The second half of the Yankees 2010 season begins tonight.
The run towards another playoff appearance for the defending World Series Champions also begins tonight too.
While the offense and the starting pitching have been outstanding, the bullpen of the Yankees hasn’t been very good (outside of Mariano Rivera, of course).
I made a suggestion for the Yankees to trade for Octavio Dotel. A lot of you didn’t really agree or want to go for it. I have seen other teams interested in Dotel, but not the Yankees.
George King of the New York Post suggested that the Yankees could take a look at left-handed reliever George Sherrill, who was just waived by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, I know you’re all going to look at Sherrill’s numbers, see that he has the 7.08 ERA, the 2.21 WHIP, the 16 walks and 16 runs in just 20 innings pitched so far in 2010. I know you’re also going to see that he is due the rest of his $4.5 million from his one year contract with the Dodgers.
So why would the Yankees want to take a chance on this guy when he’s been pitching this badly?
It’s because he’s been a better pitcher than this, especially over the last two seasons.
In 2008, he was an American League All-Star with the Orioles, saving 31 games.
In 2009, he saved 20 games with a 2.40 before being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline, then posted a 0.65 ERA in 27.2 innings.
When Sherrill is pitching well, he’s a good reliever. What makes him a possibly attractive candidate for a struggling bullpen is that he’s a left-hander.
Anyone can get a right-handed reliever; they’re considered a dime a dozen. But lefties are considered more valuable, which in Sherrill’s case, might get him onto another major league team and not in the Dodgers minor league system.
Sherrill was placed on outright waivers, so any team can claim him with the Dodgers not being able to pull him back.
The Yankees need bullpen help, especially when trying to get the ball to Rivera late in close games.
We’ve seen Joba Chamberlain fail multiple times in 2010 as the setup man. He took a shut-out performance by Javier Vazquez and squandered it into a 4-1 loss to the Mariners. He’s also blown two games that could have been wins for CC Sabathia (Boston, Cleveland). Joba’s command isn’t there and his demeanor on the mound, at times, is flat out terrible.
It could be time to take Joba out of the setup role. If the Yankees were to make a waiver claim and sign Sherrill, they could put him in the setup role, like the Dodgers did last year with him and Jonathan Broxton.
I know a lot of you might get turned away from Sherrill’s lousy 2010 in L.A., but sometimes a fresh start could be what a player needs, and in this case, being put in the middle of a pennant race.
Last season, Sherrill got to experience his first taste of being a playoff pitcher with the Dodgers, posting a 3.86 and a 1-0 record in the NLDS against the Cardinals, but struggled against the Phillies with a 13.50 ERA.
There was talk about bringing in players from AAA Scranton/Wilks-Barre to try and help the Yankees bullpen and build the bridge to Rivera. However, minor league numbers are just that: In the minors and not in the majors. In the minors, Marc Melancon and Jonathan Albaladejo look like dominators, but when called up to the big leagues, they get figured out and hit around.
Not too many options have been thrown around for the Yankees to add to the bullpen—the team needs to add some arms for the second half, especially if they look to defend and repeat as champions.
The Yankees have 15 days left until the trading deadline; if they want to make a move and get someone who they can throw in now to help, Sherrill can very likely be that man.
The only question is, does Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman have interest in Sherrill?
The clock is ticking for the Yankees to make moves. This could, potentially be a move that will make or break their season.
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