| Rob Intrieri. 21st August, 2005 - 4:16 pm
 Before the season started, if I had posed the question, “Come August, who will be the Yankees’ most reliable starter?” how many would have debated between Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small? If you said zero, I would agree with you. Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano would have been the most likely answers, but after injuries and inconsistency, others have had to step it up. Without the assistance of Keanu Reeves, the replacements have done a phenomenal job of keeping the Yankees afloat.
Let’s do a bit of analysis to help prove my point. We’ll call Randy, Pavano, Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, and Jaret Wright the “Original 5”. Everyone else is a “Replacement” (except for Tim Redding and Darrell May because those guys were expected to lose). So that group includes Chien-Ming Wang, Chacon, Small, Al Leiter, Scott Proctor, Tanyon Sturtze, and (sadly) Sean Henn. In games started by the Original 5, the Yankees are 47-38, a .553 winning percentage. The Yankees are 19-13 in games started by the Replacements, a .594 winning percentage. The Yankees have done better with the Replacements than with the Originals! The Originals have an average ERA of 5.42, which would be third worst in the league, ahead of only Terrible Tampa and the Rotting Royals. Their lowest ERA comes from Mike Mussina, who holds an ERA of 4.00. The Replacements boast an ERA of 4.90, most of it due to Sean Henn’s 11.12 ERA. The Replacements have 3 members with ERAs under 4: Chacon (2.16), Small (3.10), and Wang (3.89). Let’s face it: neither ERA nor winning percentage is vintage Yankees, but the stats show that the Replacements have pitched better than the Original 5.
I have found myself more optimistic reading Chacon, Wang, or Small as the probable starter than seeing Randy’s there. The Replacements are forced to show what they’ve got every game, falter and they could be on the next bus to Columbus. They don’t have huge guaranteed contracts like every pitcher of the Original 5. They’re the underdogs and they’re getting it done which is why I was outraged when the Yankees decided to start Jaret Wright over Aaron Small on Monday.
Sure, he did great, but he shouldn’t have gotten the chance. Small is undefeated with the Yankees (4-0) and has an ERA that is less than half that of Wright’s 7.62 mark. Why take the ball from the hot hand? It doesn’t make any sense. That’s like putting Ray Allen, the Sonics’ star shooter, on the bench after he drains 10 of 10 shots. At least give him the chance to blow it himself. Ride it out. One loss and he’s out, I’d understand that, but at least give him that one loss. A better scenario would have been removing Leiter from the rotation because, although he’s the most accomplished of the bunch, the Yankees give him too much credit for his career rather that looking at who’s the better pitcher this year. Leiter’s thrown over 700 pitches in a Yankees uniform this year and a move to the bullpen might have given his arm some much needed rest.
This brings me to my next point. Over the last week, the starting pitching hasn’t been the only problem, the bullpen has. Not just middle relief, either. No one is safe. Even Mariano Rivera has fallen victim to bad pitching, blowing two saves over a span of three days. Sturtze, Embree, Flash; I groan no matter who comes to the mound. The reason is, no one’s been good, not even against the lowly D-Rays. On
Tuesday, for instance, Alan Embree comes in to pitch the eleventh inning. Groan. He allows a double to Carl Crawford, putting the winning run in scoring position. He is yanked in favor of Scott Proctor. Double groan. Proctor proceeds to balk, putting Crawford on third with one out, walk a batter, then intentionally walk another to load the bases and create a force out at any base. Keep in mind, Proctor has not thrown a strike in 8 pitches. But Joe Torre sticks with him (more groans). Jonny Gomes, a promising young hitter, comes to the plate with a competitive fire in his eyes, ready to hit the ball out of Tropicana (a dome) and win the game. Proctor’s first pitch hits the dirt. Oh, no. His second pitch nearly hits Gomes in the face. Throw a STRIKE! Third pitch is outside. It’s over. Proctor finishes the job with ball four, walking in the winning run. In a game the Yankees needed to win to keep pace with the Red Sox, Scott Proctor decided to throw 3 strikes out of 17 pitches. These are the types of games that true champions don’t lose. |
