The Yankees tied the score in the ninth and won the game, 3-2, in the 10th inning, with Brian Bruney and Luis Vizcaíno pitching the final two scoreless innings. It was good enough to give the Yankees their fourth consecutive victory.
But it might not be sufficient to keep Farnsworth in his role as the setup man to closer Mariano Rivera. With Vizcaíno having more success lately, Manager Joe Torre might use Vizcaíno or someone else in the eighth and Farnsworth elsewhere.
“I think we’re going to have to sit and think about it,” Torre said yesterday. When told Farnsworth had said he would be willing to change his role, Torre said: “Just answering that way, he’s not ignoring the fact that he’s struggling. To me, that’s a positive step” (source).
What is there to think about? Kyle Farnsworth is flat-out awful and he can't be trusted in any spot.
In 38 1-3 innings pitched, he's given up 44 hits, 19 earned runs and has only struck out 24 batters. He's been so bad this year that it's a big deal when he gets a 1-2-3 inning.
The problem is, however, that the Yankees have invested so much in Farnsworth that they don't have sufficient replacements for Farnsworth.
Scott Proctor and Brian Bruney haven't been as reliable as they were last year. Luis Vizcaino has been good recently, but he also had a stretch where he was terrible. His performance over the long haul is unpredictable. Edwar Ramirez is taking up a roster spot by never pitching, so the Yankees don't know what they have in him. Ron Villone and Mike Myers aren't eighth-inning guys.
It may be time to seriously consider calling up Chris Britton. Britton is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He also has 48 strikeouts in 44 innings.
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