Sorry, Mets fans, but I had to get that shot in. Anyway, the Phils and Yanks clashed twice this weekend, with George Steinbrenner’s crew winning 9-3 on Saturday and the game ending in a 7-7 tie on Sunday (click here for Sunday’s highlights, including an incredible catch by Greg Golson).
We haven’t yet checked in on the Yankees in spring training, but their issues are similar to those of their weekend opponent: pitching, pitching, and pitching.
The good news for the Yanks is that their one-two punch appears to be sharp. Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang threw up the same line on Saturday and Sunday, respectively: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K (Pettitte also issued a walk).
Past that, though, New York runs into problems. Mike Mussina is getting lit up today (5 runs, 4 of them earned, in 2 innings), and at this point you have to think that his ERA+ of 129 in 2006 was the textbook definition of an Indian summer. The great juggling act with the youngsters — Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy — further complicates matters, as none of the above trio should log the 200 IPs that a rotation pitcher is expected to shoulder.
That is to say nothing of the bullpen, which has its own issues beyond the seemingly ageless Mariano Rivera. The much-discussed plan is to start Joba in the pen and then draft him into the rotation in midseason. But the Yanks’ ability to make such a move will depend upon what happens with the rest of this motley crew: Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins hardly inspire confidence as potential setup men; Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez, and Sean Henn have never been counted on for high leverage innings; and Kei Igawa may actually be worse than worthless.
Speaking of worthless… Adam Eaton made his debut Saturday, and he picked up just about where he left off last year, surrendering 3 runs in 2 innings of work. Cole Hamels was touched up on Sunday, surrendering 2 HRs and 4 runs in 2 innings of work. In fact, the Phillies’ best pitcher for the weekend may have been prospect Carlos Carrasco, who tossed 3 scoreless innings yesterday, allowing 3 hits, walking none and striking out 3. I just hope the Phils don’t think that means he’s anywhere near ready for the majors… but that’s a discussion for another day.
Needless to say, there’s not a lot of reason to worry about the offense for these two squads, each of which led its league in runs scored last year. Jason Giambi did mash a three run homer on Sunday, so while the Yanks hold an open audition for playing time at first base, they should remember that the old guy can still slug with the best of them.
But the bottom line remains: if either of these teams is going to make waves this year, it will be because they managed to cobble together a respectable rotation and bullpen. We may get annoyingly repetitive in stressing this, but that’s simply how it’s going to work. Meanwhile, there’s only 27 days until the first ball is thrown in anger, so we’re slowly but surely inching toward Opening Day…
3 Comments
March 3, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Good stuff, K-Pax. RE: The Yankees, though – I think the only way you can view their bullpen situation as a negative is that by the time they get their house in order, they’ll have lost a few too many games to beat either the Sawx or the lesser of the two Central teams (but don’t you see one of them underperforming?) Rivera, Joba, Hawkins has the potential to be the best back 3 of the bullpen in the AL, right? Maybe you take Cinco-Ocho, Okajima and Delcarmen, but still. After that, there is simply too much talent in play for the next 3-4 guys not to develop into a top-flight unit by June. We’re in the Girardi regime now. Between Farnsworth (100 MPH plays when it’s from your 6th inning/mop-up guy – he was exposed and overused by he-who-shall-not-be-named) Ohlendorff (that’s a major league slider/fastball combo right now) Edwar Ramirez (we know what that change can do, and have you seen his PECOTA #s?) Veras, Jeff Marquez, Alan Horne and a Damaso Marte option that’s there if they need it, they should get away without ever relying on the less attractive options like Igawa, Henn, Bruney, etc. This group will be regarded as a great strength come June – only question is, will it be in time.
March 5, 2008 at 12:03 am
Good yanks post. Honestly, I was a bit worried at first knowing that this blog is written by a Phils fan (who has a significant other who is a Sux fan) and a Mets fan…. obviously no love-loss between the Queens and the Bronx. Nevertheless, I was happily surprised to find that the reporting was very fair. Additionally, I feel that the Steinbrenner brothers should get their own page.
“I’d like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee” – The Yankee Clipper.
June 2, 2008 at 1:09 pm
[...] we checked in on the Yanks early in spring training, we stressed that while this was a team that should have no [...]