Resist Temptation to Mess With Bullpen
By Mike Silva ~ July 4th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
The injury to Chien Ming Wang concerns me because of what impact it will have on the bullpen. Despite what all the prognosticators on this site claim, modern day baseball is won in the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning. The Yankees bullpen, led by Coke, Bruney, and Phil Hughes, was starting to round into top shape. So much so that I thought you might not need to overpay for a setup man like Chad Qualls or Huston Street. Losing Wang to injury should not mean a return to the rotation for Phil Hughes. That would be the worst move for the pitching staff.
Obviously we don’t know the length of time Wang will be out. It appears to be at least a month, but you hear surgery is a possibility. If it were my decision I would give Sergio Mitre a shot in the rotation. That name is certainly not sexy (career WHIP of 1.5), but the Yankees offense has been good enough that you can survive an average fifth starter. It’s not like Wang was giving you much better anyway. While you see what Mitre has, perhaps you could stretch out Aceves in over the next two weeks. It may be hard to do this at the big league level, but you could send him down to AAA to lengthen his appearances.
The key is to continue the momentum of the bullpen. The Yankees can’t beat Boston without a solid pen. The ultimate goal is to get to a World Series, not just make the playoffs. Don’t let Wang’s unfortunate injury throw the pitching staff into chaos again.
July 4th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I agree with you Mike on NOT messing with the bullpen. I like many other Yankee fans would still LOVE to see Hughes in the rotation, but I believe his demotion to the pen has made a huge difference in the overall strength. I would love to see Girardi use him for more than one inning…who knows when that’ll happen. Since Mitre’s next start coincides with Wang for the most part, most likely you will see him brought up. I wouldn’t be surprised after the Hinske acquisition, if you also see another trade made for a starting pitcher. Is there anything we haven’t taken from Pittsburgh AND will stay OFF the DL left over?
July 4th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I’m pretty sure the plan is now for Hughes to slowly transition back into the rotation. Hughes in the pen was not a permanent plan this year. Besides, I think the pen is starting to round itself into form even without Hughes. Bruney just needs to continue to work off the rust.
As far as giving Sergio Mitre an opportunity, a pitcher with an era + of 81 does not give me a lot of hope. I guess he could come up and surprise everyone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he stinks up the joint. That is why Hughes in the rotation is a better route to take. Can’t win without good starting pitching, first and foremost.
July 4th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Moface- Look at Wang’s numbers. He just won his first game. Replacing him in the rotation by Mitre or someone else doesn’t really matter. Did Wang’s no decisions and losses really take away from the Yanks winning abilities? No. The Yanks can’t afford to remove Hughes from the pen, now that it has been relatively stable. Bruney has TOO much rust still, plus he hasn’t been lights out like Hughes out of the pen. If Wang goes on the 15 day DL, bring up a kid from AAA. 60 day DL? Trade for starting pitching.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:24 am
If this is going to be a month long or more stay on the DL for Wang, we’re probably going to see Hughes go back to the rotation.
But for now, they will probably let Mitre start one game and then make a decision over the ASB regarding that slot going forward.
This is why I said a few weeks ago not to start designating bullpen roles for Hughes because he may not be there all that long.
Someone was bound to go down because injuries always happen. That’s why you can’t ever have enough starting pitching.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Megan,
This isn’t the same Wang that was getting hammered early in the season. He had pitched much better the last handful of starts and was keeping his team in every game.
The risk was worth the reward because getting Wang back into vintage form would have made this team that much more dangerous.
July 5th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Guiseppe, I agree that this isn’t the Wang that was getting hammered earlier in the season, but fact of the matter is he still hasn’t gone over 5 IP and he only has one win. I don’t think they should yank Hughes out of the pen. He has seemed to settle in a roll right now that is beneficial for the whole pitching staff AT THIS MOMENT. Listen, if Wang only stays on the DL for 15 days, there will not be much of a problem. He’ll miss 2 maybe 3 starts. The Yanks have pretty much done without him this season so far in a sense. Bring up Mitre for a couple of starts. It can’t hurt.