The Emergence (And Importance) Of Edwar Ramirez

Edwar Ramirez

Kristie Ackert/NY Daily News:

In his first stint in the majors, Edwar Ramirez simply lost his confidence.

The wispy righthander suffered a mound meltdown last July 20 against Tampa Bay - issuing four walks and a three-run homer without recording an out - after going 13 days without pitching, and wept in the clubhouse after he was told he was going back to the minors. He returned later in the season, but never found a niche in the bullpen and was left off the Yankees' playoff roster.

Now, the 27-year-old changeup specialist has found a regular spot in the Yankee bullpen. He is a steady hand who could be considered for the open eighth-inning setup role, now that Joba Chamberlain is leaving that behind to become a starter.

Ramirez earned the win Sunday, taking over for Chien-Ming Wang with the Yanks down 5-2 in the seventh and pitching 1-2/3 scoreless innings to set the stage for the Bombers' 6-5 comeback victory over the Mariners at the Stadium. It was Ramirez's 11th appearance of the season since being called up from Triple-A on April 29, and in 12-2/3 innings, he has yet to allow a run.

"Edwar was real big," Joe Girardi said. "He's pitched very well for us."

It's a dramatic improvement from last year's stint, in which Ramirez appeared in 21 games over the final three months of the season and came away with an 8.14 ERA.

The difference? "I have much more confidence now, much more," Ramirez said. "I think because Dave (Eiland, his pitching coach in Triple-A) is here and I can work with him five or six days a week, that helps a lot. And also because of what I have learned from working with Mariano (Rivera) and Pedro (Martinez), I am much more confident now."

Ramirez said he got a lot of encouragement from Martinez, the veteran Mets righty and fellow Dominican, while working out in Santo Domingo in the offseason. As Eiland had done, Martinez told Ramirez that his changeup was special, but that he relied too heavily on it and wasn't effectively using his fastball to set it up. Most importantly, Martinez encouraged him to take advantage of his position in the Yankee bullpen.

"He told me I should listen to whatever Mariano told me," Ramirez said. "And he said to work every day with my pitching coach."

"He's throwing strikes - we are working on that and he is doing that real good," Rivera said. "When he gets in trouble is when he doesn't throw his fastball. Now, he's throwing his fastball and with that, his changeup is more effective."

Edwar has now pitched 10.1 innings, given up just 6 hits while striking out 12 and walking 5. His ERA is sitting at a beautiful 0.00.

With Chamberlain leaving the 'pen for the starting rotation and an oft unreliable Kyle Farnsworth remaining there, an effective Edwar is more important to the Yankees than ever before. If he can continue to pitch the way he has been, the Yankees may have found a reliable 8th inning man not named Kyle Farnsworth...that in my book is HUGE for the Yankees.

Here's to many more scoreless innings for Edwar, and many more 8th innings that don't include Kyle Farnsworth.

Edwar the Great

Edwar Ramirez

We currently have a group equal to the populus of an island nation ready to compete for spots in the bullpen this spring. When all is said and done, I believe Edwar Ramirez will emerge as the stud 8th inning guy the Yanks have been lacking (sans Joba The Beast). Having a go-to, dominant, strikeout pitch is the main ingredient to being a dominant big league reliever, and Edwar certainly has one in his change.

First, PECOTA loves him. 76 ks in 60 ip and a 3.61 era are projections every Yankees fan would happily sign for. Scouts all agree that Edwar's changeup is a 'plus, plus' pitch scoring an 80 on the 20-80 scale. The quality of this pitch can be seen in the 31 ks in 21 major league ip in 2007.

Second, Edwar will be 27 in spring training this year. The 31 ip Edwar threw last year were his first in the bigs; he is the perfect age for a break out.

The best comp for Edwar is probably Keith Foulke. Foulke had (has?) the same kind of changeup as Edwar. Foulke likewise struggled a little bit early in his career as he searched for the proper complimentary pitch to go with his great change. Once Foulke was able to spot his 85-88 mph fastball effectively he became a dominant reliever. I believe Edwar will do the same. When you have the dominant pitch, your other pitches need only be average to keep hitters honest. A little Mo 'cut', a little Wang sink, or simply being able to spot his fastball better will give Edwar the secondary pitch he needs to be a top reliever.

Now that Gator has been replaced by someone who can actually make additive changes to a pitcher, and with the first year under his belt, I believe Edwar will become a dominant force in the Yankee pen for a long time to come.