Bubba Crosby DFA'd; Yanks recall Jose Veras as 12th pitcher

[Mattingly]

I'm not sure if we actually need 12 pitchers. If one is more effective than the next, that's fine. However, I do hope that guys like Sidney Ponson aren't ignored. At least this article does show that Torre realizes that he can't forever favor "his guys", of which Scott Proctor was definitely one of.

Notes: Yanks Add Extra Arm
Crosby designated for assignment; Veras recalled (http://www.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060804&content_id=1406462&oid=36019&vkey=4)

BALTIMORE — Feeling uneasy with only 11 pitchers, the Yankees added Jose Veras to their bullpen before Friday's game, designating Bubba Crosby for assignment in the process.

"We tried this thing with 11 pitchers for a couple of days and I just wasn't comfortable," manager Joe Torre said. "I just felt we needed another arm based on the fact that when you get a game when you're way ahead or behind, you don't want to use or abuse [Scott] Proctor or [Kyle] Farnsworth or [Mariano Rivera].

"And you have Mike Myers, who you save for a man here and there, so you're really limited on who you have to go to down there. I just felt we needed another arm."

Proctor leads the American League in appearances (53) and innings pitched (66 1/3) among relievers. Farnsworth is second in appearances, one behind Proctor, and Rivera and Ron Villone rank fourth and fifth in the AL in innings, respectively.
I understand that this guy was a closer in Columbus for us.

Jose Veras (http://minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Jose%20Veras&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=407842)

Team From To W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
Columbus Clippers 04/06 08/02 4 3 2.73 44 0 0 0 19 52.2 45 17 16 3 18 58

[DoubleX]

With Cano, Matsui, and Sheffield all getting healthy in the next month or so, it was really just a matter of time until this happened to Crosby. I hate to see it because I liked Crosby and he would have provided good speed and defense off the bench in the postseason (if we make it), but the production just wasn't there. When Cano comes back, which by some accounts could be as early as Tuesday, I'm guessing that Nick Green will be the next to go. After that, my guess is that Phillips would be squarely in the firing line, but that he'll probably be saved thanks to the expansion of the rosters in September.

[TonyStarks]

With Cano, Matsui, and Sheffield all getting healthy in the next month or so, it was really just a matter of time until this happened to Crosby. I hate to see it because I liked Crosby and he would have provided good speed and defense off the bench in the postseason (if we make it), but the production just wasn't there. When Cano comes back, which by some accounts could be as early as Tuesday, I'm guessing that Nick Green will be the next to go. After that, my guess is that Phillips would be squarely in the firing line, but that he'll probably be saved thanks to the expansion of the rosters in September.

Hold on there slick.
Matsui hasn't been given the "Ok" from Doctors to start more work outs.
So he's been pushed back a bit.

I even wonder...with the way the team has been clicking would introducing Matsui back into the lineup be best? I mean he wasn't really have a good season to being and now after missing most of the season we're gonna throw him back out there? :confused:

[mikesty]

RIP Bubba Crosby. Your absolutely enthralling defense will be sorely missed. Your lightning fast speed will be mised. Your bat will not.

[Mariano_Rivera]

I really hope he goes down to the minors.

[tripledup22]

No it can't be. Bubba is gone:( he wasnt the best player but he was one of my favorites. I just hope he dosn't get picked up by the Mets or red sox

[Mattingly]

To me, Bubba's best asset is as a bench guy. He can come in as a pinch runner, 9th inning defensive replacement. He can play CF & RF, so he's versatile. Not every team has a deep bench, so he provides versatility.

If he could get his BA around .280, I think he'd be very helpful to a team. Until then, he's a liability/automatic out.

[yankeeman590]

personally, i think it was a good move on the yankees' parts even though i do like crosby. great player to come off the bench and he did his best to fill some big shoes... now at least it'll prolong proctor's and farnsworth's arms from falling off for a little bit IMO.

[KCGHOST]

It is sometimes amazing how long it takes Torre to realize that one of his favorites really isn't very good.

[Mattingly]

It is sometimes amazing how long it takes Torre to realize that one of his favorites really isn't very good.
I think it was more like insurance. Bernie returned because he wanted to play and the Yanks figured an extra outfielder wouldn't be so bad. As Damon spent more and more time as the DH, Bernie's role became more prominent.

Bubba seems to have better defense than Bernie, but his bat is absolutely not there. He's also a good pinch runner. He's great in the later innings, since he gives Bernie or Damon a chance to get the rest of the night off from the 8th inning where we need more defense than offense.

With Abreu here and Bernie still here, we needed pitching. Bubba served his purpose. Had his bat gotten him a .280 BA, I believe he'd still be a very useful Yankee. Right now, I can only hope that he goes to the farm, gets some nice hits and proves himself useful later on.

Last winter, the Yanks had some article about how Bubba could be their regular center fielder. This so they wouldn't get fleeced by agents. Everybody out there knew Bubba wasn't going to be a starter, so that was more of a wink-wink thing.

[Mariano_Rivera]

Bubba cleared waivers and is now in AAA Columbus. I`m very happy about the fact that he's staying.

[Mattingly]

Bubba cleared waivers and is now in AAA Columbus. I`m very happy about the fact that he's staying.
Same here. He's a great bench guy re defense and baserunning, and if he can hit .260-.280, I'd be more than happy to have him back on the bench.

[DoubleX]

He'll be back in a few weeks when rosters expand. I'm sure Torre will give him a chance for that final roster spot if the team makes the postseason. Torre usually likes having guys like that around in October because they can run in the late innings. I'm thinking of Andy Fox, Homer Bush, and Clay Bellinger here.

[CoachZee]

Bubba's problem is the Yankees have too many starters that can't go more than 6 innings such as Johnson and Wright. If someone else has a bad game the bullpen is spent.

Bubba is just a victim of the pitching not being able to go deep into the game.