The bullpen is the most important aspect of baseball and yet it is completely over looked by most teams. The bullpen is the most underrated area in all of baseball and this is where most of the games are blown. The yankees-royals game on April 12th was a perfect example. The yankees bullpen lost the game in the 8th inning.
Starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals stater Gil Meche threw a gem and was up 3-1 going into the 7th. The yankees rallied back and tacked on 3 before Meche even knew what hit him. The royals manager couldn’t even call to the bullpen and have them blow the game before Meche gave up the 3 runs. Either way the yankees had a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Yankees righty Brian Bruney who has electric stuff got threw the seventh with ease. He should be named the 8th inning guy for the yankees. He has great stuff but his command is usually in question. Either way even if his command is off he can top at 96 plus so he can get away with pitches. Regardless he got through the 7th.
Damaso Marte started the 8th inning and got two quick outs. Joe Girardi, the yanks manager called another bullpen change to the righty Jose Veras. Verasis battling with Bruney for the 8th inning spot. He walked the batter. He failed… terribly. Phil Coke was then called to get one out to get to the 9th. Coke gave up a game tying double, a one-run leading single, then a two-run leading double, then got an out. The game was blown and the yanks lost 6-4.
If you want to see highlights of the game look here:
There are a few elite relief pitchers in all of major league baseball. Mariano Rivera the closer for the yankees is one of them. But for the last few years except for a bright spot half of last year and the second half of the year before that, the yankees have struggled incredibly in the seventh and eighth inning. These innings have become as important as that ninth inning. The 9th is where all the pressure is and where the top dog closes the game. You need a certain mentality to do it.
To be successful in the 7th and 8th you need to have confidence as well. These guys have the talent to be in the majors but they clearly lack the stuff and swagger to close the game. Even if the yankees name Brian Bruney their permanent 8th inning guy he will most likely begin to struggle. He will eventually feel the pressure and games will be blown. It’s inevitable and it’s a part of baseball.
The bullpen needs to start becoming a focus of interest by all of the general managers in baseball. The game is won by scoring early and pitching great late. And until teams can start to answer this problem in the 7th and 8th teams are going to continue to struggle.
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