PROBLEM :
Dellin Betances can’t hold runners on. He’s 6’8″ tall and is slow to the plate. When he altered his leg-kick in late-June to keep runners from stealing, he threw off his release point, and delivery to the plate. This caused a complete loss of control, especially with his curve ball, resulting in 10 Walks allowed in his last 20 batters faced.
NET RESULT :
Now Betances has 2 big problems. Holding runners on AND throwing strikes. In addition to that he could risk injury by varying his arm slot.
SOLUTION :
This is a problem that should have been addressed in Spring Training, & unfortunately not one that can be experimented with while the 2017 Yankee express train is going off the rails, to a large degree because of Dellin and the entire bullpen.
Betances can’t fix both problems right now, so go back to the old delivery with the high leg kick and stick with it. Throw strikes and get back into the groove that up until June 22nd resulted in an 0.40 ERA and .117 batting average against.
Get the old mechanics back because the stuff is nearly unhittable. Strive for clean innings obviously. If a batter gets on, get ahead in the count on the next batter. Throw over, vary amount of time you hold your set, step off the rubber, pitch-out at opportune times etc.
Thanks in large part to the bullpen, the feel-good summer movie of the 2017 Yankee season is turning into a late-night horror film. Since the start of June, 11 of the Yankees 19 defeats have been one-run excruciatingly painful, gut-wrenching losses. The starting rotation needs to take a significant amount of blame also. The starter I hold most culpable is Michael Pineda. In his last 5 starts he has a 7.30 ERA over 24 2/3 innings allowing 39 hits, and 7 home runs. The team has lost 4 of 5 of those crucial starts.
One final thought ..the Yankees are going nowhere (but down) without their bullpen, and the bullpen is going nowhere without Dellin Betances. I have not given up on him. Far from it. Even though I’m frustrated, I am confident he will fix his mechanics sooner rather than later. The 4x All Star, with a career ERA of 2.27, has taken the ball every time Joe Girardi has handed it to him. In the last 3 1/2 seasons he has thrown 274 1/3 innings, recording a mind boggling 443 K’s ( 14.5 /9 innings) !! He grew up in Washington Heights, grew up a Yankee fan, and sat with the Bleacher Creatures. He cares about the Yankees and cares about winning. You can make the argument that maybe sometimes he cares too much and stresses out. For all he’s done, and the way he handles himself on & off the field, Betances has my support. That’s the way I am …
Dealin’ with Dellin.
As always,
GO NYY !!
