2010 Yankee Report Cards Part II: The Bullpen

* Mariano Rivera- A: Another gem of a season from the ageless wonder: 33 saves, 1.80 ERA, 0.83 WHIP in 60 innings of regular season work, then another scoreless 6.1 innings with only 4 baserunners allowed and 3 saves in the postseason.  As usual, Rivera was the one shining constant in the always treacherous seas that are the Yankee bullpen and continues to put up numbers at age 40 that are so much better than what 99% of relievers can put up in their primes that it really isn't funny anymore.

* Dave Robertson- B-: Started off the season horribly (14.21 ERA on May 5, 7.31 ERA at the end of May), but was lights out for the remainder of the regular season, finishing up with a respectable 3.82 ERA for the season.  Some of his peripherals are still impressive (10.42K/9) but 33 walks in 61.1 innings killed him and he melted down in the ALCS.  With Kerry Wood unlikely to come back next season, D-Rob will be the early favorite as Mo's setup man but needs to show some improvement over the last 2 seasons to keep the job.

* Joba Chamberlain- C-: The long, strange journey for Joba took another turn for the worst this season.  Like D-Rob, Joba had some impressive peripherals (less than 1 hit per IP, 9.67 K/9), but showed a frustrating inability to pitch well in close games and to limit damage on days where he didn't have his best (cough, cough, Brian Bruney, cough cough!!).  By season's end he had fallen so far down Joe's depth chart that he was a postseason afterthought in the bullpen pecking order.  For a season that could have been his last in pinstripes, it was nothing to write home about for Joba.

* Boone Logan- B: After a rough patch to start the year and a demotion to Triple-A, Boone Logan came back to replace Marte as the lefty specialist out of the 'pen and didn't disappoint.  He rattled off 25 consecutive scoreless outings from July to September and finished with a respectable sub-3.00 ERA and only .85 H/IP.  He, like pretty much everybody else in the bullpen, gave up too many walks, but Logan should start next year as the #1 lefty in the 'pen and has certainly earned that right with the way he pitched for the majority of 2010.

* Sergio Mitre- C+: After making a few early-season starts, Mitre settled into his role as the main long man in the 'pen after the loss of Aceves.  His numbers look good (3.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), but Mitre didn't miss a lot of bats and didn't log a lot of high-pressure innings, so you can't put a whole lot of weight into what he did.  And then there's the whole business of turning into a home run derby pitcher in the postseason, so yeah.  He's basically an innings eater who did what he was supposed to do so he gets an average grade from me.

* Kerry Wood- A: Hands down the best move Cash made at the deadline, Wood was money from the time he put on the Yankee uniform.  He was effectively wild at all times, allowing more walks (18) than hits (14) in his 26 regular season innings of work, but he worked out of trouble and missed a lot of bats (10.73 K/9).  That effective wildness carried over to the postseason where Wood was the only pitcher not named Mo to completely shit the bed.  He wouldn't be a bad part to have in the 'pen in 2011, but he'll be too expensive.  For what they brought him in to do and for what they gave up to get him, though, Wood was everything you could ask for and then some.

* Chad Gaudin- C-: He's like Sergio Mitre Version 0.2.  He serves the same purpose but doesn't do the job as well.  Joe rode him in September, possibly as a postseason audition, but in the end Gaudin just wasn't good enough.  His second stint with the Yankees went much like the first and I wouldn't expect him to break camp with the team next year.

* Alfredo Aceves & Damaso Marte- I: Ace was effective in his limited work (3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 12 innings) while Marte wasn't (11 BB in 17.2 IP), but neither gets an actual grade because of the injuries that shortened their seasons.  Getting Aceves back for 2011 would be a big boost to the 'pen, but I'm not holding my breath on getting anything from Marte, who becomes the latest in the long line of bad Yankee bullpen signings.

* Chan Ho Park- F-: I hate Chan Ho Park so fucking much that I can barely even describe it.  How he lasted as long as he did in a Yankee uniform is beyond me.  5.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 7 HR allowed in just 35.1 innings.  "Fuck" and "you," sir.  The most productive thing he did in a Yankee uniform was get diarrhea.  Thankfully, this is the last time I will ever have to mention him on this blog.

** Check back tomorrow for the rotation report cards **