Who’s to Blame for the Yankees’ Inability to Close Out Games?

Though trading away Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller may help the Yankees in the future, it completely devastated their bullpen for the remainder of 2016.

The Yankees weren’t supposed to be in contention this late into September. When Brian Cashman pulled the trigger, dealing away his closer (Chapman) and setup man (Miller) it left the bullpen viciously vulnerable to late innings disasters, as witnessed in the Yankees’ past two losses, first to the Dodgers, and last night to the Red Sox.

The only acquisition of any positive consequence for the back-end of games was Tyler Clippard, who has been absolutely stellar out of the ‘pen (0.47 ERA with 20K in 19 INN).

Of the entire 13-man relief staff–besides Clippard, only Tommy Layne, and Richard Bleier has an ERA under three.

Just a quick glance at the names on the list depict a who’s who concoction of never had it journeymen, unproven’s who aren’t equipped to pitch at the big league level, and three prospects (Luis Severino, Jonathan Holder, and Ben Heller).

Media members and fans alike will quickly point to blame at Joe Girardi. Why did he pull Tanaka after seven innings of one-run ball, having only thrown 93 pitches? Why did Adam Warren only pitch the 8th innings, before Girardi felt it would be more economical to finish the contest via matchups? I have no idea, but it wasn’t.

If Girardi doesn’t trust his bullpen enough to give Betances the night off (and why would he), then Betances should have started the final frame. He clearly isn’t the type of pitcher capable of cleaning up someone else’s mess.

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And don’t even get me started on his inability to keep runners on base close. It’s a stolen base free for all!

Before last night’s debacle, Betances had already thrown 36 pitches in total–the previous two outings; which included the blunder of the season, over-throwing Gary Sanchez for an easy out at home plate.

In Betances’ defense, that runner would have never been on base had it not been for Starlin Castro‘s bone-headed error to begin the top of the 9th inning.

I also hate it with a passion, when managers bring in their closers in a non-save situation. The closer doesn’t have the same mindset, it’s not do or die. It completely changes their approach, usually doing more harm than good when it comes to runs allowed.

But some of the blame has to be placed on the player paid to get the job done. In Betances’ last five outings, he’s allowed 10 hits and nine runs in three and two-thirds innings. Thursday ended with his fifth blown save this season.

When Betances was able to locate his 99 mph fastball, it was flatter than a pancake; hence the reason that Hanley Ramirez home run is still flying out of Fenway Park.

“I wasn’t able to get it done,’’ Betances said. “I fell behind, I thought he went on the checked swing, but at the end of the day I had to make a pitch and I didn’t. My mindset is to make pitches and I wasn’t able to do that. I left some pitches up and they were able to put some good swings on them.’’

Next: Yankees Sign Billy Butler for One Reason

After 21 pitches thrown in the loss to the Red Sox, someone else will have to step up from anonymity to potentially save the Yankees’ season, as we likely won’t see Betances again until Sunday at the earliest.