Rosenthal: Yankees to pursue relief help at trade deadline

Via Ken Rosenthal:

The Yankees, knowing that the trade market is thin in quality starting pitching, likely will pursue relievers aggressively after suffering numerous injuries in their bullpen.

The report mentioned Padres closer Heath Bell, who is having another stellar season.

Rosenthal is right, kind of. The Yankees have had the worst luck with injuries to their bullpen this season. Losing Rafael Soriano, Joba Chamberlain, Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte for extended periods of time hasn’t made it easy for the Yankees. Plus, the trade market for starting pitchers will likely be incredibly thin.

Poll Results: Jeter’s contract negotiations should have been private

The majority of fans voted Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations should have been private. The next two highest choices voted were “Jeter is selfish” and “private negotiations next time.”

I voted for those exact three choices.

Just when I started bashing all athletes for never taking less money than they are offered — cough, Jeter — Kerry Wood signed with the Cubs for far less money than he could have earned with the Yankees or White Sox.

Red Sox add Dan Wheeler to bullpen mix

Another day, another reliever signed by the Red Sox.

Two days after locking up White Sox closer Bobby Jenks for two years, the Red Sox signed ex-Rays reliever Dan Wheeler.

Yankees free agent rumor roundup

While I was on the road headed back home from college, the Yankees were linked to a lot of free agent pitchers and some of their targets signed with other teams. Here’s a quick rundown:

Pick your weapon: Jeter, Rivera, Lee

If I had to choose to give Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera or Cliff Lee the deal they want, it would be Rivera (we don’t know what Andy Pettitte wants yet or even if he is going to return). Rivera would play the fewest number of innings among the three listed, but he’s still worth it because of all the headaches (and games) he saves.

And I do not want a 40-year-old shortstop or an overrated starter in his late 30s making more than $20 million on the Yankees (4-6 years down the line).

Right now, the Yankees don’t even have their top setup man from last year secured for next season (Kerry Wood). They didn’t even offer him arbitration. Can you imagine Joba Chamberlain as a closer in 2011? I could easily see him blowing eight saves for the Yankees. Rivera has blown eight saves in the last three years combined.

Some followers on Twitter agreed with my pick.

Keep in mind there are a few legitimate free agent closers available this offseason. Of course, none are in the same echelon as Rivera.

Not on Twitter? Tell me who you would pick in the comments!

Berkman and Wood fit for Yankees in 2011

The Yankees last week declined 2011 options on Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood and Nick Johnson. It’s almost certain Johnson won’t be back in pinstripes next year, but I believe Berkman and Wood fit right into next year’s puzzle.

Just to clarify, the Yanks declined their options because of their overpriced contracts.

Berkman's option was for $15 million, Wood's for $11 million and Johnson's for $5.5 million.

On Soon-to-Be 35-Year-Old Berkman:
Although Berkman is bound for Houston again, I think Berkman at a discount would fit nicely with the Yankees in 2011. He’s definitely in line for a serious pay cut, as his six-year, $85 million deal just expired and his numbers are in great decline.

Unfortunately, it’s a “two-way street,” as my pal said. Berkman probably wants to go back home to Houston. Perhaps Andy Pettitte’s decision to return or not will impact Berkman’s. We’ll see how this all plays out, but I think the best-case scenario is he’s back in pinstripes on a one-year, $5 million deal with a club option.

On 33-Year-Old Wood:
Do I really have to explain? He allowed two earned in 26 innings for the Yankees in the second half. He earned a new contract. As far as I’m concerned, he’s first in line to take Mariano Rivera’s place if the unthinkable happens (or if he gets injured).

Some entertainment for a slow news day

Not a lot happened today in Yankeeland outside of the Kerry Wood deal going official, finally.

For some Thursday night entertainment, here’s the Avis commercial that every fan in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry loves.

Gets me every time.

Girardi losing trust in Joba Chamberlain?

It certainly seemed that way last night when the Yankees had a 6-0 lead in the eighth inning and Joe Girardi opted for primary setup man Kerry Wood. With a five-run lead in the ninth, Girardi didn’t mess around and went with closer Mariano Rivera for the third time in four days.

A 6-0 or 6-1 lead should be safe with the last guy in the bullpen, but Girardi treated the eighth and ninth innings like they were the last two of the year. I guess I’m OK with that since the Yankees don’t play until Friday no matter what happens in today’s Rays-Rangers game.

Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything Girardi could say to Joba Chamberlain except that he doesn’t trust him anymore.

Fellow Yankees blog The Yankee U wrote a similar analysis on Chamberlain this morning, but I disagree with his final point.

