It is the bullpen that has kept the Yankees afloat whilst the starting rotation and batters struggled. Let’s look over those starters and relievers in some detail:
| New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | GP | GS | GF | IP | H | RA | ER | BB | SO | W | L | Sv | ERA | OBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gonzalez, Alberto | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | .000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Chamberlain, Joba | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | .200 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Claiborne, Preston | 10 | 0 | 2 | 14.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.61 | .176 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Logan, Boone | 13 | 0 | 3 | 8.2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.04 | .212 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nova, Ivan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | .280 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Robertson, David | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.50 | .128 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Warren, Adam | 6 | 0 | 4 | 15.2 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.72 | .224 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rivera, Mariano | 11 | 0 | 11 | 10.0 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1.80 | .263 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kuroda, Hiroki | 5 | 5 | 0 | 31.2 | 27 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.56 | .231 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nuno, Vidal | 4 | 3 | 1 | 17.0 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.65 | .194 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kelley, Shawn | 11 | 0 | 3 | 10.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | .158 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pettitte, Andy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16.2 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.78 | .206 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sabathia, CC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 37.0 | 44 | 18 | 17 | 6 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.14 | .289 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Phelps, David | 6 | 6 | 0 | 33.1 | 31 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.32 | .252 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hughes, Phil | 5 | 5 | 0 | 27.1 | 26 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.27 | .248 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Marshall, Brett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.94 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Huff, David | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 99 | 28 | 28 | 249.0 | 221 | 94 | 90 | 64 | 218 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 3.25 | .236 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Good:
Boone Logan. Logan has had a very consistent year so far and May was no exception. He gave up only 1 run in the 13 appearances he made during the month.
Ivan Nova. Nova has by no means been a guaranteed member of the starting rotation and has even bounced between the Majors and triple-A. In May, he didn’t make any starts but proved himself able to eat up the innings when called upon in a relief role. With the injury situation being as it is, it can’t be long before he is called upon on a more regular basis.
David Robertson. Leading the team in OBA in May, Robertson continues to impress as the man most likely to act as set-up man between the starter and Rivera’s closer role. He also produced 19 strikeouts in 12 innings – a clear indicator that he is on form.
Mariano Rivera. Rivera has made the bounce back from injury look very easy indeed. 9 saves on the month more than makes up for the one loss.
Bad:
Phil Hughes. Hughes made 5 starts in May but was far from convincing. His 2 wins and 1 loss (with 2 no decisions) record might suggest otherwise but his 5.27 ERA tells the story much more accurately.
David Phelps. Phelps made 6 starts and is another indicator that most of the problems with the Yankees pitching in May came from the starting rotation. 2 wins, 2 losses but a bumper 31 hits and 12 walks in just over 33 innings meant that he left the bullpen with too much to do.
CC Sabathia. There has been a falling off in the velocity of Sabathia’s fastball but also his location on that pitch has not been consistent. This means he has gone from being the team-leader to the guy who had the worst OBA of all the members of the Yankees’ pitching staff.
Andy Pettitte. Pettitte had a difficult month with only three starts and only just above 5 innings per start. Whether this is his age finally showing through or merely a glitch should become more evident as the season moves along.
Surprising:
Preston Claiborne. Claiborne has been a surprise since the day he was called up as cover for an ailing David Robertson in April. That his run of success has gone on this long is truly amazing. In his 10 appearances in May, he produced a 0.61 ERA.
Adam Warren. Adam Warren is really a pitcher without portfolio – he doesn’t have a role but just slots in where have ever the Yankees need to use him. This was illustrated again in May as he produced 15.2 innings in 6 appearances and was the only player other than Rivera to achieve a save during that month.
Vidal Nuno. 4 of Nuno’s 5 Yankees appearances to date came during May and he was just what the team needed with three starts and 1 closing appearance. A 2.65 ERA was more representative of his quality than the two losses he took.
Shawn Kelley. Kelley improved on his first month in pinstripes appearing in 11 games for only 4 earned runs.
twilightdawning 