So moving on with our discussion of the relief pitchers who the Yankees used in 2008, we head into murky territory……

David Robertson (25 games). All in relief. Robertson arrived on the roster in late June, called up from Triple-A Scranton. He had spent most of the season at Double-A Trenton and is rise was precipitious. He pitched reasonably well in his first game – coming in the high profile game at Shea Stadium in the subway match-up against the Mets. Through a further 12 games in July, his pitching remained roughly of the same quality and he picked up two wins. A further win in August could not hide that it was all coming apart. Before he was sent back down to Scranton, his ERA for August was a mammoth 8.18. Again, it proved beyond the pitching coaches at the major league level to right a young arm that was flailing. He returned to the majors in mid-September and finished the season out well – ending with a 5.34 ERA for the season. I would give him a 60/40 chance of making the roster on opening day but spring training will be very important for Robertson.

Damaso Marte (25 games). All 25 games in relief. Marte arrived in the trade which also brought Xavier Nady to New York and the fact that both are very much in the reckoning for the roster for 2009 shows how good a trade that was.  Pudge for Farnsworth was a disaster. Marte and Nady for Karstens and 3 other minor leaguers (with no major league experience) looks like a master stroke – especially since Phil Coke was dropped from that deal at the last moment. Marte was a distinctive improvement on the other sole-lefties in the bullpen, Traber and Igawa who were, to say the least, not dependable. Marte had his wobbles but a 5.40 ERA does not do him justice. At the end of the season, the Yankees declined the option on Marte’s contract which surprised some but a few days later Marte was signed to a longer contract on lower wages. A good deal. Expect a more consistent year and a full season in the pinstripes in 2009.

Billy Traber (19 games). All games in relief. Traber was a surprise face on the Yankees roster in early 2008 and when he was again returned to the squad later in the year, it emphasised how little idea the Yankees had of how to fill the last few spaces in the ‘pen.  He ended the season with an ERA of just over 7 and after 6 years of not quite making at the major league level he must soon be running out of options. Boston look likely to give him a runout in the Spring but it might be his last time around.

Dan Giese (20 games). 3 starts and 17 relief appearances. There was a time in the season when Giese could do no wrong. Put him in relief and he delivered the goods, make him a spot starter and he’ll keep you in the game. This became less the case as the season went on and once more, the coaches seemed content to let him drift. Like Robertson, he will be very much in the reckoning come Spring Training but he has the advantage in that he shown his ability to eat up innings and his ERA and OBA were better. Long relief in 2009? There’s a good chance.

Chris Britton (15 games). All games in relief. Like Brian Bruney, Britton  had an inconsistent year in 2007. Both started well but the longer they remained on the squad the more their performances drifted away from an acceptable standard. Bruney arrived at Spring Training in 2008 a few stone lighter and earned a surprise spot on the early season roster and eventually overcame injury to have a career-changing year. Britton arrived at Spring Training at the same weight or more as the previous year and lacked the vigour that Bruney showed during the year. A ERA that edged above 5 was a good summary of an indifferent, sluggish year. No-one was suprised when the Yankees declined the chance to tender him a contact. The Padres will take a look at him in the Spring but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t have the energy to make the cut.

Phil Coke (12 games). All 12 appearances in relief. Coke very nearly became a Pittsburgh player in mid-season but a last minute change of mind on one side or the other of the equation saw others make that journey instead. The Yankees must be breathing a sigh of relief. In 14.2 innings he gave up 1 run. His OBA was second only to Brian Bruney and he led the team in ERA. It is way too early to tell if he can maintain something like that in the long run but the performances so far beg that he should be on the roster on opening day. Anything other than a truly dreadful spring should see him as a mainstay of the bullpen throughout 2009.

Jonathan Albaladejo (7 games). All 7 games in relief. When Albaladejo made the roster in April, I was left hunting for my Bill James handbook to figure out how I hadn’t seen that coming and to try how to figure out how to pronounce that surname. The Puerto Rican right-hander started the season well but was injured early in the year and was not able to return. He has been able to play some winter ball but will need a very good Spring to make the roster ahead of Robertson, Giese et al.

