Myers down, Brower up

by anaconda on Aug 6, 2007 12:36 AM EDT in New York Yankees News

The Yankees are continuing to remake their bullpen. Mike Myers will be designated for assignment today and veteran righthander Jim Brower will be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Myers, the lefthanded specialist who threw one inning of relief and allowed one run and two hits in yesterday's 8-5 win over the Royals, has been woefully ineffective in his main role. Lefthanded batters hit .301 against him. Overall he was 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA in 55 appearances.

Brower, 34, is 4-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 20 saves for Scranton.

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Why Brower?

Who are they going to send down/dfa for Joba. As much as I would like it to be Farnsworth, I doubt they would DFA him.

Pride, Power, Cocktease

by ReLaunch on Aug 6, 2007 6:44 AM EDT reply actions

Let the dancing in the street commence!

Brower will satisfy Torre's demand for another veteran in the pen alongside Viz and Mo.
I suspect Bruney will go down. Joe lifted him way too quickly again yesterday. Villone is another option, now that Karsten is back to be the long man, but V is a Torre favorite.
Myers down, Farnsworth and Cairo to go.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Aug 6, 2007 7:27 AM EDT reply actions

Not sure

which info is correct. Post is reporting that it is Joba that is coming up. I guess we will find out later today.

Pride, Power, Cocktease

by ReLaunch on Aug 6, 2007 8:46 AM EDT reply actions

Myers

His numbers are misleading. When you pitch to one batter per appearance. He is one of Joe's faves, but this is a pennant race and roster spots just too valuable. And you're right, Joe loves the older experienced guys, even when their numbers aren't as good. Go figure. We still need to see Joba here and Ramirez given a real shot. If it means Bruney and Villone go down next, so be it.

When asked what he thought of Canseco being the first to do 40/40, Mickey Mantle replied "Hell if I knew that y'all would make such a fuss, I'd 'a done it!"

by mickey07 on Aug 6, 2007 9:56 AM EDT reply actions

EDWAR

Joe NEEDS to give Ramirez a real shot. The kids strikeout number's are ABSURD in the minor leagues. I think our bullpen would look much better if Joe didn't rely on the sloppy veterans. Not only does it help us now by getting people like Myers, Farns, Villone out of important spots, but it seasons the younger players (Britton, Ramirez, Joba, etc) for an eventualy playoff run. If these youngsters don't get any regular season action, there is no chance they are effective in the playoffs. Our team could benefit a LOT from an overhaul of the bullpen.

"It's great to be young and a Yankee"

by stillmonster on Aug 6, 2007 10:53 AM EDT reply actions

I have become skeptical

The sobbing meltdown after getting touched up for a few runs makes me wonder about this kid in a pennant race.

Fear the Evil Empire

by pfistyunc on Aug 6, 2007 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

well...

I don't remember the sobbing meltdown (certainly not a good sign.) Of course, if Joe had given the kid quasi-regular action the meltdown might not have been nessecary. Point taken though, maybe Ramirez needs a few months of ML seasoning before he takes over any important role.

"It's great to be young and a Yankee"

by stillmonster on Aug 6, 2007 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Armchair psycology aside

His changeup is a different look coming out of the pen than the fastball slider approach of Farnsworth and Bruney.
Anyone know what Brower throws?

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Aug 6, 2007 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions

A lot of meatballs when he finds the strike zone

based on his MLB stats:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/broweji01.shtml

He has a history of being a BB-machine -- which explains one major reason why he is a 34-yr old minor leaguer.

Perhaps he'll only be with the club for a day or two and the Yanks want to wait until Joba is available to pitch before bringing him up.

Since Joba pitched two innings on Sat, maybe they want to give him a few days of rest before he gets the call.

Purely speculation on my part, but probably not too far from the truth.

by anaconda on Aug 6, 2007 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Agree

The pen is a little worn out from the short outings of Clemens and Hughes this week, and the unbearable heat this weekend probably didn't help either.

They need a guy to soak up some innings if today's pitcher gets in trouble, and Brower is probably that guy. His stay should be brief.

by matthaggs on Aug 6, 2007 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

We'll see

He had a good streach with the Giants. He appeared in a franchise record 89 games. I read articles which said he was the team's MVP for a couple of years. 2002 WHIP 1.35, 2003 WHIP 1.29, 2004 WHIP 1.35. 8 year ML WHIP 1.475.

He has pitched quite well in Scranton where he made the IL all-star team.

It is a question whether a reliever ever recovers from gross overuse. IF they recover, how long does it take.

It is also true that lights out numbers in the International league are no guarantee of even adequate perfomance in the American. I am not sure this guy can't help. I am not sure Joba can.

At any rate it was time for Myers to go.

I hope Jim Brower can help, at least a little.

Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical(Yogi)

by Cbeck3 on Aug 6, 2007 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

The whips were not meant to impress you much.

I'm stating that he has been a marginal big league reliever. His career numbers are almost as goos as Myers's.

That he is here shows reluctance in the FO to go with the "kids".

By the time I write this Joba's arrival is announced. Funny, something is going on, or being discussed we do not know about.

Maybe they are going to systematically go through the minor league relievers with good numbers. Then trying Brower first makes sense, cause if he cannot cut it, you can DFA him with a clear conscience. At his age he has not future upside.

Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical(Yogi)

by Cbeck3 on Aug 7, 2007 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Brower vs Jays

Well he got his first chance and had a ball smoked that ARod handled, then another ball smoked that went for a hit. Joe pulled him. Maybe Joe and Cash thought this would be the 2007 version of Aaron Small. I don't think so. Interesting ... if this was one of the "kids", he would be sitting on the bench till Sept. We'll see how he's treated. Maybe the powers know something more than we do, but we won't shut up until some of the "kids" putting up the numbers are given a chance. And I agree that if we don't do it now, it will be awful difficult in Sept. at Fenway.

In his chase for No. 500, ARod broke one of Mantle's records. He took one more at bat than Mickey to get there!

by mickey07 on Aug 6, 2007 5:43 PM EDT reply actions

It was not a promising debut.

My point here is that only Britton has really shown he can do it in the bigs. The great numbers in AAA do not mean much.

I am very hopeful for Joba and for Kennedy, but I would like to see Britton as soon as he's ready. (he's been on the DL since 7-21-2007 with a muscle pull)

Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical(Yogi)

by Cbeck3 on Aug 7, 2007 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions