The Factanista strike again! Why do you hate America? I want to know why we "desperately" need a reliever. The pen has been pretty damn good.
The pen has been pretty good as of late, but I wouldn't call this season's bullpen performance anywhere near "pretty damn good".
Well, by "has been pretty damn good" I was referring to its recent performance, of course. Because Don seems to think that we "desperately use" Coke, who is pitching worse than his ERA shows (xFIP 4.42). Since Logan came back up, he's outperformed Coke by a long shot, especially in one of the more important metrics relievers should be judged by: Coke has allowed 34% of inherited runners to score, which isn't necessarily bad, but Logan has allowed 8%. Robertson has been pitching very well lately, too. Joba's results are starting to match up with his peripherals. Even Kerry Wood doesn't look too bad. Saying we need help in the pen is silly at this point... it's probably the strongest part of the team since June.
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/08/surprise-surprise-nick-johnsons-wrist-hurting-again-33876/ There's a better chance of Bob Sheppard playing for the Yankees this year.
We need Coke because we don't have Aceves and haven't for most of the year. Even Cashman realized we needed help in the pen at the deadline. He just couldn't get anything any better than what we already had.
Damn, I forgot to hate on Cashman about Johnson too...I will now. Could have kept Matsui although I don't think he has been great of late..but no problem, he got Barfman at the break..that's working out like any other typical Cashman acquisition.
I wouldn't say become. He's been a double play machine for years, and in big spots he might actually hit into DPs more frequently, not less.
Getting Al Aceves back would be a better addition to the bullpen than anyone that Cashman could've traded for at the deadline. The Yankees may only be leading 3-1, but Verlander's thrown 100 pitches in only 4 innings. Nice to see the offense remember that they're in a pennant race.
Okay, so Cashman should have not made an offseason trade because he should have foreseen that Aceves would injure himself during the season. Gotcha. Yikes. The pen has been one of this team's strengths over the past two months. I doubt many teams have as many reliable options as the Yanks do at this point. If they get Aceves back, and he's as good as he has been, they'll have the best pen in baseball, easily. You find the strangest things to bitch about.
Thank Christ Robertson turned it around, Joba makes me tremble... Wood has been solid but I can't say I feel comfortable with Logan out there during an ALCS. Who gets dumped from the rotation assuming we make the playoffs? Hughes or Vaz or both?
Yankees and Rays have identical home and road records and their run differentials are one run apart (+144 to +143).
Wait... Wood has been solid, but Logan worries you?! That's crazy. Wood walks a ton of guys, and - while his results have been good - he's a little on the lucky side. Logan has just been dominant this time around. And the Yanks can't have both Hughes and Vazquez out of the rotation for the playoffs this year. The scheduling will require four starters.
I'd love for it to be Hughes (for innings reasons) and Vazquez (for beingashittypitcher reasons) and they give the shot to Nova. But the Yankees are acting real weird about giving Nova a roster spot, and so they most certainly won't let him start a postseason game. CC, Burnett, Andy, Vazquez And a stacked bullpen
Letting Nova start in the playoffs would be pure lunacy. I know you're a fan of his, but the guy has pitched 3 innings in the major leagues. I'm all for giving him a shot to win a rotation spot next year (assuming that Javy walks and Pettitte retires,) but the playoff rotation has to be CC, Pettitte, Burnett, and Vazquez. Wood walks a ton of batters, which will eventually catch up to him. I agree that he's done a nice job since his acquisition, though. But in my opinion, a healthy Aceves is worth more than him because of his versatility.
Nova wouldn't be going in with 3 IP. In that scenario, he'd be called up now to replace Vazquez (who should be on the DL) and would have about 6 weeks as a starter in the big leagues. Unfortunately, the Yankees are willing to let Vazquez throw his batting practice fastball in the postseason. We know Vazquez and his dead arm are going to implode in the postseason. There's certainly a very real possibility Nova will struggle, but at least he'll gain some playoff experience. Best case scenario? Vazquez somehow manages to pitch mediocre in the playoffs, gets offered arbitration, turns it down, gets some NL team (Mets?) to give him a multi-year deal and we get two first round picks.
I wouldn't risk offering Vazquez arbitration at this point. He's had such a mediocre season that I'd be afraid he'd accept.