Fans still hold on to 07 Joba, thinking that’s still within him. But it was a unique circumstance for a variety of reasons. It was his first time through the league, when pitchers always have an advantage before the scouting reports catch up with them. He was given regular usage and regular rest with the ‘Joba Rules’ so he was always sharp and always strong. He had built up his arm as a starter that year, so relief work was a breeze for him.

I don’t think it was very hard to pick up the scouting report on Chamberlain back in ‘07. He threw straight gas and a devastating slider in the dirt and for strikes. In the past two years he’s tried to find that stuff again, but never has as a starter or a reliever. I’m not saying he has to throw 100 mph to be effective again, but he cannot throw inaccurately in the low 90s and expect to get hitters out.

Yankees sweep Twins, advance to ALCS

The Yankees completed the sweep of the Twins the ALDS last night (like I predicted), as Phil Hughes pitched seven shutout inning en route to a 6-1 win.

Best of All: Hughes made people forget last night was his first postseason start, as he looked like a veteran silencing the Twins. He allowed four hits, one walk and struck out six.

Marcus Thames supplied the big blow in the fourth inning, a two-run homer to right-center field. Nick Swisher homered in the seventh for an extra insurance run.

Worst of All: Brett Gardner was the only Yankee starter without a hit. Kerry Wood allowed a run in relief.

Coming Up: The Yankees await their ALCS opponent, as the Rangers and Twins are still fighting it out. Game 1 isn’t until this Friday.

Teix’s 2-run shot gives Yanks Game 1 win

Mark Teixeira broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning with a two-run homer and the bullpen nailed down the win in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Twins. Now the Yankees have control of the short series.

Best of All: Teixeira also started the four-run rally in the sixth off Twins starter Francisco Liriano. Heading into the series I expected Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez to carry the offense, but tonight Tex stepped up.

Boone Logan, David Robertson, Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera combined to close out the final three innings without allowing a run. Robertson and Wood worked out of two big jams to bridge the gap to Mo.

Worst of All: CC Sabathia only went six innings. The Yankees had to use all of their top relievers except Joba Chamberlain, and I expected more from the ace. This puts pressure on Andy Pettitte to go deep in tomorrow’s game.

Coming Up: Game 2 is Thursday night at 6 p.m. Don’t forget the early start!

Girardi gave away last night’s game to Rays

I don’t know how you can deny it. After the rain came in the bottom of the third, A.J. Burnett’s start was over and Joe Girardi handed the rest of the game to three pitchers who haven’t seen action in more than a week and Chad Gaudin (5.25 ERA before the game). He gave away the game last night against the Yankees’ top competitor, the Rays.

Should Girardi have done that in order to keep his bullpen fresh for tonight and the rest of the week? Absolutely not.

No player will ever call it quits when they’re at the plate or on the mound. But when a manager brings in backups (meant for blowouts) in tight games, the players don’t have control.

Apparently David Robertson wasn’t available last night due to back spasms, and I’d count Joba Chamberlain out too because he pitched the night before.

OK, so Girardi did have a couple of excuses for bringing in his weaker pitchers in a huge game, but I still think he could have done a lot more to win.

What were Kerry Wood, Boone Logan and Mariano Rivera doing out in the bullpen? Gaudin had no business pitching in a one-run ballgame when three bullpen anchors were fresh and ready to go.

Shame on Girardi. Now let’s see if CC Sabathia can help me forget about this mess with a big, big start against David Price tonight.

Wood leading Yankees bullpen charge

When Brian Cashman acquired Kerry Wood this trade deadline, Jon Heyman posted at tweet that now makes him look like a genius.

At the time, I doubted Heyman’s use of “great.” I was dead wrong. Wood has been nothing short of great with the Yankees, allowing just one run over 20-2/3 innings (0.44 ERA).

The rest of the bullpen has followed Wood’s lead since the All-Star break.

Name	IP	ER	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Kerry Wood	20.2	1	11	24	0.44	1.06
Joba Chamberlain	26.0	8	7	26	2.77	1.04
David Robertson	24.0	4	11	31	1.50	1.08
Mariano Rivera	19.2	4	5	10	1.83	1.12
Boone Logan	18.1	2	6	23	0.98	0.93

A great bullpen is often the key to postseason success. But the Yankees’ starters and offense will have to hand the bullpen the lead in order for the bullpen to be successful.

Yankees bullpen is hot, hot, hot!

The Yankees are off to their worst start to a month this season, but it’s not because of their bullpen. In fact, of their eight losses in August, the only one lost by a reliever was when Mariano Rivera allowed a walk-off homer to the Rangers.

