On or around Oct. 11, a Yankee starter - probably Gerrit Cole - will finish his outing after his usual six innings, having surrendered his usual two or three HRs. At that point, chess master Aaron Boone will turn to a well-rested bullpen - nobody having pitched in a week - according to his Circle of Trust Rankings of Effectiveness.
As of now, we cannot imagine how that Olympian depth chart will look. But this we do know: Scratch out the name Zack Britton - out with a dead arm due to yearoff-itis. And put a hold on Clay Holmes, who the Yankee say has minor shoulder pain. (Note: I have minor shoulder pain. It comes and goes. Doesn't limit my drinking. I simply adjust. However, for an MLB pitcher, there is no such thing as "minor shoulder pain.")
The loss of Britton is no shock. Not even a gut punch. Frankly, his was a noble quest - just pitching in September. Nobody, aside from Britton and his therapist, thought he would make it for the postseason. In a way, he did. He pitched in three regular season games. Nice try! Maybe next year!
But Holmes is a different beast. For a month now, the YES men have assured us that his sinker is back, that his stuff is filthy, that he'll soon reclaim the intensity of last May, when he was baseball's best closer. Trouble is, it just ain't so. In the first half of 2022, Holmes' ERA stood at 1.31. Incredible. In the second half, it's 4.84. Disturbing. He was pulverized in July and August - ERAs around 7.00 - and he struggled through September at 3.55 - catastrophic for a closer. Now, this. "Minor shoulder pain." Ugh.
The Yankees have no closer. All the talk about jettisoning Aroldis Chapman before the playoffs? Ha. He's back in the mix. That's how bad it is.
Here's our bullpen, right now.
Loaisiga
Effross
Luetge
Marinacci
Schmidt
Trivino
Chapman
Look... this is not a world series bullpen. These are not the Nasty Boys. Everybody knows it. There is no reason why Boone should keep five starters for a best-of-five series. That means Domingo German or Jameson Tailion - or both - go to the bullpen. One will be the long man, who comes in to pitch four innings. (Along with maybe Clarke Schmidt.) The other will be - what? - do we need a second long man?
Nope. Between now and whenever, the Yankees must move the back end of their rotation into short relief. It might even involve closing.
The Yankees say Clay Holmes should be back by Oct. 11. That's what they always say. You cannot believe bullshit, Suzyn.
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4 comments:
Spot on Duque. The bullpen (more of a cow pen) will be the finishing touch on our October collapse. They will have no choice but to mover a starter in to the pen, where he will be misused by boone anyway…all this underlines the abject failure of out trade deadline “Strategy”. We would’ve been better off doing nothing. You know, like a Stanton at-bat.
Your bullpen isn't good here, Mr Torrance.
Remember in The Shining when Jack tells Wendy to stop swinging the bat and she doesn't listen? Instead she cracks one deep into the pantry?
Well, maybe we should sign Shelly Duval to take Stanton's place in our post season lineup.
Couldn't hurt us.
And while we're at it, we should hire Danny Torrance to be our manager.
He SHINES better than Boone.
Worse thing that could happen is that we all pile on the SnowCat and head down to Sidewinder for the offseason.
Very true, all. And this is assuming the team has scored more than its usual 1-2 runs in the late innings, and actually has a lead to protect.
So yeah, NONE of the team's problems—save for Hicks—really got addressed at the trade deadline.
No closer, or added bullpen depth. No bopper to back up Judge. No stud starter to back up our Joker Ace.
About the only consolation is that Sears, Waldichuk, Robertson, and even Monty, to some degree, have come back to earth. In other words, we didn't really have the winning hand even to begin with.
In other words, yet another abject failure by Cooperstown Cashman in putting together a team capable of winning the World Series.
Worst thing that happens is that we advance in the post season. Yes, I'm still harping on my apocalypse scenario/strategy.
There is STILL time for the weight of Cashman's decisions to accumulate and blow up in his face. There is still time for the ongoing disaster that we have lived through for 20 years now to land where he cannot deny it - own his shoulders.
Will this make a difference with Hal? NO. But I can dream. I can dream of what George would have done YEARS AGO had he witnessed the terrible moves that Brian The Intern has made.
I want Judge to do well and that's it for this diehard Yankee fan this year. I'm not going to get sucked in again by these fuckers. I lost too many years of my life and my finite well of idealism to the New York Jets for years to ever get that suckered again. The Jets I finally wrote off, difficult as that is for a loyal fan, but I'm a Yankee fan forever, despite their utter betrayal of my hopes and dreams.
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