Where's Kyle?
With Rivera out and the Jays mounting a comeback in the 9th that took the Yanks through 4 of their worst pitchers (Villone, whom torre has ruined, Dotel, who is not ready for prime time, Meyer, who is ready for the glue factory, and Veras, who is a perfectly respectable minor leaguer), one has to wonder, where was the Yankees set up man and surrogate closer? The offense really did its job against a tough pitcher, Rasner was stout, Procter and Bruney were great, so why were the Yanks sweating this one out. Conventional wisdom points to the absence of Rivera, but isn't Farnsworth being paid a lot of money to do this job? Why does Torre let him sit while relying on the old (Meyer), the weak (Dotel), the exhausted (Villone) and the green (Veras, there's a pun in there)? Am I missing something?
posted by joe valente | 12:33 AM
6 Comments:
Actually, I personally think Bruney should be closing games out if that happens. I have really liked what I have seen from this guy thus far. He is still young at 24 yrs old and I think that we should hold on to him to be our closer when Mo retires as he's 6 years younger than Farnsworth and should be able to last longer.
I want Rasner and Karstens in the postseason line-up as relievers. My postseason 11 would be
Wang
Johnson
Mussina
Rivera
Bruney
Proctor
Rasner
Karstens
Lidle/Wright
Farnsworth
Veras
No Dotel, No Meyers, no Villone, and pick one from Wright or Lidle. You're only going to start one of them; Wright has been terrible out of the bullpen and Lidle's either healthy and ready, in which case he starts, or he isn't, in which case he might as well sit.
I agree with the comments about Veras and Bruney. My feeling about Kyle is that while he has become the Carl Pavano of the bullpen, Momma Joe has enabled him in that dysfunctional role. Every time Farnsworth says he tweaked his back, Momma tells him to sit rather than to go and try. As for farnsworth's actual pitching, he can't close for the simple fact that he can't pitch if the game is tied or if the Yankees lead by only a run. he's not much use when they're behind either. Hew has pitched effectively enough this year when he comes in with a lead of 2 or more runs.
But since Proctor is good only until he comes into the dugout and always has trouble when he goes back out, I think it is time to make him the set-up man. Set up men never come back out if they do their job initially (and he usually does) because then it's time for the closer. Bruney can become the 7th inning guy, once Mo is back (alternate closer till then) and Farnsworth can become the 6th inning guy. I think the earlier with Farnsworth the better. The less pressure, the less his back will give out; if he's got the slider working, he's tough to hit and he can go 2; if he's only got the flat fastball, he gets hit immediately, you bring in Veras to hold the fort and the damage is much more limited than later.
As for BGW's worst case scenario, fortunately all the news out of the Yankees is Mo's OK. If he isn't they cannot possibly win the world championship, not only because Mo is such a key piece of the machine, but because they are so psychologically dependent on him.
I'm amazed you recognized Rondell White out of uniform.
My brush with demi-semi-hemi-greatness. When I was in college at Brown, I used to go to a very old-school barbershop to get my haircut for about $3.50. This was a ways away from campus, close to Pawtucket. I'm sitting there getting my hair cut ("cut" being a euphemism since no scissors were ever used at this place, just the electric clippers), and who is sitting next to me but Ellis Burks. On a rehab stint for Pawtucket.
Uma's stand-in is hotter than Rondell, I imagine...
Easier to spot out of uniform than Rondell White: I was on a flight last year with Rollie Fingers (who still looks pretty much the same). I decided not to bug him, but my then 8 year old, who had no idea who he was, walked right up to him and said, "I like your mustache!" Rollie seemed genuinely pleased.
-Michael
I would not recognize Rondell White in uniform if he didn't come with his own personal announcer or have his name on his back, though he does enjoy the distinction of being one of the biggest disappointments of any acquisition, Pavano aside, in memory.
As for my brush with faux-greatness, I met Zbibniew Brezinski in the Charles Degaulle Airport. He was definitel not as hot as Uma Thurman, or Nate Thurman for that matter.
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