The big four that have made the most difference are Boone Logan, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain and Kerry Wood. Here’s a look at all four of their great stretches:

Player	Since	G	IP	K	BB	ERA
Logan	7/21	12	8.2	9	1	0.00
Robertson	7/4	16	15.2	21	9	0.00
Chamberlain	7/28	9	8.2	6	3	0.00
Wood	8/1	6	7.0	9	4	1.28

This is absolutely great to see down the stretch for the Yankees. Let’s just hope they haven’t caught fire too early.

Red Sox make Yanks pay for early mistake

The Red Sox ousted the Yankees in the first game of a four-game series, 6-3, behind 7-1/3 strong innings from Clay Buchholz. Javier Vazquez took the loss, his first since June 30.

Best of All: Robinson Cano notched his 12th game with three hits or more this season. Unfortunately, the hitters behind him combined to go 1-for-16.

The bullpen continued to shut down opponents. Joba Chamberlain, Kerry Wood, Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin pitched 3-2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Vazquez.

Mark Teixeira added his 24th homer of the year in the first inning to give the Yankees their only lead of the game.

Worst of All: Francisco Cervelli’s error in the second accounted for three unearned runs charged to Vazquez. Vazquez’s night ended in the sixth when he allowed a two-run homer to Ryan Kalish and then a walk to Jed Lowrie.

Jonathan Papelbon nailed down the save in the ninth despite an awful track record against the Yanks this season. Derek Jeter worked a walk on 12 pitches with two out, but Nick Swisher flied to left to end it.

Coming Up: The Yankees try to even up the series Saturday at 4 p.m. with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Romero mows down Yankees in 8-2 win

Blue Jays southpaw Ricky Romero went the distance in an 8-2 victory to clinch a series win against the Yankees tonight at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were outhit 12-2.

Best of All: Mark Teixeira hit his team-leading 23rd homer of the year, a two-run blast in the opening frame. It gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead which they held until the fourth, when starter Dustin Moseley allowed three runs.

Worst of All: Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 and is hitless in his last 16 ABs and homerless since July 22.

Kerry Wood and Sergio Mitre were both ineffective out of the bullpen. It wasn’t a pretty night at all for the Yankees.

Coming Up: The Yankees will try to avoid getting swept Wednesday afternoon with Phil Hughes on the hill.

Poll results: Yanks don’t need Lee or Haren

Fans were very clear with their stance in my latest poll. A whopping 87 percent said the Yankees can win the World Series without the likes of Cliff Lee or Dan Haren, two pitchers the Yankees had their eye on before the trade deadline.

Lee went to the Rangers and Haren went to the Angels, while the Yankees picked up Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns and Kerry Wood at the deadline.

Next poll: Grade Cashman at the deadline.

Cano powers Yankees to 5-4 win over Rays

The Yankees gutted out a 5-4 victory over the Rays tonight with the help of game-tying homers by Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher as well as a game-winning homer by Robinson Cano in the ninth.

Best of All: A HUGE win to hold onto sole possession of first place in the AL East. This game had a little Yankees-Red Sox intensity too. Just a well-played, exciting game to watch.

Cano was quite a sight tonight, slugging two doubles and a homer. If he starts getting hotter than he already has been all year, it’s trouble for AL pitchers.

David Robertson gets a big shout out from me as well tonight. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, ending it with a devastating breaking ball to who else but Matt Joyce, the Ray who hit the game-winning homer Friday night and the would-be game-winner in the sixth tonight.

As far as I’m concerned, D-Rob is the eighth inning guy ahead of Joba Chamberlain AND newly acquired Kerry Wood until he shows ineffectiveness.

Worst of All: Alex Rodriguez didn’t hit No. 600 and Lance Berkman had a rough, 0-for-4 start to his Yankee career. That is all.

Coming Up: The rubber match is set for Sunday afternoon with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Sherman: Yankees complete deal for Kerry Wood

Brian Cashman added a piece to the Yankees’ bullpen puzzle by trading for Kerry Wood about a half an hour before the deadline came. The deal is complete, according to Joel Sherman, but “awaiting (Bud Selig’s) approval on dollars that Indians are sending Yankees.”

If you’re worried about Wood’s long, injury-filled history, read this Jon Heyman teet:

#yankees have found relief market dismal. wood just came back from DL, and if hes healthy, he has a chance to be great

I’m surprised he said he could be “great.” Wood hasn’t been great as a reliever since 2008, but Heyman is a safe guy to believe.

Wood was NOT one of the top relievers available at this trade deadline — Joakim Soria, Scott Downs and Matt Capps were — but the Yankees were on Soria’s no-trade list and the asking prices for Downs and Capps were too high.

Chad Qualls went to the Rays, the Yanks’ top competitor, so if you look at it from that standpoint the Yankees added a better reliever — plus two hitters. Qualls was the anchor weighing down the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, the worst in the majors. Here are Wood’s career numbers as a full-time reliever since 2007: