There seems to be some concern about the state of the Yankees bullpen going forward, especially with the potential defection of Mo. Let’s take a moment to assess the current state of the pen, and see what holes there are and what Yankee fans should be most worried about behind the starters.
Chris Britton
|
Basic Statistics |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
G |
W |
L |
IP |
TBF |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
ERA |
RA9 |
|
2004 |
21 |
A |
Delmarva |
27 |
9 |
4 |
84.0 |
353 |
76 |
|
|
11 |
38 |
35 |
31 |
80 |
3.75 |
4.07 |
|
2005 |
22 |
A+ |
Frederick |
46 |
6 |
0 |
78.2 |
302 |
47 |
|
|
5 |
15 |
14 |
23 |
110 |
1.60 |
1.72 |
|
2006 |
23 |
AA |
Bowie |
13 |
1 |
0 |
16.0 |
67 |
14 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
24 |
2.81 |
2.81 |
|
2006 |
23 |
MLB |
Baltimore |
52 |
0 |
2 |
53.2 |
221 |
46 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
22 |
20 |
17 |
41 |
3.35 |
3.69 |
|
2007 |
24 |
AAA |
Scranton/WB |
37 |
4 |
2 |
57.1 |
233 |
51 |
11 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
16 |
14 |
58 |
2.51 |
2.98 |
|
2007 |
24 |
MLB |
NY Yankees |
11 |
0 |
1 |
12.2 |
51 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
3.55 |
3.55 |
|
Extended Statistics |
||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
BB/PA |
K/PA |
BABIP |
GB% |
HR/Air |
FIP |
BsRA9 |
|
2004 |
21 |
A |
Delmarva |
8.8% |
22.7% |
.308 |
|
|
4.61 |
|
|
2005 |
22 |
A+ |
Frederick |
7.6% |
36.4% |
.282 |
|
|
2.58 |
|
|
2006 |
23 |
AA |
Bowie |
9.0% |
35.8% |
.400 |
33% |
0% |
1.25 |
2.80 |
|
2006 |
23 |
MLB |
Baltimore |
7.7% |
18.6% |
.273 |
37% |
4% |
3.59 |
3.41 |
|
2007 |
24 |
AAA |
Scranton/WB |
6.0% |
24.9% |
.310 |
39% |
3% |
2.54 |
3.14 |
|
2007 |
24 |
MLB |
NY Yankees |
7.8% |
9.8% |
.179 |
30% |
7% |
5.52 |
3.71 |
Much to the consternation of the Yankee blog world, Britton was hardly used by the Yankees last year. The Yankees’ (or perhaps just Joe Torre’s) neglect of Britton becomes all the more mysterious when you consider that the man already had one year of MLB success under his belt when he came over from the Orioles. My take on Britton going forward is that he will start the season as an integral part of the Yankees pen and that Girardi will give him the chance to succeed or fail at the ML level.
Edwar Ramirez
|
Basic Statistics |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
G |
W |
L |
IP |
TBF |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
ERA |
RA9 |
|
2006 |
25 |
A+ |
Tampa |
19 |
4 |
1 |
30.2 |
112 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
47 |
1.17 |
1.17 |
|
2006 |
25 |
Wint |
Licey |
5 |
1 |
0 |
7.0 |
28 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
5.14 |
5.14 |
|
2007 |
26 |
AA |
Trenton |
9 |
3 |
0 |
16.2 |
67 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
33 |
0.54 |
0.54 |
|
2007 |
26 |
AAA |
Scranton/WB |
25 |
1 |
0 |
40.0 |
153 |
20 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
14 |
69 |
0.90 |
0.90 |
|
2007 |
26 |
MLB |
NY Yankees |
21 |
1 |
1 |
21.0 |
103 |
24 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
19 |
19 |
14 |
31 |
8.14 |
8.14 |
|
Extended Statistics |
||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
BB/PA |
K/PA |
BABIP |
GB% |
HR/Air |
FIP |
BsRA9 |
|
2006 |
25 |
A+ |
Tampa |
5.4% |
42.0% |
.241 |
33% |
0% |
0.85 |
0.88 |
|
2006 |
25 |
Wint |
Licey |
3.6% |
42.9% |
.357 |
71% |
0% |
|
1.60 |
|
2007 |
26 |
AA |
Trenton |
11.9% |
49.3% |
.217 |
57% |
10% |
1.72 |
1.75 |
|
2007 |
26 |
AAA |
Scranton/WB |
9.2% |
45.1% |
.308 |
41% |
0% |
0.98 |
1.23 |
|
2007 |
26 |
MLB |
NY Yankees |
13.6% |
30.1% |
.400 |
38% |
18% |
6.50 |
8.24 |
The minor league numbers are ridiculous. We all know that. However, once Ramirez came to the majors, he wasn’t able to live up to the hurricane of hype generated around him in the blog world. Looking at some of his underlying stats, we may be able to get some clue as to why.
