Bullpen Thoughts

Bullpen

After watching the newly sculpted Brian Bruney blow away the Red Sox with a 97 mph heater last night, and LaTroy Hawkins start to show some reliability, it's becoming obvious that a real strength of this Yankees team will be the bullpen.

Assuming 6 innings from our starters, General Joe has an enviable wealth of arms from which to choose for the last 3 innings of a game.

In the 7th, Hawkins, Bruney, Traber and Ohley have all shown to be very reliable in the early going. Additionally, provided he is used correctly (one inning only, no back-to-back appearances, etc...), even Farnsworth has shown flashes of effectiveness.

The depth of the Yankee relief corps is damn near embarrassing. At SWB are the following relievers -

Jose Veras - 7ip, 10k, 2er
Chris Britton - 7ip, 7k, 0er
Edwar Ramirez - 7ip, 11k, 0er
Jonathan Albaladejo - 7.2ip, 7k, 0er (includes 2.2 ip, 4k, 0er with Yanks)
Scott Patterson - 5.2ip, 4k, 2er
Heath Phillips - 9ip, 7k, 2er

At least 4 of these pitchers could/would be on the majority of other team's major league rosters and be extremely effective.

With the game essentially over once getting the ball to The Beast in the 8th, the depth and quality of 7th inning candidates should make most games 6 inning affairs.

Bullpen Thoughts

Bullpen

Some random thoughts on the Yankees bullpen;

• Kyle Farnsworth - Has anyone else noticed his decreased velocity? I noticed it last year particularly in the first half and the information at fangraphs backs it up. In 2006 his average fastball was 96.2 MPH, in 2007 94.7. Still plenty of giddy-up but not like it was. He has always relied on having an overpowering fastball, and the dip in velocity could help explain his alarming drop in k rate ( 2006 10.23, 2007 7.20). Watch his k rate and velocity early, it could be a sign he isn't the old Kyle.


• Scott Patterson - The guy has earned a spot. He has allowed 1 batter to reach in 6 innings this spring. If it really was an open competition he would be in.


• Edwar Ramirez - He has the second most strikeouts of any Yankee pitcher this spring (12) and has shown improved controlled by only walking 2. The bad news is his 4.91 era. While he probably will never be an eighth inning guy due to his average fastball, his changeup could be a devastating change of pace in the 6th or 7th inning.


• Latroy Hawkins - He appears to be a different pitcher. Much more of a ground ball pitcher so he might be a decent pickup after all.


• Jeff Karstens - Looks like he blew his chance. Too bad...I was rooting for him.

Edwar the Great

Bullpen

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.

Latroy Hawkins Sucks

Bullpen

With word that the Yankees are possibly interested in Latroy Hawkins I decided to Google him. As anyone with Google toolbar knows, as you type in your search you are presented with suggestions. Usually these are pretty revealing, like does the player have a hot wife? Can he fight(Farnsworth)?

Well here is what comes up for Latroy Hawkins;

Latroy Hawkins sucks
Latroy Hawkins cubs
Latroy Hawkins espn

When the first search suggestion is that a player sucks I think that is enough said! Stay away from him Cashman and his career 1.465 whip.