Sergio Mitre, Not the Answer for the Yankees
August 1, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
For weeks, I have written multiple stories on the Yankees needing a fifth starter.
Tonight’s game between the Yankees and White Sox was a great example as to why they do.
Why? Because for now, Sergio Mitre is in the rotation.
Many Yankee fans like myself were never truly comfortable putting a guy who had not pitched in the major leagues in almost two years into a rotation that is battling for a playoff spot.
Mitre’s first start against the Baltimore Orioles wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was good enough to win because the Yankees scored enough runs.
His second start against the Athletics was not any better and only lasted five innings and did not factor into the decision.
Friday night’s start against Chicago was just awful.
Mitre only lasted three innings, allowed seven hits, five runs, walked two and struck out one. He threw 75 pitches in just the three innings and seemed to struggle against every batter to get an out.
Worst of all, the Yankees gave him a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Mitre gave that lead right back when he allowed a run in the first and three more runs in the second. Those runs in the second came with two outs.
If Eric Hinske did not hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning off emergency starter D.J. Carrasco, Mitre probably would have taken the loss in this game, but thanks to Hinske, Mitre got a no decision and Joe Girardi was forced to go to the bullpen in the fourth inning.
I know it’s been three starts, but Mitre is anything but impressive. Tonight, against a good White Sox offense, they made Mitre work and he was almost at times afraid to come into the strike zone and attack batters. This is against Chicago.
What’s going to happen if Mitre is scheduled to face teams like the Red Sox and Angels whose offenses are top quality and really make pitchers work harder than they want to. Chances are, he’s going to struggle.
The Yankees had a chance to make a deal at the deadline for another starting pitcher and they didn’t. They inquired on Jarrod Washburn, but the Tigers were able to make a deal. They were also inquiring on Royals’ starter Brian Bannister, who probably would have been a much better option for the back end of the rotation, but the Yankees didn’t move.
Worst of all, they didn’t make one last attempt to even try for Roy Halladay. The Phillies, Red Sox and Rangers all passed up on Halladay, mostly because Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi was asking for too much from them. ESPN was reporting around 4:05 p.m. that the Angels were working on a late deal for Halladay, but it never went through.
I know the asking price was guys like Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Jesus Montero and Austin Jackson, but the Yankees simply were not persistent enough in trying for Halladay. If Brian Cashman dug down enough in his farm system and found decent and good prospects, he could have tried to meet Ricciardi’s demands. But he didn’t.
So what now? Are the Yankees going to stick with Mitre in the rotation, whose ERA is now 7.91 after Friday, or will the Yankees possibly keep their eyes and ears open and hope a starting pitcher could clear waivers before August 31?
They might be stuck with Mitre for now, because Chien-Ming Wang’s shoulder surgery will take at least 12 months to recover from and Ian Kennedy is still out from surgery from an aneurysm in May and Kei Igawa should never be allowed back in pinstripes for the Yankees ever again.
The only thing left is to hope Mitre can figure out how to be a better pitcher when the games start getting tougher, because now that the trading deadline has passed, the options for a fifth starter are getting really thin.
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