Well on Saturday I made my first trip to the Stadium since November 4 when I was there for the World Series clincher, and what did I witness: the worst loss of the season, and a team with a bullpen in total dissary, one that has become so unreliable that unless it gets fixed the Yankees won’t get any farther than the Division Series at best this year.
The brutal 7th inning, when the Yankee bullpen allowed 7 Cleveland runs and threw the game away was excruciating to watch. David Robertson was his usual awful self, leaving with minor back stiffness. He was 0-2 on Crowe then hit him with a pitch that wasn’t close, before giving up a hit and a run and leaving for an early shower, hopefully not to be seen for a long while. Robertson was a surprise find last season but clearly he’s not surprising anyone anymore.
Mitre pitched to only one batter and pitched badly, completing the walk on 3 pitches that Robertson had begun before his early exit. And when the Indians sent up pinch hitter Russell Branyan, Mitre was gone in favor of Damasco Marte. I can’t blame Girardi for that one. Branyan can still kill a righty with the long ball (as he proved an inning later against Chad Gaudin), and Marte was the only pitcher who got the job done in the inning, retiring Branyan.
Enter Joba–you never know if you’re going to get good Joba or bad Joba and yesterday was the worst of Joba. Although he managed to get some swings and missed on breaking pitches, any fastball he threw anywhere in the vicinity of the plate was hit hard. He entered the game with 2-on, 2-out and a four run lead, but exited with a 2-run deficit. In may his ERA is 7.94, his WHIP is 1.56, and batters are hitting .277 against Joba. Yes, he had some fine outings in the month–against the Mets, the Twins, the O’s (subbing for Rivera). But far more bad ones. As of right now I think it’s fair to say the Yankees don’t have an 8th inning set up man because Joba is too unreliable.
Bullpens are difference makers. You need a good one to win a championship, and a bad one will sink a team that is otherwise stellar. Unless they make some changes, the 2010 Yankees are going to fall into the latter category.
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