The Yankees' pen has already given up 15 runs this season, highlighted by a 7-spot on Monday night in relief of Chien-Ming Wang en route to a 15-5 thumping at the hands of the American League Champion Rays.
(Wang was worse, surrendering eight runs in 1+ innings, raising his season ERA to a cool 28.93. It's never a good sign when your ERA is higher than your age).
And the one reliever who didn't allow a run? Well. he's their first baseman.New York threw Nick fuckin' Swisher out there for the 8th, making him the first Yankees position player to pitch since Wade Boggs befuddled hitters with his knuckler back in 1997.
He wasn't terrible, either, allowing a hit and a walk on 22 pitches. And he even struck out a guy (Gabe Kapler, you should be ashamed of yourself).
It's really a travesty when you consider that the Yankees possess perhaps the best closer ever in Mariano Rivera. Outside of Rivera, New York has maybe one legitimate big-league reliever, lefty Damaso Marte, and he wasn't exactly stellar last season either.
Sure, they had a nice little run for a few games at the start there, going nine straight no-hit innings in games number two through four of the season, but I cannot believe that Brian Cashman and the Yankees' brass thought they could get away with having such a putrid pen.
Phil Coke? Jonathan Albaladejo? Makes you pine for Steve Howe, doesn't it?
Perhaps Swisher is the answer. They've been having difficulty getting him in the starting lineup every day anyway; it's killing two birds with one stone!
And look at that form!
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