Darrell Rasner (24 games). Rasner only made 4 relief appearances. See our survey of the starters to see how Rasner performed prior to his journey to the Far East.

Next time round, we’ll mop up the last few relievers before making some more roster predictions for April.
 

So in the next part of the survey of the Yankees in 2008, we’ll look at the relief pitchers. As the Yankees used 24 relief pitchers during the season, we’ll take these in bite-sized portions of which this will be the first.

Mariano Rivera (64 games). All 64 games came in relief. Rivera is a phenomenon. Nothing short of a phenomenon. He is perhaps the best pitcher I’ve ever seen. Every time he loses his way for a few games, the gainsayers say that age has caught up with him and every time he regathers himself and continues as before. This year was a classic case in point. He was outstanding in save situations. 39 saves in 40 opportunities. However, this year he struggled in situations when he came into a game with the scores tied. He had a significant run of games when he was unable to hold these situations. It was hard to find the logic in this. But I have no doubt he will rebound. His ERA of 1.40 was the second best of his career. Another outstanding season for him with a few flaws. He will be the closer for the Yankees another season yet.

Jose Veras (60 games). All 60 games came in relief. Veras had his best year, in this his third year in pinstripes. He pitched 57.2 innings and finished with a 3.59 ERA. He failed in both save opportunities he had but was credited with 10 "holds". Having started the year without a win at the major league level and opening the season at Scranton-Wilkes Barre (he had an outstanding 1.38 ERA in 13 appearances there) because of injury, he showed his development with 5 wins and his ability to douse an opponent down and give the Yankees batters time to gather runs made up for Mariano’s psychological difficulties in games that were tied. He should be a backbone for the relief staff in 2009 once more.

Edwar Ramirez (55 games). The gaunt, bespectacled Ramirez had another inconsistent year. At times in charge of his repertoire and able to be amongst the strongest tools at the coaches’ disposal. Other times allowing runs in blocks and looking uncomfortable on the mound. His ERA of 3.90 was a massive improvement on his 2007 form but if he could find that dependability and consistency, he could be so much more. As a consequence spring training will be even more of a lottery for him than it always is for a relief pitcher. He should make the major league roster but this is by no means guaranteed.

Kyle Farnsworth (45 games). I’d been very lukewarm in my enthusiasm for Farnsworth since he came to New York in 2006. So when all the talk of Girardi being able to revive his career and confidence began prior to 2008, I didn’t believe a word. Having begun the season in a very indifferent way it seemed evident that talk is just talk. But then Farnsworth hit his stride and his pitching showed a finesse I’d not seen before. It was then something of a bolt for the blue when at the end of July he was traded away to Detroit for Pudge Rodriguez where his season somewhat came apart at the seams. I was very critical of Girardi’s coaching staff during 2008 but their handling of Farnsworth shows there was some diamonds to be found in the rough and gives me much hope for 2009. I was sorry to see him go, the trade really was a bad move for the Yankees. Farnsworth should have stayed and hope he does well for Kansas in 2009.

LaTroy Hawkins (33 games). All 33 games in relief. Hawkins was a disaster for the Yankees. He squabbled over shirt numbers before the season began and annoyed the fans with his choices. His pitching performances never seemed likely to regain their sympathy. He was consistently bad. When the Yankees cut him loose, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t find any takers. But Houston offered the Yankees a minor league second baseman of little consequence in exchange for his talents. At Houston he proved a revelation and was consistently dominating. How do you explain these things. Perhaps the fans put him off his stride. Perhaps he couldn’t handle the city. Anyway, he is re-signed for Houston for 2009 where he seems to have re-found his niche.

