TwitterQuite The Comeback
28 Jun 2010
Did you get the feeling that Joe Torre really wanted that game last night? Does anyone else think that Scott Proctor called Jonathan Broxton this morning? That was a wild game and it showed once again the good and bad sides of Joe Torre’s managing style.
Unlike the ESPN crew, I don’t knock Torre’s decision to open the 9th with Broxton. Yes, there was a 4-run lead, but if Broxton is your best reliever why not let him face the heart of the Yankees’ order? I imagine Torre thought that he could go with a lesser reliever and then summon Broxton if trouble arose or just put Broxton in and hopefully stop that trouble before it even started. Let’s face it, Broxton has earned Torre’s trust.
Instead the Yankees rallied, and that is where Torre’s loyalty played to their advantage. I’m not sure what the exact moment was for you, but for me it was when Huffman singled to right that it became obvious that Broxton didn’t have it. Yet, Torre kept with him through the bitter end, even after the Yankees had tied the game, and he had his closer throw 48 pitches. That’s quite a lot for a mid-June game, especially when the guy had to throw 20 the night before and that’s the downside of Torre’s trust- he doesn’t trust many. (Sidebar here, but why did Girardi send Cervelli to pinch hit in the 9th? I get that Cervelli has been amazing with runners in scoring position, but he has hit .200/.302/.273 over the past 28 days and .238/.298/.307 vs RHP for the season. Using your only other catcher in that situation, a game likely to head to extra innings, seems pretty reckless to me, why not give Pena or Russo a shot?)
But hey, it all worked out and the Yankees finished the interleague portion of their schedule with an 11-7 record. They have 13 games until the All-Star Break and seven of those are against a last-place team. The Red Sox have some injury trouble and the Rays are in a bit of a slide. This could be the chance to seize the AL East.
Jun 28, 2010 @ 21:33:15
Peter – it WAS a bit whacky to put your 2nd catcher in at point so your last question is really an important one for us: what about the bench? And the bullpen, for that matter.
If Cash has a shopping list, I would imagine his two items are bullpen and bench. I read the trade rumors every day – and my question to you (and everyone else) is: who would you target if you were Cashman? Or would you just count on Mitre and Aceves returning and let Thames being the answer for the bench? (Notice I’m not mentioning Nick Johnson). Your thoughts?
Jun 28, 2010 @ 22:24:18
Mitchell-
I think the shopping list includes the bench only if Johnson is out for the year. (Insert joke here, and yes I realized how silly this sounds) If Johnson is healthy, that leaves the Yankees with a probable bench of Thames, Curtis, Pena and Cervelli
Thames can certainly hit LHP and Curtis is showing the ability to hit RHP. Would I rather have Hinske than Curtis? Yes, but I also am not sure of what Curtis can do. Other than that, I think it is a solid bench, but it doesn’t have a guy who can steal a base in a pinch.
Now, if the verdict on Nick is that he is not coming back (shocker, I know) I think you try and find a guy who hits lefty and can play some outfield. I know that sounds like two former Yankees, but their teams are too much in it right now to imagine they would be traded. That’s why I would be patient.
As for the bullpen, with Mariano looking like Mariano, the only question to me is who is going to set up?
While Joba doesn’t appear to be Joba, Robertson is quietly coming back onto the radar. Flip-flop him and Joba, use Marte for lefties, and I think you may have your “bridge”. I would certainly try it for most of July before making a deal.
One other note, it sounds like the Yankees may be bringing another arm to NY soon.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2010/06/28/moseley-pulled-in-scranton/
Considering that Chad Gaudin has been a lot better (scoreless over his last six) perhaps this is the end of Chan Ho Park?