King is King of the Yankees, but the bullpen is where he belongs

Last night, Michael King - (Rochester native! Woo-woo!) - not only saved our baby-powdered butts but revived Cooperstown Cashman's track record for pre-Rule 5, roster-clearance, obscure-player, scrap-heap deals.  

Back in November of 2017 - reeling from the ALCS loss to cheatin' Houston and in need of roster space - Cashman obtained the then-22-year-old King from Miami for 1B Garrett Cooper and P Caleb Smith, neither of whom moved the Yankee needle, though both have achieved serviceable careers. (Last year, Cooper hit .284 with 9 HR for Miami; Smith threw 113 innings for Arizona.) 

Meanwhile, King has showed occasional glory bursts  - none more than last night, when he fanned seven straight Indians Guardians. Today, he ranks third in the AL in strikeouts, with 18, and sits on leaderboards in several junk stats, each as clear as hieroglyphics. King is:

Third in the AL WAR for Pitchers (0.8)
First in Base-Out Runs Saved (6.48) 
Fourth in Win Probability Added (0.8) 
Fourth in Championship WPA (0.5)
Second in Base-Out Wins Saved (0.8.)

I'm reminded of a line in the 1956 boxing melodrama The Harder They Fall, where cynical journalist Humphrey Bogart barks at the conniving Rod Steiger, "Don't give me your numbers! You can make those numbers jump through hoops!" And to be sure, an avalanche of ginned-up algorithms lately claims to show Joey Gallo is hitting well. Florida math, eh?

But last night, King resembled the Second Coming of Houdini Robertson, if not Delin Betances. He left the Guardians at their gates. It's rare for an opposing dugout to cheer the sight of Aroldis Chapman, but that's what happened - and will likely see it more often, as Chapman's final (?) Yankee season unfolds.

Today, there is talk of moving King to the rotation. WTF? Who would he replace? Boone won't ditch Gerrit Cole or Luis Severino - too much investment - and the rest have pitched well. If tomorrow an opening develops, I suspect they'd go with Clarke Schmidt and call up Manny Banuelos, age 31, for the feel-good story. For another month, no matter what he says, Aaron Boone will stick to pitch counts like Biden to a teleprompter. That means pulling starters in the fifth and sixth. The Yankees will need middle inning burners like King, as much as anyone. And damn, how about that incredible Championship WPA thus far! Could he be the 2022 Championship WPA champion? 

Final note: Last night I tested positive for Covid. Stuffy nose, scratchy throat, minor headache, not much sleep. Will keep you posted.