Monday, January 7, 2019

Let's be happy for a change: The Yankee bullpen should be crackling in 2019

The 2018 Yankee season ended with Gleyber Torres almost beating out an infield tapper, moments after Gary Sanchez almost launched a three-run homer, a short time after Giancarlo Stanton twirled at three pitches that were almost on the Eastern Seaboard. Hell, they almost won Game Four against the best team money could buy.

Trouble is, all the "almosts" added together would have only meant a return trip to Boston, where, presumably, Aroldis Chapman and the rest of the Yankee bullpen would have been called upon to hold a lead. 

The inconsistency of Chapman and Dellin Betances - the Yankee stoppers - left a troubling stain on 2018, and it's surely why the Yankees recently signed Zach Britton. It's also why they are said to be talking with Adam Ottavino - a RH reliever, whom the Redsocks also are targeting. (Boston let Craig Kimbrell and Joe Kelly walk out the door. They'll surely sign somebody, and Ottavino is said to be the best arm on the market, so things could get dicey.) 

I cannot help but feel queasy about Boston's quiet winter. Last year, they waited and waited while NYC celebrated the arrival of Giancarlo Stanton, then signed the far superior JD Martinez. They are desperately trying to trade Jackie Bradely Jr., which would leave an OF opening, and we should never forget the so-called "mystery teams" said to still be in the running for Bryce Harper. The Yankees better not turn their backs in self-congratulation over Zach Britton.

But wait... this is about the bullpen, so let's stick to the basics...

Right now, here's our staff of First Responders:

El Chapo: Closer by default, though his knee his barking, and he increasingly looks like a Cano contract bomb waiting to detonate. We have him for three long years, and the reality is, it's probably one season too far. (Then again, it's only money; we must never forget that the Yankees have an endless supply.)

Betances: At times last year, he seemed on the verge of certifiable "headcase" status. He'd walk the first batter on four pitches, and it would roll downhill from there. In the post-season, he killed. Soon, he will go to arbitration and probably double his $5.1 million salary. Next winter, he'll become a free agent. Who knows what affect a "contract year" will have? But when he's "on," like El Chapo, he's flat-out unhittable. A ten-pitch inning. (They usually foul one off.)

Britton: Could easily become the de facto stopper. He doesn't terrorize opposing batters, but an inning can go quickly. He's a ground ball machine, though with a potentially porous infield - Miggy, Tulo, Gleyber, Voit. By the ninth, we'll probably see defensive replacements. Can the Yankees afford to disappear their bats in the seventh? Not sure. The smart thing would be for Britton to pitch later in games.

Mean Chad Green: Last year, he threw more innings (75) than any other Yankee bullpen lug nut, with a 2.50 ERA - second lowest on the staff (behind Chapman's 2.45.) He'll be 28 this year and makes nearly the MLB minimum. If he stays healthy, he is the best thing we have going. Print this out: Kudos to Cooperstown Cashman for trading Justin Wilson for Green and Cessa. It was a great deal.

Jonathan Holder: The Holder of Holds. He's 26 and broke out last year with a 3.41 ERA. Another reason for hope. If he becomes the next Mean Chad, we will have the best bullpen in baseball.

Tommy Kahnle: At 29, a complete reclamation project. He was awful last year. Either he turns it around, or he's done. Who knows? Frankly, he doesn't even deserve prominent mention here, but you never know.

Domingo German, Luis Cessa & Chance Adams: From the Scranton Biz-Bag, each is a marginal starter, whom the Yankees chose to keep over AJ Cole (jettisoned to make room for Britton.) Of the group, Adams is still young - 23. The others are reaching mid-20s - which is either their peak or their sell-by date, your choice. But one could emerge.

The bootless and unhorsed, well hyped "depth" of the farm system. This has been a constant drumbeat in recent months: The strength of the Yankee system is the wave of power arms, mostly in the obscure levels of the ocean. Of this group, Jonathan Loaisiga gets the most ink. He's 23. And for LOOGY fans, there is Stephen Tarpley, 25. After that, they are lottery tickets, and as you study the roster, you must remember all the pitchers - Dillon Tate, Cody Carroll, Josh Rogers, et al - that were traded last summer for the Wild Card run.  

This looks like a solid group, and - frankly - it better be. Last spring, the Yankee outfield looked completely overstocked... and then, in August, we went three weeks with Shane Robinson in RF. Injuries are cruel, and a Yankee spring tradition is the annual announcement that some great young hope is heading to meet Tommy John. We can also expect a "breakout" arm. But everything will hinge on El Chapo and Dellin. 

The Yankee rotation has no stud starter capable of regularly pitching into the eighth. We need arms. We need eaters of innings. Ottavino would help - he's a New York native - though Food Stamps Hal doesn't like bidding wars. You can never have enough pitching - everybody knows that - but the Yankees almost have the best bullpen in baseball. Shit. That word again. 

Almost doesn't win you a ring. Almost gets you a wild card. Come on, Hal... one more arm. One. More. Arm.

