Posts Tagged ‘Brian Bruney’

Monday, December 7 Hot Stove Reports

Yankees – Andy Pettitte has decided he will pitch in 2010. The Yankees and Pettitte look to come to terms on a one-year deal.

Mets – Rumors today have Pat Burrell being traded to the Mets in a three-way trade from the Ray that includes the Cubs. Several sources say this is inaccurate. David Lennon of Newsday disputes the report. He tweeted, “Oh, and forget Burrell to Mets - period. Source just said team not interested in him. Not in 3-way, not in any way.”

Yankees – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has tweeted, “Yankees trade Bruney to Nationals”. Yankees get a player to be named later in the deal.

Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Mets have interest in Royals pitcher Gil Meche.

Yankees – Marc Carig of the Star Ledger tweeted the Yankees have had “initial talks” with Mark Derosa.

Mets – The Mets have denied reports of acquiring pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Tigers. 

Yankees – The Yankees have been linked to discussions for Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson, but the asking price is supposedly Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson. Way too high of an asking price for the Yankees. They could add another player or two and acquire Roy Halladay if they wanted to trade those chips.

The Mets were linked to an incredible amount of players today but nothing came of it. Rumors are rumors and in this age of technology rumors can spread quickly by anyone. Trusted sources aren’t always easy to come by.

Who do the Yankees trust coming out of the bullpen? The first and most obvious answer; Mariano Rivera. After Mariano the level of trust drops substantially. Here are the various confidence levels the Yankees have in their bullpen.

Most Confidence: Mariano Rivera
Mr. Reliable has a 0.71 ERA this postseason. Girardi has called on Mo to get six out saves in game six of the ALCS and game two of the World Series. Girardi won’t have the luxury of using Mo for two inning saves in Philadelphia since there are no days off between any of the three games. Mo is one of the best, if not the best, postseason pitchers of all-time.

Gaining Confidence: Damaso Marte, Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson
Damaso Marte made 21 appearances and gave up 14 earned runs during an injury plagued 2009 regular season (9.45 ERA). The lefty specialist has gotten some big outs against left-handed hitters for the Yankees in the postseason. He hasn’t given up a run in five appearances although his last three appearances have come in Yankee losses.
Joba Chamberlain looks to have taken over as setup man. Joba has given up seven hits in 3.1 innings but has given up only one earned run. He’s been hit hard in a couple of outings against the Angels but the Yankees remain confident in Joba. Look for Girardi to go to Joba instead of Phil Hughes in the 8th inning.
David Robertson is 2-0 and hasn’t given up a run so far this postseason. Girardi’s not afraid to hand the ball to Robertson in a big spot. Robertson has put together strong efforts in tough spots this postseason including getting out of a bases loaded jam in extra innings against Minnesota that set up a Mark Teixeira walk-off  home run.

In the Middle: Phil Coke, Chad Gaudin
Phil Coke was once Girardi’s go-to-guy but has now become the second lefty Girardi calls upon. He hasn’t done anything to cause the demotion so it’s hard to understand. Some situations have called for a lefty pitcher but Girardi decided to stick with a right hander. Coke hasn’t given up any runs in two innings of work this postseason. 
Chad Gaudin is in limbo. He’s pitched one inning this postseason and it was the 9th inning of a 10-1 blowout win over the Angels. Gaudin awaits word of whether he’ll start a game in the World Series.

Losing Confidence: Phil Hughes, Brian Bruney, Alfredo Aceves
Phil Hughes had an unbelievable regular season as the Yankees setup man and bridge to Mariano. Hughes has been rocked this postseason. An inflamed 9.64 ERA and his inability to record an out in game one of the World Series doesn’t show Girardi he can be that 8th inning guy.
Brian Bruney won’t touch the mound unless there is a blowout. Not after he gave up two runs on three hits and recorded just one out in game one of the World Series. Bruney was left off the Yankees ALDS and ALCS rosters and for good reason. 
Alfredo Aceves hasn’t pitched since game three of the ALDS. Tied at 4-4, Aceves gave up the game winning run the 11th inning. In game two of the ALDS he gave up a run in the 11th inning but was saved by A-Rod’s game tying home run. Aceves has dropped in the pecking order.

Cliff Lee mastered the Yankees in game one of the World Series. CC Sabathia got touched up by two Chase Utley solo home runs and the Phillies poured it on against the Yankees’ bullpen for two in the 8th and two in the 9th to win game one 6-1.

Those tack on runs late in the game are costly. It takes away hope. Down by two runs, a bloop and a blast ties the game. Down by six runs, it takes a major rally to come back.

Phil Hughes couldn’t retire a batter in the 8th and left after walking the only two batters he faced. Both of those runners came around to score. If the Yankees have any confidence left in Hughes, it’s miniscule. The Yankees also won’t have much confidence in Brian Bruney after he was charged with two runs in the 9th. After game one, the Yankees may have the most confidence in lefty specialist Damaso Marte, who recorded two big outs in the 8th before being relieved by Dave Robertson. Robertson gave up a hit to the next batter that drove in two runs.

Derek Jeter was the only offensive bright spot for the Yankees with three hits. The rest of the Yankees had a total three hits combined. The Yankees broke the shutout with an unearned run in the bottom of the 9th.

The Yankees face a familiar foe in game two; Pedro Martinez. The Yanks will have a chance to put up some runs and will hope AJ Burnett can shutdown the Phillies offense.

The Yankees have added OF/IF Eric Hinske and RP Brian Bruney to their World Series roster, replacing OF Freddy Guzman and C Francisco Cervelli.

Here is the Yankees official World Series Roster:

Position Players: C Jorge Posada, C Jose Molina, 1B Mark Teixeira, 2B Robinson Cano, SS Derek Jeter, 3B Alex Rodriguez, IF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr, LF Johnny Damon, CF Melky Cabrera, CF Brett Gardner, RF Nick Swisher, DH Hideki Matsui, OF Eric Hinske

Pitchers: SP CC Sabathia, SP AJ Burnett, SP Andy Pettitte, RP Phil Coke, RP Damaso Marte, RP Dave Robertson, RP Alfredo Aceves, RP Brian Bruney, RP Joba Chamberlain, RP Chad Gaudin, RP Phil Hughes, C Mariano Rivera