but he's also a risk for Texas. He's only 17, so he's so far away from the majors and incredibly hard to get a read on. Still, he's regarded as a five-tool talent and was one of the most sought-after Latin American free agent signings last year. There's a chance that, ten years from now, he's mentioned in the same breath as Jeff Bagwell. There's also a chance we'll never hear from him again. Given Gagne's established track record of excellence, I think it's a risk worth taking at this point.
The one thing that worries me is Gagne's injury history, but he's been very good (and healthy) for the last month or so. He doesn't throw as hard as he used to (but then again, who does?), but he still gets results, and a Delcarmen-Okajima-Gagne-Papelbon combination covering innings 7-9 is pretty formidable.
I wonder how much the re-scheduling of the playoffs, with the larger number of off-days both in and between rounds, affected the Red Sox's decision making here. This is clearly a move made to bolster the playoff roster (and, to a lesser extent, to ease the workloads of Papelbon and Okajima, who figure to play a big role on said playoff roster). With so many off-days, you really only need three regular starters, and maybe a 4th to pick up one or two starts and some garbage time here and there. If you're going to pitch the same three guys regularly, it's probably best to limit their workload, and it's easier to cut them off after six innings when you have four guys who can take it all the way home.
I'm probably giving Delcarmen a little too much credit here, but I don't care. As a fourth option, I'll take him, especially if it limits Mike Timlin to 5th-6th inning duty, and keeps Kyle Snyder off of the playoff roster. With Brendan Donnelly going down to Tommy John surgery, Gagne essentially takes his spot on the roster - that's an upgrade you have to make if you're serious about winning the World Series.
Right now is such an amazing time, and an easy time for the Yankees to fix their bullpen. The asking price for pitchers like Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel is enormous. And just about every team is looking for bullpen help. Even the Devil Rays made a trade for bullpen help.
Teams are so desperate they are asking the Yankees about their relievers. I say give them to them. The price is less for the Yankee relievers, and teams can talk themselves into the "Well, Farnsworth just can't handle New York" theory, and take his 100 mph, straighter than an arrow pitches off the Yankees hands. Take Scott Proctor. Take Mike Myers. Take Ron Villone. Take everybody but Mariano Rivera, and I'd like to hold onto Luis Vizcaino for now.
In Scranton's last 5 games, 4 of the starting pitchers have been wonderful. Matt DeSalvo got shelled. The other four starters were Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain. In those 4 games, Scranton relievers got pounded for 12 earned runs, and 18 hits in 13 innings. In comparison, the starters pitched the other 23 innings of those games, giving up no runs and only 10 hits, while striking out 27 batters.
These four guys are ready to be challenged. Phil Hughes will start today for Scranton, and most likely for the Yankees this Saturday. Karstens, Kennedy, and Chamerlain should all be in the Yankee bullpen by Wednesday (the day after the trading deadline). The Yankees' big concern seems to be the transition from starter to reliever, and how this will impact their arms.
Forget about that. Move them up. Lots of people have made an instant transition to the bullpen.
Mariano Rivera did it in 1995, after having started every game he pitched from 1992 through mid-season 1995, he made the switch and was an instant success that year, and finished 3rd for the Cy Young the next season as a setup man.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched 24 games in 2004, all as a starter. Started another 21 in 2005, then switched to the bullpen, and had instant success.
Eric Gagne was always a starter, but did pitch in 9 games in relief in 2001. By 2002 he was saving 52 games with a sub-2.00 ERA.
Joe Nathan was getting crushed as a starter through 2002, where he started 25 games in AAA. In 2003, he pitched in an amazing 78 games, with a sub 3 ERA that would drop below 2 the next year.
The transition from starter to reliever for young pitchers isn't that hard. It's actually pretty easy. One of the problems young starters have in the majors is they don't have a well-developed third pitch, meaning at some point the hitter can guess, and will guess right on your fastball. As a reliever you don't need a third pitch. They don't have enough time to get used to you.
