Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
May 22, 2007
Nicknames

One Yankees fans really likes the young pitchers:

Over-the-moon Yankee fans were already saying who needs Roger Clemens when they've got the Yankee Clippard.

"To hell with the old guys," Bob Fernandez, 49, of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., crowed outside the Stadium last night, where the Yanks faced the hated Red Sox.

Tyler has a ways to go to earn that nickname, but he's off to a good start.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:17 AM | Pitchers | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I realize Yankee fans are starved for some good news... but baseball history is littered with young pitchers who came up, pitched well for an outing or two, and then vanished. Word gets around the league, hitters and coaches get to see video, they find the holes in the pitcher's game.

In the case of Clippard, I'm not an expert, but it seems like there should be serious concern about his mechanics. He seems to be all over the place and inconsistent. He may be tipping his pitches in some way; if not, he may be headed for an injury.

I hate to root against a young guy who hasn't done anything to offend, but if he does turn out to be the real deal, we're in for years and years of punny newspaper headlines. Bleh. (And if he flames out, "Clippard Sinks" is almost inevitable.)

Posted by: jvwalt at May 22, 2007 11:38 AM

"if not, he may be headed for an injury."

The dude hasn't missed a start since high school.

Posted by: Joseph P. at May 22, 2007 12:25 PM

Doesn't mean he's not headed for an injury. Lots of pitchers get through high workloads in high school and college, even the minor leagues, and get hurt when they get to the high-stress and high-workload environment of MLB.

I'm not a doctor, and I'm not even a trainer or pitching coach. All I'm saying is that Clippard has a weird delivery, and that often leads to injury.

Posted by: jvwalt at May 22, 2007 12:39 PM

I think what has Yankee fans excited is the *number* of good-looking pitchers in the system. Sure, Clippard may well turn out to be, say, a #5. DeSalvo probably turns out to be trade bait down the line. Betonces may never pan out, Kennedy may never blossom. But there are quite a few shots at aces and deuces, and now a decent chance that in a couple of years the Bronx rotation will be Hughes, Wang, Clippard or..., and then maybe Karstens and Rasner. An entirely home-grown rotation would be a fun change for the Bomber rooters.

Posted by: James at May 22, 2007 12:39 PM

If 2 or 3 of these young guys pan out... it'll be reminiscent of the early & mid-90's when there were home grown guys coming up and coming into their own... Williams, Jeter, Pettitte.... and they just built around that by adding a few vets by trade or free agency - Boggs, Martinez, and O'Neil. Everything was in place for championships. They could possibly do that again now by building around a hot young pitching staff. If they don't at least try it, they'd be stupid.

Posted by: Devon Young at May 22, 2007 04:57 PM
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