Boone Logan Is Good Again

I don't how it happened or when, but I checked Boone Logan's line this morning and was a bit shocked.  I know he's been better over the last couple months, but I honestly had no idea he's been THAT good.  Logan stumbled through the first couple months of the season, that's no secret.  At the end of May he had an ERA and a FIP in the 4s, and his R/L splits were very disconcerting.  At his best, Logan is a shutdown type of LOOGY but his performance through the season's first 2 months, through a combination of misuse by Joe and ineffective pitching by Boone, did not translate into that role.  Logan wasn't getting lefties out, and with Damaso Marte and Pedro Feliciano shelved for the season, the Yankees started a mad scramble to find another lefty bullpen arm.

Over the last 3 months, however, Logan has been a much different pitcher.  After his talk with The Horse about having a plan on the mound, Logan's approach and results have been more in line with what we saw from him in the 2nd half of 2010 and what we were hoping to see in 2011.  Since May 28, Logan has thrown 21 innings and allowed just 4 ER on 22 combined H and BB while striking out 30.  His K/9 numbers have skyrocketed from the low 5s in May to 12.79 in June, 13.00 in July, and 14.21 in August, totaling out to a 10.13 K/9 for the season (2nd best amongst Yankee relievers behind D-Rob).  His walks are also down significantly, all adding up to a season line that is now even better than what he produced in 2010.

- 2010: 40.0 IP, 2.93 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 8.55 K/9, 4.50 BB/9, 12.2 SwStr%
- 2011: 34.2 IP, 2.60 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 10.13 K/9, 2.86 BB/9, 12.8 SwStr%

More importantly, his numbers against lefties have evened out and are back in line with what fans, his teammates, and his coaches expect to see.  in 21.1 total innings vs. lefties this year, Logan has 28 Ks, and a tripleslash of 2.53/3.34/2.90.  Last night was a bit of a freak reverse platoon split for Logan as he gave up a hit to the lone lefty he faced and then struck out 2 righties to end the 7th inning, but that has been the exception rather than the rule this summer.

His home/road splits are still a bit of a concern, but there's no doubt that Boone Logan has rebounded from his poor start to turn his season into a fantastic one.  His stuff is on point, he's being aggressive with hitters, and living up to his role as the lone lefty specialist in the bullpen.  If he can keep this trend up for the rest of the season, he will ease concerns about carrying another lefty on the postseason roster and make the already dangerous Yankee bullpen even deeper.

** REMINDER- Live blog coming tonight at 7PM Eastern, 6 Central. **