Yankees Need to Send Sergio Mitre Packing Now
August 10, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
How do you kill a seven game winning streak after a four game sweep of your fiercest rival?
Send your weakest starting pitcher on the mound.
For the Yankees, that would be Sergio Mitre.
For weeks, I’ve proclaimed that Mitre is not the answer as our fifth starter. He’s gotten away with bad starts because the Yankees have bailed him out.
On Monday night, the Yankees weren’t able to bail him out, although they tried to.
The Yankees gave Mitre an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Mitre surrendered that lead quickly in the fourth inning with the Blue Jays scoring three runs to put Toronto up 4-2.
However, this is still the Yankees and they were able to fight back with back-to-back homers from Cano and Hairston, Jr. Just like Sunday’s Sox game, the Yankees looked poised for another comeback victory.
However, Mitre found another way to give back the game with a solo home run to Lyle Overbay, putting the Blue Jays up 5-4.
Mitre was done after five innings. He allowed five runs on six hits, walked one and struck out six. He kept his walks down and struck out a few hitters, but the home runs killed Mitre and the Yankees.
Because Mitre was unable to pitch deep, Joe Girardi had to use Alfredo Aceves for four innings.
Aceves continues to pitch well as he went four scoreless innings and only allowed two hits. So while Mitre was giving the game away, Aceves kept the Yankees in it.
But the Blue Jays bullpen showed up as well. Camp, League, Carlson, and Frasor pitched five scoreless innings for the win.
With the loss, the Yankees win streak ends at seven. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Tigers 6-5, to bring the AL East lead back down to 5.5 games.
But back to Mitre. He’s been dreadful to watch throughout the year. He has been awful this year. He’s not a young prospect. He has major league experience, but even in the past, he hasn’t been good.
In 2009, it hasn’t been any better for Mitre’s first five starts. Mitre has gone 23 innings, allowing 38 hits to a tune of 1-1 and a 7.00 ERA.
How Mitre hasn’t been sent back to AAA or released yet is beyond me; because they are not only losing when he starts (3-2), but the bullpen is used more than Giradi wants.
The fact that his opponents have been sub-.500 teams doesn’t help causes either (Orioles, A’s, Blue Jays). The only opponent who is .500 or above, the White Sox, knew exactly how to get Mitre out early; take pitches, swing at good ones, and drive his pitch count up.
If Mitre continues to take the ball every fifth day, the bullpen will be worn down in September; and if the Yankees make the playoffs, who knows how effective they will be.
The Yankees recently acquired and called up Chad Gaudin from the Padres. With this move, maybe Giradi will take a chance on Gaudin and designate Mitre for assignment.
But only time will tell.
September call ups are not for another three weeks, so the roster is currently still at 25 guys. Until that happens, the Yankees don’t have a lot of options for that fifth spot.
But one thing is for certain: Sergio Mitre needs to go. He’s had his chances.
It’s time to find someone who can hold their own in August and September, so the Yankees can get to the playoffs with fresh arms and not worn out ones.
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