Joba Chamberlain used up the majority of his 65 pitch count in the first inning. He took a page out of the Ian Kennedy book and started trying to be cute, painting corners and dancing around the edges rather than throwing strikes. Joba will quickly learn that throwing like that won't get the job done in the big leagues as a starter. Chamberlain had 3 strikeouts but walked four batters. All of this happened in only 2.1 innings of work.
There is a real danger here that if the young star doesn't do better in his next couple outings that the impatient Yankees may stick him back in the bullpen, spoiling his chances to be an ace.
The recently called up Dan Giese did a decent job in the long reliever role, throwing 3.2 innings worth of quality ball, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run.
Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez tried to make me look foolish for saying they would make good set-up men. Veras allowed 2 runs while only getting out 1 batter and Ramirez allowed 4 without getting anyone out. Thankfully Latroy Hawkins was there to save the day.
Chris Britton pitched a scoreless inning after the game was out of reach.
The Yankees left 10 on base. Damon, Jeter and Matsui hit well but everyone else pretty much stumbled at the plate. Things aren't looking good for the team right now as they sit 7 games behind. Even with guys like Posada coming back, I don't see a dramatic turnaround coming anytime soon.
With guys coming back off of the DL, the Yankees will need to clear room on the roster. I'm wondering if it's time to cut their losses with a few of the guys who only have a year remaining and just let them go. The Yankees like to keep the guys they are paying for, and continue to play them even when they struggle, but I think it's time to just let go.
2 comments:
Jeff,
You know I agree with a lot of what you say so I was wondering who you think the Yanks should part company with. 3 weeks ago I would have said "see ya" to Giambi but now I'm not so sure. Abreu is playing at about the level I would expect so I can't see that move. As much as I would like to see The Moose ride of into the sunset at 8-4 I don't see that happening. I also agree that reality bites. I watched Joba last night with my 13 and 12 year old boys (both lefty pitchers) and they saw the same thing as I did. It's called the learning curve and Yankee fans were foolish to under estimate the cost of all this youth. Joba did pretty much what I though he would and I'm starting to wonder if the Yankees pitching coach's and guru's haven't got things all wrong. Everyone of the "kids" came to majors with the same basic flaws. They are very ineffective because they throw way too many bad pitches.
My real gripe here though lies with Cashman. What he has assembled and called a bullpen is an embarrassment to the team and has no chance in this league. Top to bottom it looks awful. To me this is the logical progression of what we have seen for the past few years. This is the full season version of what we saw early last year, It has been eating away at the team like a cancer and we have run out of treatments. Time to get a new doctor.
Brad,
I agree that Cashman is a big source of the problem. The bullpen he's put together is laughable. I am still holding out hope for Ohlendorf, and think he was a good pickup in the Randy Johnson trade.
I would have let Giambi go a few weeks back. He's hot right now so there is no way they let him go. I thought Shelley Duncan could step up and fill in but the more I watch him play, the less impressed I am. He's not that solid defensively and right now he isn't hitting. So without a decent replacement and given his hot streak, Giambi stays. I'd still let him go in a trade if you could get a decent younger player.
Abreu is a good enough player to stay for now, but I wouldn't hesitate to trade him if a blockbuster deal came up.
Moose is expendable, but right now we don't have any replacements. We'll see what happens when Hughes gets healthy, but you have to hang onto Mussina for the season.
Your comment about the Yankees pitching coaches is a very good one. I hadn't looked at it from that point of view but I think you're on to something. It seems that once these kids get to the big leagues, they have no idea how to be a starting pitcher. We've seen the same problems from Hughes, Kennedy and now Chamberlain. I've heard Joe Girardi all season long talk about how guys need to throw more strikes, but no one seems to listen.
Two guys I'd cut/DFA right now: Farnsworth and Hawkins. They aren't Yankee material. With the season pretty much shot at this point, let guys like Patterson, Britton, Ramirez, Veras, Ohlendorf, Geise, Melancon etc. get some real experience in the big leagues.
Betemit is a liability defensively and offensively. Bring back Gonzalez - he had potential.
Lastly is Robinson Cano. I have no idea why the Yankees hitting coaches can't straighten him out. Every YES announcer knows what he's doing wrong and it's painful to watch him swing. I believe he's got some time on his contract so he could be traded. If I had my way I'd start Gonzalez over him any day.
Tradeable:
Abreu, Giambi, Duncan, Hughes, Kennedy, Cano
Cut/DFA:
Farnsworth, Hawkins, Betemit.
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