Three quick items to end the night:
- In 8 IP, Andy Pettitte was perfect for 6 2/3 of them until a Jerry Hairston Jr. error and a Nick Markakis single ultimately ended the fun. Andy was still stellar, though, striking out 8 and giving up 1 ER on 2 hits (0 BB). The Yankee offense, led by Nick Swisher, took care of the rest as the team won, 5-1. Andy hasn’t just been the best Yankee pitcher since the break, he’s been the best pitcher in the AL, period. Let’s hope the ride continues into September.
- Tyler Kepner informs us that Mike Dunn, who is already on the 40-man roster, will be one of Tuesday’s callups (EJ listed Dunn as a possibility last week). Dunn, a lefty, was originally an outfielder before the Yankees converted him to a starting pitcher in 2006. He was then transitioned into the ‘pen. As a starter, he usually threw in the 90-93 mph range, but, since making the move to the bullpen, Dunn has been able to top out in the 94-95 mph range. He features a fastball, a slider and a changeup and should be a force for the Yankees during his stint with the team (10.24 K/9 in Scranton in ’09).
- Brett Gardner could begin a rehab stint on Thursday. According to Bryan Hoch, it looks like Gardner will eventually return as Melky Cabrera’s backup and as a bench weapon (i.e., speed, defense), although that could always change if Melky has himself a terrible September.
Back with more tomorrow…
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6 Responses to Quick Bits: Pettitte, Dunn, Gardner
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TIQ IQ
Pettitte was great tonight, by the 7th inning I actually started to believe he was going to do it… Really looking forward to Dunn coming up and giving us a third lefty in the pen and hopefully he can establish himself as competition for Coke in next years pen…
Dunn could become a major force as a LOOGY. His K/9 against lefties about 15/9 while his BB/9 is not terrible in the 4+ per 9 range against lefties.
That BB/9 is in AAA, against hitters who are FAR less patient. I’d expect that to be much higher in the pros. We’ll see.
HE also faced a lot of lefties in the minors and he usually always pitched more than an innings and most of the time he pitched 2 or more innings so coming in as just a lefty specialist which I think he will do this season because of Coke and Marte I wouldn’t expect his walk total to be that high.
I had the good fortune of seeing Dunn a couple times this summer…unless he is overwhelmed, you will like what you see from him.
As for Brett coming in as Melkys’ back-up…
I hope that Melky makes it clear he is the man (for this year) the team needs a steady hand at all positions. I still think Brett is the answer in CF, not Melky…but for now, let Brett back him up.
Andy was (to steal a word from Moshe) “awesome” last night.
Gardner should be on the bench after coming back from a broken thumb, you don’t even know how much pain he is in swinging the bat or if it is affecting his grip/ability to hit. Melky and Gardner are just keeping Cf warm until Jackson makes it up anyway, let Melky start and Gardner pinch run and get a game start every few days for this year and work out the rest next year.