Yankees bullpen always a cause for concern

Gone are the days of Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton bridging the gap to Mariano Rivera. Over the last few years, Yankee fans have been treated to innings of uneasiness courtesy of high priced veterans like Felix Heredia, Felix Rodriguez, Ron Villone and Tanyon Sturtze. Recent signings of Kyle Farnsworth two seasons ago and LaTroy Hawkins this season will continue that trend for the Yankee faithfuls.


What fans do have to look forward to is the recent surge of youth being shot into the bullpen. With the price of relievers skyrocketing by the signings of Scott Linebrink, Octavio Dotel and New York's own Rivera, the Yankees' farm system has slowly gotten the call up one by one. Here's who the Yanks will have in camp this year to try out for the roles of sixth, seventh and eighth inning men:


Mariano Rivera - RHP - 38 years old
Latroy Hawkins - RHP - 35 years old
Kyle Farnsworth - RHP - 31 years old
Brian Bruney - RHP - 27 years old
Chris Britton - RHP - 25 years old
Ross Ohlendorf - RHP - 25 years old
Jose Veras - RHP - 27 years old
Edwar Ramirez - RHP - 26 years old
Jonathan Albaladejo - RHP - 25 years old
Chase Wright - LHP - 25 years old
Kei Igawa - LHP - 28 years old
Sean Henn - LHP - 26 years old
Jeffrey Marquez - RHP - 23 years old
Daniel Giese - RHP - 30 years old
Steven Jackson - RHP - 25 years old
Mark Melancon - RHP 22 years old
Heath Phillips - LHP - 25 years old
Scott Strickland - RHP - 31 years old
Billy Traber - LHP - 28 years old

Lots of names, lots of uncertainty. Obviously Rivera and Farnsworth are locks to make the team. If Hawkins shows up healthy he'll also be on the team, as the Yankees threw a lot of money at him. After that, it gets interesting. Wright and Igawa are lefties who had poor showings at starters, so they might get a shot at relief, since the Yanks are lacking in the lefty department. Bruney and Britton are power pitchers with erratic control, and both fell out of favor with management last season. Ramirez has an incredible changeup and a fastball that gets hit incredibly far. Henn was a scapegoat for the Yanks last season, coming in and taking a beating on several occasions, really inflating his ERA. Traber had trouble sticking with the Royals, so don't expect much from him. Many of the others are just too young, or too washed up to make the roster. Marquez and Jackson are two names to watch for September callups, or if they dominate the farm system.

Joba Chamberlain (pictured above) is preparing to be a starter this season. Not since Rivera set up John Wettland have the Yankees had an eighth and ninth inning tandem as dominant as Joba and Mo. It would be unfortunate to lose that in the beginning of the season, but if he starts in the rotation and stays healthy, a strict innings limit will put him back into the bullpen after the all-star break.

Here's what I predict the Yankees' bullpen will look like to start the season:

Rivera
Chamberlain
Farnsworth
Hawkins
Ohlendorf
Veras
Henn

Substitute Bruney in for Chamberlain if he's in fact a starter. Everyone else will be down in the farms to start, but Henn, Veras, Bruney and Hawkins are all candidates to be replaced quickly. With Joe Girardi as manager, I'd expect a little more youth up in the pen.

No matter how you slice it , the bullpen doesn't strike fear in anyone and is very vulnerable. Starters can't be expected to go seven innings every night, so hopefully there will be a couple of gems waiting to be found in the system.

Next time, I'll break down the extremely cluttered first base situation. Until then...