HELP WANTED-2 Bullpen slots beginning in April, Bronx NY work site. Job entails sitting in the sun, getting late inning outs and listening to Mariano Rivera tell you why he’s great and you suck. Send applications to 161st and River Ave, c/o Joe Girardi
OK, maybe the Yanks aren’t THAT desperate for some bullpen help, but we do have 2 slots open. As it stands today, the Yankee bullpen has 5 spots that are pretty much assured of heading north with the team. They are:
Rivera
Bruney
Marte
Veras
Coke
The Yanks have long liked Veras for both his make up and stuff, and he did a fine job (3.59 ERA 63 SO in 57 IP) as a setup man for them last season. Coke has followed up his brilliant September with an equally stellar spring, going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his 3 outings. These guys should be locks to make the pen. That leaves 7 pitchers fighting for the remaining 2 spots. They are:
Edwar Ramirez
Mark Melancon
Jon Albaladejo
Dave Robertson
Brett Tomko
Alfredo Aceves
Dan Geise
I’ll take them in order. Edwar should be the lead horse for the first slot, but given the fact he hurt his shoulder right after he showed up in Tampa and hasn’t seen any live action yet, you can’t assume he’s in.
Melancon has dominated spring training hitters just as he has hitters on every other level. He has yet to give up a run in 5 IP, giving up only 3 hits. But the Yanks have made it clear they prefer to let him start the year in AAA, since he only saw limited action there last year. He’ll be the first call up in June if anyone falters or gets hurt.
Dave Robertson and Jon Albaladejo have both had fine springs, both pitching to ERAs in the mid-twos. While I think D-Rob will have a long future with the Yanks, I suspect Girardi will favor Alby for situational matchups. Alby’s a guy you can call on to get you a ground ball in spots where you’re looking for a DP. A latter day Ramiro Mendoza, who like Mendoza can also double as your long man.
Very quietly, Brett Tomko has had an outstanding spring, starting one game and pitching in relief in two others to a 2.57 ERA. As a veteran with something left, you know he’ll be on the short list when they make the final cuts.
As for the final two, unfortunately for them Aceves and Geise have been just dreadful this spring, both pitching to ERAs north of 6. Geise appears to have been last year’s Arron Small, and while I still like Aceves for a role on this year’s team, he’ll need some time in Scranton to get things together.
So considering everything, my choices (at this point) would be Edwar and Albaladejo, though if Edwar can’t go I’ll take Tomko in his place.
Who would you pick?
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TIQ IQ
I don’t know. Obviously, this was posted before Tomko’s outing vs. the Sox last night. He looked pretty solid against some of the Sox’s regulars.
I’ve read that Girardi really wants a long man in the bullpen, and I don’t think they will look to Alby to throw 3-4 innings when needed. They certainly haven’t allowed him to throw much more than an inning this spring so far. I can see maybe Alby and Tomko on the team until Tomko falters much like Hawkins last year. Hopefully by then Aceves will have had 50 innings or so at AAA to get his act together.
Robertson is pretty fun to watch too. You just know that big hook is coming, and it’s fun to watch opponents flail at it.
Geise is probably going to get cut which is to bad.
At his best Edwar is a one trick pony.Second time around they’ll stay off the change and wait for him to throw strikes with his routine fastball.
Melancon is ready to pitch in the majors.
Both Tripp and Lefty (along with you) have good points Steve!
I may differ a bit because; Tomko and Melancon are not on the 40 man…so, I rule them out, for now.
Edwar has a much better FB then he did early last year and 2007, and still gets people out…if healthy, bring him up north.
Alby is looking good but so is Robby. If they would get it out of their minds, using him (Robby) for more then two innings, he is the better of the two. Alby gives the grounders…so, it is a win win either way.
Bottom line: Healthy Edwar along with Alby or Alby along with Robby, if Edwar can’t go.
That is exactly how I think it should go, but I have a feeling that Joe is leaning towards a long reliever, as he never corrects reporters when they make that assumption.
Maybe I’m still in Torre-mode, but a veteran like Tomko who’s having the spring he’s having would be hard for Girardi to pass up.
The injury to Edwar could be an excuse to let him start the year in AAA and get lots of work in, since the change is such a feel pitch. When he’s going real well, you can call him up. That also gives them time to look at Tomko and Alby in real games.