February 3, 2010

Fewer Pitchers

Joel Sherman seems to think that Phil Hughes gets the starting job of the Yankees in 2010. I’m not sure from the article how much is wishful thinking and how much is from conversations with the Yankees front office. Sherman does say one really interesting thing however:

And, really, the bigger question the Yanks might want to ask in spring is not Joba vs. Hughes as much as 2010 vs. the future.

Because aren’t the 2010 Yanks much better if both Joba and Hughes are in the bullpen? Think about it.
As long as they have health with their main veteran starters — Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte and Javier Vazquez — the importance of a No. 5 man dims.

The No. 5 competition could be among Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre. The winner probably could pitch to a 5.00 ERA and still win in double digits because of the strength of the Yankees’ offense, but also because the No. 5 starter would be backed by a bullpen that had both Chamberlain and Hughes.

It strikes me that both in the pen could radically alter the Yankees roster. The Yankees would only need nine pitchers, maybe ten. The starting staff is more than capable of going six or seven innings, and in the case of Sabathia, eight. Joba and Hughes take turns going two innings when needed, so they build up a decent amount of innings during the season (both getting over 100). They’re not one-inning setup men, they’re in for however long it takes to get to the ninth. New York can then afford to carry a third catcher and a two slick fielding infielders to rest A-Rod and Jeter late in games. It would take some guts to rework a pen like that, but if the Yankees did, I’d be all for both young men pitching out of the bullpen.

2 thoughts on “Fewer Pitchers

  1. kevin

    excellent piece.
    will the front offices please realize that the back of the bull-pen is in indianopolis, or scranton, or rochester.
    it is not in the big league park.
    regards,
    kevin warren

    ReplyReply
  2. Pingback: Joba and Hughes to the pen! | River Avenue Blues

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *