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Pitching: Problems and
Answers.
Email:
Harold
Friend Website:
Suite101
PITCHING IS
THE name of the game. The
Yankees have had Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio,
Mantle, Maris, Berra, Dickey, Jackson,
O'Neill, Jeter and many other outstanding
hitters, but pitching has carried them to
most of their championships. The fact
remains that if one's opponent doesn't
score, he doesn't win.
The 2004 Yankees have a
great lineup. With Jeter, Sheffield,
Rodriguez, Matsui, Williams, Posada, and
Giambi, the team is scoring runs. Few
teams have a lineup that is as effective.
What is disturbing is that after 86 games,
the Yankees have a team earned run average
of 4.46. The Red Sox, Twins, A's, and
Angels pitchers all have done
better.
In the playoffs, pitching
wins. The Yankees starting rotation of
Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Mike Mussina,
Jose Contreras and Jon Lieber have a
combined ERA of 4.58. That is not good but
may not be as bad as it appears. The only
World Championship Yankees team with a
season's ERA below 4.00 since 1996 was the
1998 team so this staff could be good
enough in October.
Or maybe not.
In 1996 the Yankees had
David Cone, Andy Pettitte, Jimmy Key and
Kenny Rogers as starters. Cone and
Pettitte were capable of shutting down the
opposition almost completely in any given
game and did just that to the Braves after
the Yankees were down in games, 2-0. Cone
won Game 3 with a dominating performance
that was topped by Pettitte in Game 4 when
he made a run off John Smoltz stand up for
a critical 1-0 victory.
There are no guarantees.
The Braves bombed Pettitte in Game 1 but
the chance of a great game was always
there with Pettitte, Cone, David Wells,
and El Duque Hernandez. In 1998, the
quartet stopped the Padres cold and the
following year, even with Roger Clemens
usurping David Wells' roster spot and
having a poor regular season, the Yankees'
starters shut down the Braves. The last
championship came against the Mets and it
was Pettitte, Clemens, and a great relief
appearance by Cone that won it for the
Yankees. Of course, one must not forget
Mariano Rivera, who has been the lynchpin
of all the championships.
The Yankees bullpen is
strong. Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon, and
Paul Quantrill have done outstanding work
but they have been overworked, primarily
because the starters leave so
soon.
This year's team has three
pitchers who can overwhelm the opposition
but there are big, big question marks.
Kevin Brown is clearly the ace. Kevin
Brown worries about his health. Kevin
Brown is lost to injuries often. If Kevin
Brown is healthy in October, the Yankees
will be a very difficult team to beat in
any short series. Kevin Brown is injured
again.
Without Kevin Brown,
Javier Vazquez becomes the ace. While he
is a good pitcher, he gives up home runs
and is not the intimidating force Brown
is. Entering this season, in 191 starts,
Vazquez has only 6 shutouts.
Mike Mussina has pitched
some dominating games but this season
there are murmurs that he has lost
velocity off his fast ball. He has become
very hittable with an obscene ERA of 5.20
and has allowed 131 hits in 107 1/3
innings. That is not good. He is on the
disabled list with a bad arm, which may be
more serious than is being
reported.
Jose Contreras has pitched
well recently and he can be dominating,
but he is still a major question mark.
Since his family "escaped" from Cuba,
Contreras has pitched much better and it
may be that not being lonesome and/or
guilty because he is here and they were
there will be a panacea.
Finally, Jon Leiber is a
project in the works. He has excellent
control but with his limited talent he
cannot afford to make a mistake and as
everyone knows, everyone makes mistakes.
Leiber has a 4.77 ERA and has allowed 104
hits in only 83 innings.
The Yankees bullpen is
strong. Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon, and
Paul Quantrill have done outstanding work
but they have been overworked, primarily
because the starters leave so soon. At the
halfway mark, all are on a pace for over
80 appearances. If that occurs, what will
the trio have left for October? And of
course, there is still the need for a
lefty relief pitcher not named
Heredia.
Randy Johnson may hold the
key to the entire season. If he becomes a
Yankee they will be overwhelming favorites
to win the World Series, but that doesn't
mean they will. The playoff schedule and
the results of the first round affect the
pitching rotation for the second round,
which affects the World Series rotation.
If the Yankees acquire
Johnson's services and things break
favorably with Johnson opening the World
Series, with Brown for Game 2 and Vazquez
for Game 3 in the National League park,
Mussina becomes a one game starter and the
Yankees will have a great chance. But if
the Yankees need Johnson to pitch the
deciding game of the second round, it may
be a different story. If Brown is unable
to pitch, it may be a different
story.
George Steinbrenner has
been criticized unfairly for doing
whatever is possible, within baseball's
existing structure to win. Too bad. Those
who want to criticize can do so to their
heart's delight. The beleaguered Boss
knows that no guarantees exist. He also
knows the importance of starting pitching.
George Steinbrenner cannot be blamed for
trying to get every possible edge. It is
his money and he is still allowed to spend
it as he sees fit.
Harold is a science
teacher who loves baseball. Actually, he
is a self described "baseball fan who
became a science teacher because he
couldn't hit or throw." He has been
involved with the New York City Education
system in various capacities since 1962
and he received his doctorate in science
education from NYU in 1968. He credits
Casey Stengel with being responsible for
his first baseball "degree," and in 1998,
Joe Torre and Don Zimmer saw to it that he
received the advanced version. For that he
says, "I cannot thank them enough."
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