Cory Wade's Regression Into Ineffectiveness

(That's the "Joe is coming out to get me 'cause I pitched like dogmess" look if I've ever seen it.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Less than 2 months ago, Cory Wade was on top of the world, or at least on top of the bullpen.  He had risen up to the role of setup man with Mo and D-Rob on the shelf and had me praising him for his new approach and lights out peripherals.  Last night, Wade made his first appearance for Empire State after pitching so poorly in June that he was demoted to Triple-A to make room for Chad Qualls.  A couple of commenters were quick to point out that Wade's hot start was almost assuredly not sustainable due to his lack of true dominant stuff and track record, and in the back of my own mind I was fully prepared to watch him regress a bit.  But the quickness and horrible-ness with which Wade regressed was surprising.  When your team considers Chad Qualls and his 5.39 FIP, 23.3 HR/FB %, and -0.5 fWAR to be an improvement over you, that's saying something.

The New And Improved Cory Wade

(Courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso/US Presswire)

There wasn't much hype when the Yankees signed Cory Wade to a MiL deal last June.  He had already been let go by the Dodgers and Rays in less than a year and hadn't pitched all that well the last time he found himself in a Major League bullpen (5.53/4.40/5.03 slash for the Dodgers in '09).  He was basically a low-risk, scrap heap pickup for the Yankees during a time when they needed bullpen depth; a guy who could hopefully eat innings while they waited for Rafael Soriano to get healthy.

Once he put on the pinstripes, though, Wade did more than just eat innings.  He posted a solid 2.04/3.76/3.80 line in 39.2 IP for the Yankees and became a reliable piece down the stretch to cover the middle innings, earning himself a new contract for 2012 in the process.  It was only natural to assume that Wade's performance would regress this season thanks to his unsustainably high strand rate from 2011 (91.2%) and his low strikeout numbers, but here we are 5 weeks into the 2012 season and Wade finds himself as arguably the best pitcher in the bullpen.