A .400 BABIP is extremely high, and can be counted on to come down at least .050 next year. An 18% HR/Air is also very high, and can be counted on to come down probably about 5-6%. Ramirez’s ground ball rate is about league average, and so with his astronomical strikeout rates one has to think that all that hype just may come to fruition in the coming season. Needless to say, I am optimistic about Ramirez going forward.
Kyle Farnsworth
|
Basic Statistics |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
G |
W |
L |
IP |
TBF |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
ERA |
RA9 |
|
2004 |
28 |
MLB |
Chicago |
72 |
4 |
5 |
66.2 |
296 |
67 |
|
|
10 |
39 |
35 |
33 |
78 |
4.72 |
5.27 |
|
2005 |
29 |
MLB |
Atlanta |
26 |
0 |
0 |
27.1 |
102 |
15 |
|
|
4 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
32 |
1.98 |
1.98 |
|
2005 |
29 |
MLB |
Detroit |
46 |
1 |
1 |
42.2 |
174 |
29 |
|
|
1 |
12 |
11 |
20 |
55 |
2.32 |
2.53 |
|
2006 |
30 |
MLB |
NY(AL) |
72 |
3 |
6 |
66.0 |
289 |
62 |
11 |
0 |
8 |
34 |
32 |
28 |
75 |
4.36 |
4.64 |
|
2007 |
31 |
MLB |
NY(AL) |
63 |
2 |
1 |
59.0 |
262 |
59 |
10 |
0 |
8 |
34 |
31 |
26 |
48 |
4.73 |
5.19 |
|
Extended Statistics |
||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
BB/PA |
K/PA |
BABIP |
GB% |
HR/Air |
FIP |
BsRA9 |
|
2004 |
28 |
MLB |
Chicago(NL) |
11.1% |
26.4% |
.355 |
|
|
4.35 |
|
|
2005 |
29 |
MLB |
Detroit |
11.5% |
31.6% |
.311 |
|
|
2.49 |
|
|
2005 |
29 |
MLB |
Atlanta |
6.9% |
31.4% |
.206 |
|
|
3.50 |
|
|
2006 |
30 |
MLB |
NY (AL) |
9.7% |
26.0% |
.318 |
39% |
7% |
3.82 |
4.62 |
|
2007 |
31 |
MLB |
NY (AL) |
9.9% |
18.3% |
.295 |
30% |
6% |
4.87 |
5.14 |
The precipitous decline in strikeout and groundball rates is cause for legitimate concern. If Farnsworth isn’t traded, and his ERA comes in around 4.50 in ‘08, I think Yankee fans have to be happy about that.
Jose Veras
Lights up the radar gun but not much else. I don’t think we can expect much here. I would be surprised if Veras makes it out of May on the major league roster.
Ross Ohlendorf
Another hard-thrower whose numbers don’t match up with the velocity, Ohlendorf came over as part of the RJ trade before last season. If Ohlendorf can prove to be the ground-ball machine that he was hyped as when he came over, then perhaps he can be of some utility in the pen. My most intense streaks of optimism see his major league debut as a turning point…. these are usually tempered by looking at all the other numbers he’s put up in his career. If playing baseball doesn’t work out he has a possible future as a GM – a degree from Princeton isn’t exactly a bad thing to fall back on.
Luis Vizcaino
Unfortunately, even a 4.32 ERA probably should’ve been higher for Vizcaino. Only having 4% of flyballs end up in HRs doesn’t come from skill – it comes from luck. And had that number been closer to league average, Vizcaino’s ERA probably would’ve been higher than Krazy Kyle’s. This does not bode well for Vizcaino continuing to be the Yankees setup man.
Brian Bruney
I ought to have smelled something fishy about Bruney’s ‘06 0.87 ERA when his walk rate was 17%. I don’t think he makes it out of May on the roster.
Ron Villone
Again, I wouldn’t expect much here. However, Villone is another striking example of how veteran pitchers can go down to AAA and be pretty dominant. If a 21-year old was putting up those numbers in Scranton, it’d be pretty exciting.
Humberto Sanchez
A true power arm, Sanchez came to the Yankees as the centerpiece of the Sheffield trade. Perhaps the biggest wild card in the group, if Sanchez is healthy there’s a chance he ends up winning the job of Yankees setup man in ‘08.
J.B. Cox
Another wild-card with arm issues (and apparently bar-fight issues also) , Cox could prove to be a real asset to the Yankees pen. His ground ball rate at AA in ‘06 was ridiculously high, and he kept the walks under control. We have to wait and see how he bounces back from ligament surgery in his arm, but there is reason for guarded optimism here.
T.J. Beam
Came back strong from injury in ‘07. Important enough to the Yankees that they have given him a 40-man roster spot. Numbers in ‘07 do represent a slight drop-off from the promise he showed after being promoted to AAA in ‘06. Can’t expect too much here.
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