Brian Bruney (32 games). 31 games in relief. Bruney’s inconsistency had been his undoing in previous seasons. I was surprised when he made the roster in 2008. But this year, he began the season well. He had lost some weight and perhaps sensing that his chances were running out, he had a new determination. All was going well until he suffered a bizarre injury to his foot in late April. It seemed like such bad luck and it seemed likely judging by past history,  that he would not find it easy to regain his stride. However, he managed just that. His ERA of 1.83 was a fair reflection of his form throughout. Whether he can reproduce this form in 2009 is still something of a question mark but he should be in the bullpen come April and deserves every chance.

Joba Chamberlain (42 games). 30 games in relief. Chamberlain is so dominating as a reliever and as yet to prove himself as a starter. It’s a mystery to me why the Yankees are so hellbent to make him into someone who can produce that dominancy and consistency over 6 innings rather than 1 or 2. Rivera started out as an indifferent starter and has been no less valuable because he had to drop down into the bullpen. Chamberlain could do for Rivera what Rivera himself did for Wetteland not so many moons ago and then when Rivera’s retirement comes (as regrettably some day it will) perhaps Chamberlain can dominate as a closer. All of this seems sensible but the Steinbrenners seem to know better. Consequently, they will continue to force him into a mold that he might not fit. Only time will tell but I hope he is a reliever come April – but I very much doubt it.

Ross Ohlendorf (25 games). All games in relief. Ohlendorf began the season as he had ended 2007 – as a more-than-competent right hand reliever out of the bullpen. But as the season went along, he gradually came unwound as so many of the Yankeees’ pitchers lost their way during the year. As in the case of those others, the coaching staff could do nothing to turn it around. Ohlendorf moved to Pittsburgh who fancied him as a starter but that doesn’t seem to have worked out and whilst he seems like to start the year as a Pirate, his future is uncertain. It is the pitching coaches at New York who need to up their game in 2009.

So those were the major players in the bullpen in 2008. I will continue to survey their cohorts in a later report.

At the start of 2008, the Yankees weren’t sure about their number 5 starter and were hoping against hope that Mike Mussina could overcome the years and do better than he did in 2007. Well, that prayer was answered but all the things that they took for granted….. that Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes could handle a full season in the top bracket, that Chien-Ming Wang would deliver again and that Andy Pettitte would give them 18-20 wins…. turned to dust in their hands.
And so the "go with youth" policy was broken into pieces and much money has been spent to put C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett into the rotation for next year. So what went wrong?

Mike Mussina (34 games) 34 starts and an indian summer to match them all. 20 wins. 3.37 ERA and .278 OBA. 200.1 innings pitched. Mussina had looked like he had popped his cork in 2007 and I had very slim hopes of him returning to form. In 2008, he looked like a different pitcher and he ceased to rely on the game that had carried him through when he was a younger man. He looked canny and crafty and he suffered only 9 losses on the year. In short, he was a tour-de-force………… But now he’s retired and the surprise package of 2008 needs to be replaced and so the Yankees had to spend money.

Andy Pettitte (33 games) 33 starts and rather mediocre. When Pettitte won he quite often did so because the bats delivered and gave him substantial run support. When the bats didn’t deliver (and that wasn’t infrequent), he invariably lost. He ended the year at 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA. Consequently, the Yankees are still pondering whether they need Pettitte for next year. To be true if it wasn’t for his history with the club, they probably wouldn’t be asking those questions. To be true, if it wasn’t for his history with the club, he would already have signed with the Dodgers and Joe Torre. I think he should swallow deeply, remember last winter and all the damage that did to his reputation and take the $10 million that the Yankees have on the table. He would be a good no. 4 or no. 5 starter.

Darrell Rasner (24 games). 20 starts. Somehow or other, Rasner managed to come out of the year as the no. 3 starter. Somehow or other, the Yankees let his slender potential die on the vine and left him out there in some games when his demeanour told everyone he needed to be back in the dugout and to be assured that the Yankees coaching staff cared enough to protect his slender confidence. They didn’t and they sold his contract and he was on the first plane to Japan almost as soon as the season was over. He only managed 5 wins and his ERA ballooned to 5.40 although his OBA was almost identical to Pettitte’s.

