Tuesday, April 8, 2014

One Thing We Never Counted On….


Tex on DL = thumb gone
Robbie on DL = index gone

Only three DL patients remain, although there is a second hand somewhere.

So on to Mr. Duque's question about the next closer;

1.  You need a guy who can strike people out.
2.  You need a guy who is cool under pressure.
3.  You need a guy who has impeccable command.

Vidal may be the man, although he mortally wounded his chances the other day when he came in, faced one guy, and walked him.

Kelly, in my mind, might be fine for a very short time.  But I don't see him having a season of great pitching.

Cabral is the secret weapon.  He was fantastic this spring.  But the Yankees will say:  he has no track record.  I never thought we should have sent him down.  He is amazing.  Give him a shot.

Dellin will be on most people's lists.  And, if Duque has the right magic he can apply ( Ju-Ju ), he could be the dude.  For a long time.  But I don't trust his, "cool under pressure," factor yet.  Fine, let's find out.

Adam Warren may also be the guy.  He can pump up the volume to 95;  is showing terrific command; and has 4 pitches to worry people.  That may be the problem;  four is too many pitches for a closer, and he would lose some assets if he closed.

The Yankees will probably audition several, search the open market for some left over detritus, and not give Cabral a shot.

Big mistake.

At least;  bring up Cabral and send Romine back.


8 comments:

KD said...

I fear we have another enigmatic pitcher in Dellin similar to Nova. One never knows which pitcher will show up. The "lights out" version or the "can't find the plate" version.

KD said...

Yanks just called up Cabral. Nice call, Alph!

The Perfesser said...

Warren can be a fine starter. He should be held in reserve for the invevitable moment when CC and/or Kuroda show that they're finished--in about a month or two, given Cashman's and Girardi's indulgence of the big contract.

Most competent pitchers can get three outs in one inning without coughing up a lead of three runs or fewer. It's not that crucial to bring in a howitzer to obtain a result that is overwhelmingly likely for decent hurler. Far too much angst is expended over the closer shtick--mostly it's a myth, a security blanket for nervous GMs. Mariano was great in the role because he had great stuff and an absurd number of opportunities. But 99 percent of the time, any guy with a .250 BA against will be able to close out a game without blowing the save. Think about what's needed--a rally that would score at least one and maybe three runs to at least tie the game. The odds against this are overwhelming unless Alphonso himself is on the mound.

joe de pastry said...

Why did they call up Romine? He's never going to play, or at least he shouldn't.

JM said...

Will Girardi please take out Nuno already? And this after giving Nova the CC treatment. "Keep pitching, son, it's only 7 runs."

I guess Joe figures we lost this one already. But he must have figured that pretty darn early.

bennyboy said...

For the love of G-d, update your header. Brett Gardner is leading off now. Ellsbury needs to bat third because Tex is dying. Think about the juju!

bennyboy said...

For the love of G-d, update your header. Brett Gardner is leading off now. Ellsbury needs to bat third because Tex is dying. Think about the juju!

bennyboy said...

Thank you. Is this team as mediocre as it looks?