It's just frustrating watching these Yankee relievers, knowing that there are a number of arms in AAA that can outperform them right now. I'm not saying any of them should stay relievers (not that it would be a bad thing for 1 or 2 of them), but I am saying is that, with the exception of Hughes who can help in the rotation right now, the other three should be getting the ball from the starters, and handing it to Mariano Rivera. Hopefully on Wednesday.
The Rangers are out of it and they have Mark Teixeira and Eric Gagne. I think this is definitely the point Brian Cashman should be making a call to the Rangers. The Yankees have depth in young pitching in the minors, and the Rangers always need pitching.
I have no idea what it would take to get a deal done, but the Yankees could use a relief pitcher and a first baseman, and the Rangers have them available, and have even said they will listen to offers for Teixeira.
If the Yankees were to do it right now, it would be a huge boost and not look desperate since they are on a 5-game winning streak anyway.
A lineup that looks like this:
DH- Johnny Damon
SS- Derek Jeter
RF- Bobby Abreu
3B- Alex Rodriguez
1B- Mark Teixeira
C- Jorge Posada
LF- Hideki Matsui
2B- Robinson Cano
CF- Melky Cabrera
I'd like that a lot.
This is another tough division that will come down to very unknown quantities. Keys for teams include names like Bobby Crosby, Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver & Casey Kotchman, Sammy Sosa and Eric Gagne.
The starting pitching in this division is so iffy, that there's not a single pitcher that you can say, "well, he'll have an ERA under 4.00 this season" with any confidence. The three most taleneted pitchers are Weaver, Harden, and Hernandez. Hernandez comes off of a horrible year, Harden off of injuries, and Weaver is a sophomore who will probably start the year on the DL.
So here we go:
1st Place: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels stregnth, as it has been for many years now, lies in the bullpen, with K-Rod leading the way.
They will need to get Weaver back soon and for him to be the ace, which is a tall order for a sophomore, but there have been plenty of pitchers who have excelled in their sophomore seasons. Lackey is fine as a #2 starter in this division, and with their bullpen, that minimizes the trouble Santana, Escobar, and Saunders can get into.
As far as the lineup, they are going to need much better offense from Howie Kendrick and Casey Kotchman. I think they'll get it. I think Kendrick will hit about .310 (and since he doesn't walk, he'll need to). Napoli is an oddity behind the plate with his really low batting average, but high OBP and nice power.
2nd Place: Oakland Athletics
The A's are going to need a big bounce back season from Bobby Crosby. As it stands now, they don't have a single infielder who batted above .250 last season. Except for Nick Swisher they're not getting that much production out of their outfield. We'll see how Mike Piazza does as a full-time DH.
If they are to win this division, they will need Harden to step up and be a true ace. Blanton, Haren, and Loiza are all fine pitchers, but I don't expect them to get much offensive support. The bullpen is top heavy so they'll need their starters to go long into games.
3rd Place: Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers will desperately need huge contributions from both Eric Gagne and Sammy Sosa if they are to compete for the AL West title.
Sosa is huge because if he hits at DH, that will allow Frank Catalanotto into the outfield, which right now stands as Wilkerson, Lofton, and Nelson Cruz. That is a very weak hitting outfield, but of course the Rangers have a very strong hitting infield. Their top 4 starters are all 4.5 - 5 ERA guys, who can go 6 innings. It's nice to see that Bruce Chen looks to be winning the battle for 5th starter, as that will make it the 9th team for the 29-year old. As a lefty, he has a real chance to set some records still, especially if he gets released mid-season which is very possible.
If Gange can pitch like he used to pitch, that would shorten the game by an inning for the Rangers, where the 7th inning would be the big hump inning for them. If Sosa is hitting along with that infield, that could be just enough to put them over the top.
4th Place: Seattle Mariners
The Mariners lineup is not a bad one for this division. I expect a big year from Ichiro. To go along with Johjima, Sexson, and Beltre, they can hit enough for the AL West. However, I don't have much confidence in Felix Hernandez. For them to have any chance he's going to not only need to step up his performance in ERA, but he's going to need to start pitching much deeper into games. That's where their real issues lie.
It's hard to be confident in any of their pitchers going late into games, which means there is no bridge to Putz. They are going to lose to many games innings 6-8 to stay in the race the entire season.