Sidney Ponson (16 games). 15 starts. In 2006, Sidney Ponson got a break and wound up playing for the Yankees. He delivered a 10.47 ERA in 3 starts and 2 relief appearances. By 2008, the Yankees were so confused about their pitching that they went back to Ponson who had been cut lose by the Rangers for causing disruption in his own clubhouse. Given all this background, Ponson delivered a surprisingly competent spell with the Yankees and ended with a thoroughly workmanlike 4-4 season. His ERA was an awful 5.85 by the end but given that history that was hardly disappointing. He will struggle to find a spot in 2009 with anybody.

Chien-Ming Wang (16 games). 15 starts. 8 wins until his injury in June. Rumoured returns in August and September didn’t materialise and in the new season, we wait and see how his recovery has left him and whether he will be his old self. All of these questions, again, ensured that the Yankees would spend and spend big. In the first half of the year, he looked like it could be another great year. He should be back as a number 2 starter but we’ll have to wait and see.

Joba Chamberlain (42 games). Whatever his role in 2009, Chamberlain saw more time as a reliever in 2008, so we’ll deal with him in that category.

Ian Kennedy (10 games). 9 starts. In 2007, he had 1 win and a 1.89 ERA. In 2008, he had 0 wins and a 8.17 ERA. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, the Yankees talked him up into believing that he was the next big thing and really they only had that one win and some other strong innings to base it on. They (and he) started to believe the publicity when everyone came and tried to persuade the Yankees to part with him in the off-season. But they still had little to base this confidence on and they should have been still talking to him about "potential". By mid-season, there was talk of attitude problems and a post-game interview that showed it for all to see. Unless something stunning happens in Spring Training, Kennedy will begin the season at Triple-AAA and unless the whole thing falls apart during 2009, he will have gone away quietly by the end of the season. At best long relief, but really I don’t see it.

Phil Hughes (8 games) 8 starts. If anything, Hughes was an even brighter hope than Kennedy, if you believed the hype at the end of 2007. In reality, he has a better chance of being nurtured by the Yankees in the days that lie ahead. No wins and a 6.62 ERA is not encouraging but he did well when reassigned to Scranton and has had some good innings in winter ball. He could battle it out with Alfredo Aceves for the 5th starter spot.

Carl Pavano (7 games) 7 starts. Before they put all their confidence in the farm system, it was big signings like Pavano who didn’t deliver and didn’t seem to care that they hadn’t delivered that had made the Yankees wary of the free agent market. Lessons quickly learnt and quickly forgotten. Pavano, probably, had his most dependable season for the Yankees in 2008 but conversely he also delivered up his highest ERA. But then nothing makes sense about this guy’s four year contract. In 4 seasons, he appeared in 26 games and the only good thing that can be said about that was that he was competent (no better) when the Yankees needed to find ANY pitching in late 2008 and he was finally ready to steer clear of the disabled list. He certainly won’t be in New York in March and will be lucky to find a spot anywhere else.

Alfredo Aceves (6 games) 4 starts. Now here’s an interesting one. During his short stint in the Bronx in late 2008, we saw a couple of different Aceves. At his best, he looked excellent, other days he looked ordinary. If this was the beginning of last season, we would be setting up Aceves to be a major part of the starting rotation based on that. This year, that is about good enough to be overlooked. The currency has changed and lots of it is on the table. He had a 2.40 ERA in 2008 with 1 win which come to think of it is not very far adrift from what Kennedy produced in 2007. In these money spending days, he will be lucky to make the number 5 slot. Let’s hope he does.

Dan Giese (20 games) 3 starts. Again, as that was his principal role, we’ll look at him on our relievers report.

Brian Bruney (32 games) 1 start. We’ll see more of him as a reliever.

So where are we now?

The contenders seem to be: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Chamberlain – Hughes – Pettitte (unsigned) – Kennedy – Aceves

The odds are on a rotation of: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Chamberlain – Hughes

I’d like to see: Sabathia – Wang – Burnett – Pettitte – Aceves.

Let’s see what happens in the Spring.