15 comments:

13bit said...

They'll be crackling like bull testicles that have been turning on the spit for too long.

Our pitching is severely flawed. This team is built to entertain with home runs, then keep the score close enough that we don't become laughingstocks.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


Duque, Fonz --

you might start an Over/Under contest -- ask us to guess how many total bullpen appearances the Yankee bullpen will absorb over a 162-game season.

3 a game = 486

- - -

I'm at 525, for one guess.

- - -

In 2018: Betances 66, Cessa 11, Chapman 55, Cole 30, Green 63, Holder 60, Kahnle 24, Lasagna 5, Tarpley 10 + Robertson 69 + Britton 10 (with NYY) + Gray 7 + Sheffield 3 + Warren 34 (with NYY)

This list omits guys who are gone (from my memory, at least). Total: 457

KD said...

if the fucking redsocks end up with Harper, I am going to levitate and puke green..

KD said...

I am at 614...

JM said...

I don't know if it's possible to count high enough. Theoretically, it is, but on a practical level...

On another topic, do you think people get bribed by teams to vote for Rookie of the Year? That would be the only thing that explains this past year.

That has nothing to do with the bullpen, just saying.

Parson Tom said...

Can't imagine that people get bribed for award votes, although Miggy Andujar did have a classic year and still got jobbed by a novelty item.

Which leads me to my fear for the off-season: Andujar gets traded.

That would be awful, a blunder of epic proportions. Guy's under team control for another half decade, has a great bat, and his fielding miscues can be resolved through hard work and coaching -- the Yankees have 42 coaches on the bench; do any of them actually do anything?

Sign Machado and/or Harper and here's my prediction: Neither of them will ever match or exceed their best previous seasons. They may well be solid players, All Stars, but we will hate them within five years with another five to go.

Anonymous said...

Parson,

We already hate Machado. He is a Hobson's Choice. (And I don't mean Butch Hobson) Sign them anyway.

Re: Buying votes While I would have voted for AnDUjar. Otani was excellent.

22HRS .285 in 326 AB.
AND a 3.31 ERA

Pretty amazing. I could see voting for him. That said, break any of Joe D's records and you get my vote.

Re: Pitching: Gotta get Ottavino. If we don't the Sox will. Do the overpay. The Sox are WAY too quiet. Yes, Harper to Sox is super scary.

Re: Flux Don't eat after 8PM

Doug K.

HoraceClarke66 said...

I think you're right about the last five years, Parson Tom. And I think we may even hate them earlier, for various other reasons. Macho's attitude, Harper's excessive strikeouts and long slumps.

BUT...I would rather get five good years out of both and then five lean years—this is starting to sound like Joseph in the Bible—than see us back to Shane Robinson and Troy by August.

I would NOT say that if we had a solid, operating plan to rebuild this team—if Red Thunder and Dustin Fowler and Estevan Florial were about to bust into the outfield, and Bird and Sanchez were breaking windows, and all those great young arms were throwing smoke.

But none of that happened. This team AND its farm system completely broke down last year. The odds are, even worse breakdowns are coming.

Harper and Machado are like ugly but necessary supports—the wood slats you nail over your windows because you don't have real metal gates and the hurricane is a comin'. Get them, for now, then you can sort out what to do for the future.

But guys like this only come around once. And if the Sox DO somehow acquire Harper, we are done.

HoraceClarke66 said...

As to arms, I think our only real hope is Mike King. He might not be anything, but he could be. In which case we will give Coops still more props, as indeed we should about Green.

I'm Bill White said...

I sat at a bar in Key West and the breeze held the liquor at bay but only for a while. I drooled and heaved deep breaths that left an imprint of my front teeth in the soft wood of the bar. The curves of my teeth looked like a bird, maybe Greg, if you stared long enough. I left my phone with the At Bat app in the motel room. So news of the Yankee bullpen came later. I swiped through the feed and peed like Captain Kirk without censors.

Retired Stratman said...

Sheer poetry Bill White. The part about Captain Kirk brought a tear to my eye.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Indeed!

I'm thinking 650 relief innings. We are going to need each one.

Otani was terrific—but he played half a season. I don't care what you did: if you're not a pitcher, you don't play half a season and get the award over a guy who had an entire, terrific season. (And I know he was a pitcher for a few minutes.)

KD said...

Otani was MLB pumping up international interest in the game. Big picture stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hoss,

I want to state, AnDUjar gets my vote for ROY. But that's because I'm a Yankee fan and watched him. What Otani did (and can do) is pretty phenomenal even in 1/2 a year. Remember we wanted to give the ROY to Sanchez and he played around a half a year in that first campaign. (Sigh)

So, here's a question for you and the group...

Let's say, hypothetically, that they both live up to the potential that they both evidenced. Who would you rather have?

I think it's Otani and it's not even close. Remember, this is IF they live up to their potential. Otani's arm could stay fallen off and he could wind up as a good outfielder in which case I like AnDUjar's bat better. But Otani right?

Doug K.

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