More on Byrd
A few weeks back a rumor popped up that the Yankees might make a run at Paul Byrd. I scoffed, as is my way, at the idea of it. Peter and I engaged in a slight back and forth and I left that discussion thinking the move would be ok, but not really an impact move befitting the Yankees.
Byrd has made some news in the past year most notably his use of HGH which he said was in full compliance with MLB, but turned out it was not. For some reason, no action has been taken against him as of yet.
No matter, now that Byrd is a member of the Red Sox, to me he is the best pitcher ever. All kidding aside, as I mentioned yesterday, it is a good pick-up for this time of year. Is Byrd great, no, far from it, he is probably average in at best.
I was listening on the radio today (WEEI which has little credibility when it comes to evaluations of anything from their hosts) and they said Byrd was the hottest pitcher since the All-Star break. True? You tell me.
In his 4 starts since the break he is: 4-0, 1.24 ERA, 29 IP, 25 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 12 K. Ok, he has been good, check that, great. But consider prior the the All-Star break, the same pitcher was 3-10, 5.47 ERA in 102 IP. That is an extreme and there is no reason to believe Byrd will continue to pitch at the level of a sub 2.00 ERA pitcher the rest of the way or a sub 4.00 pitcher either.
Byrd eats innings, can keep you in games for the most part, but needs a strong offense behind him because he does allow runs. With Mike Lowell likely headed to the DL (finally), the Red Sox will find scoring runs a bit more difficult, although last night's game was a poor indicator of that.
Other questions on Byrd. Why didn't the Yankees or the Rangers make a play for Byrd? How did he slip to the Red Sox? Perhaps that is an indication that yes he is a veteran, but just isn't the best pitcher in the world. Regardless, Byrd goes Friday night at Fenway. With all this action, Charlie Zink, rough night last night, has already been demoted and it seems Clay Buchholz has dodged the minor league bullet for now. I'm not sure he belongs up here now and think keep him up here but not using him might be worse than sending him to AAA to work things out.
Comments
I like Byrd but don't delude myself into thinking he's the cure for the Yanks' problems. Their starting pitching really hasn't been too bad. But the offense, defense, and relief pitching has slipped considerably.
Specifically:
Cabrera can't hit and Cano has not hit most of the year. Jeter can't drive the ball. They clearly miss Matsui's and Posada's bat.
Re defense: Abreu dogs it a bit, Damon can't throw, Nady seems o.k. Giambi is a bad 1b; A-Rod has never quite adapted to 3B; Cano loses focus at 2B; I=Rod is surprisingly bad in handling pitchers and even in providing basic defense.
Relievers: Marte? Pulleeeze. I think Veras has potential. Ramirez is a work in process. Rivera still has it.
And on a side note: Wilson Betemit is an absolute dog; long swing, uninspired at bats, not quick in the field. He's talented, but a dog. Get rid of him.
I'm not ready to throw in the towel like Hank, but this team has many, many holes.
Posted by: corey | August 13, 2008 08:25 PM |
Corey,
I agree, he wouldn't be the solution to the Yankees issues. Would he have been an upgrade over any of the current starters, maybe, but you are right, there are other things holding the Yankees back.
My point being, Byrd slipped past the Yankees probably b/c he isn't that good and wouldn't have helped them all that much.
Posted by: andy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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August 13, 2008 11:30 PM
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