The bullpen was just fine until Damaso Marte got here.
Yankee relievers had the second-best batting average against and the fourth-lowest ERA in the league, but along comes Marte, and suddenly, Joe Girardi is putting him in there every time the game is on the line.
On July 29, the ex-Pirate gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the seventh, costing New York a game against the Orioles, but the manager threw him right back out there in the eighth inning of a close game against Texas on Monday night.
After Marte escaped a jam in the eighth, Girardi inexplicably sent him back out for the ninth, where he got into even more trouble, walking the bases loaded with two outs.
Following a base on balls to left-hander Josh Hamilton, I thought the skipper would finally bring in righty David Robertson, who had been warming up for what seemed like all evening, to pitch to right-handed Marlon Byrd.
But he did not.
Girardi left Marte in, and he promptly gave up a walk-off grand slam on the first pitch. Damaso has now surrendered six earned runs in 4.2 innings with the Yankees. That's an ERA of 11.57.
Mariano Rivera has been suffering from back spasms, but where was Jose Veras? Girardi will probably say he was unavailable because he pitched the previous two days, but that's unacceptable. This was an important game, and Veras could've at least faced Byrd.
Why is Edwar Ramirez allowed to pitch to only four batters and Brian Bruney only five, but Marte gets to face nine lefty and righty hitters over two innings? That just doesn't make sense.
And don't say, "That's why they should not have gotten rid of Kyle Farnsworth." They have plenty of guys in the 'pen that are capable to pitch in that spot. Marte isn't one of them.
Here are the grades from the Yankees' heartbreaking 9-5 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Joba Chamberlain, SP: (F) The sub-headline for this game was that Chamberlain left in the fifth inning with right-shoulder stiffness. It will be devastating for the Yankees if he misses significant time, especially with Chien-Ming Wang already on the DL and Darrell Rasner struggling at the back-end of the rotation.
I was really looking forward to Joba pitching Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels because he was the only starter not to face L.A. this past weekend.
As for this game, Joba didn't have his best stuff for the first time since fully transitioning to the starter's role. He gave up more than three runs for the first time since joining the rotation.
Joe Girardi, Manager: (F) Not only did Girardi stick with Marte too long, but he once again didn't get anything going on the basepaths for the offense. Down 5-4 in the sixth, the Yankees got the first two men on base, but the manager didn't bunt with Robinson Cano up.
Instead, Cano flied out to left and the runners didn't advance, so they couldn't score on Ivan Rodriguez's groundout. New York didn't plate a run that inning. Girardi didn't attempt a single steal, lay down a single bunt, or try a hit and run.
I don't know how many times I have to say this: You can't rely solely on the long ball. Those home runs that you hit off of Rangers and Royals pitching in July and August won't be there in October against the Angels and Red Sox.
15 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Alex Ferguson 11 months ago
Hmmm.....a bit of a problem NL vs AL for pitching? It's not as though we've never seen that before, is it?
Seriously though, I'm more pissed about Joba's shoulder than Marte's pitching. Hey, at least the other two lost as well, eh - including Boston AT HOME to Kansas City....
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Alex Ferguson 11 months ago
Hmmm.....a bit of a problem NL vs AL for pitching? It's not as though we've never seen that before, is it?
Seriously though, I'm more pissed about Joba's shoulder than Marte's pitching. Hey, at least the other two lost as well, eh - including Boston AT HOME to Kansas City....
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Michael Lemaire 11 months ago
boston was on the road last night
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Alex Ferguson 11 months ago
I'm wrong. Sorry Boston, you lost ON THE ROAD to Kansas City last night....
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Michael Mulraney 11 months ago
You want to know how you know a guy can't pitch? He gives up a homer to Marlon Byrd.
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Alex Ferguson 11 months ago
You don't have to tell me man......
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Matthew Goodman 11 months ago
Sexson's never been able to hit lefties any better than righties. This year's numbers were a fluke of small sample size. Plus, he actually had bat speed back in the day. His bat looks like it's made out of lead. It's pathetic.
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Vinny Gazzara 11 months ago
Marte should be a lefty specialist... idk why Giardi gave him 2 innings last night... I still wish Don Mattingly was the manager..
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Ryan Burns 11 months ago
great article, i couldnt believe that girardi left marte in in the ninth, but he should be fine in the long run. Im concerned about Joba though, Yanks cant afford to lose him at all.
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James Colt 11 months ago
I think this article really misses the point. I was watching this game as a die-hard Rangers fan, and after the game I thought about writing an article about the fact Girardi lost the game for the Yankees, not Marte like so many people who don't truly understand the intricacies of the game would think. Marte may have been bad in other appearances, I don't know because I haven't seen them. However, he was put in a position by his manager that he never should have been in anyway. Watching the game on the Rangers network, which by the way have great commentators, Tom Grieve made an excellent point after facing Laird that he is not used to throwing more than 25 pitches in an outing, which is about where he was when Laird came to bat. The only reason anyone could even figure that Marte was still in was to face Hamilton who was slated to hit after 3 straight right handed hitters in Kinsler, Laird and Young. If the righty would have been brought in to face these hitters then perhaps they wouldn't have needed the left handed arm to face Hamilton. After Marte walked Hamilton to load the bases with two outs in a tie game I certainly thought that he would be done with the right handed Byrd coming to the plate. Byrd regardless of what he did in his at bat was the last possible hitter that could have batted in the ninth, meaning that Marte could have never faced the left handed David Murphy b/c Byrd whether he walked, hit, or got out would have ended either the inning or the game. I was certain that even the most dim witted manager in baseball would have been aware of this and brought in the righty to face Byrd. That is the biggest blunder of Girardi's terrible night which included many mistakes, but as a former catcher this mistake is inexcusable. The fact of the matter is that Marte is a lefty specialist only, and it's not his fault Girardi chooses to use him otherwise.
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Jordan Schwartz 11 months ago
James, did you read the article? I blamed Girardi just as much as Marte.
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James Colt 11 months ago
My point was that Marte barely deserved blame if any at all, but your article was almost entirely about him blowing the game, and then you write a little on Girardi. Even the title of your article blames Marte. Yes, Marte gave up the slam, but it's a position he shouldn't have been in the first place. If you are going to blame one person for a team of 20+ individuals failing then your blame should have started with Girardi.
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Jordan Schwartz 11 months ago
I chose to lead with Marte because he's the one that gave up the grand slam and he's the one who has done nothing but make the bullpen worse since coming over from the Pirates. Girardi was in a little bit of a bind because of Rivera's injury and Joba only being able to go 4.2 innings, so I gave him a little bit of the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I've already slammed him plenty this year.
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James Colt 11 months ago
I'm sorry I just think it's unfair to blame Marte. The guy has electic stuff, and he his really tough on lefty's. Marte isn't the only one who has had a tough time of late. I saw Edwin Ramirez give up a grand slam to Teixeira, but since the Yankees came back to win no one really seems to care. The fact of the matter is that Marte has been asked to do more than he is accustomed to. If they keep him in situations that he should be i.e. lefty specialists, then he will do great. The guy has barely been in pinstripes so give him a break.
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Jordan Schwartz 11 months ago
The guy gave up four runs and five base runners in an inning and a third so he has to get some of the blame. He surrendered a triple to David Murphy (a lefty) and walked Josh Hamilton (also a lefty). And I don't buy that he's a lefty specialist. Southpaws are hitting .267 off of him this year, while righties hit just .202.
People aren't looking the other way on the grand slam Ramirez gave up because the Yanks came back to win, it's because HE DIDN'T GIVE UP A SINGLE HIT OR RUN IN JULY. He's allowed to make a mistake once every 14 appearances. Once Marte gets on a streak like that, I'll give him a break.
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