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I’ve been pretty down on Farnsworth most of the season. Historically he’s been a bit of a disaster for the Yankees. I’m starting to come around to him a bit lately.
First of all, almost everything I read and hear about him from the mainstream sports media says that he’s a great guy in person; a very likeable and friendly guy. It’s hard to really stay down on a nice guy.
Farnsworth’s pitching has been very good of late. Girardi has put him in for a few single inning appearances and he has delivered. In today’s game, the Farns was getting ahead in counts, throwing strikes right out of the gate and looking relaxed and in command on the mound.
The historical criticism of Farnsworth has been that his stuff doesn’t work. He throws hard fastballs in the nineties, but can be very hittable at times, not getting much action on the ball. Farnsworth was on target with his fastball today and was able to establish it early, allowing him to maximize the effectiveness of his slider, sinker and change up later on.
With two outs and two strikes the fans got on their feet and Kyle delivered. It was a great moment for the beleaguered pitcher. I think the Yankee fans will quickly let Kyle back into their hearts if he continues to perform like this. I just hope they won’t turn too ugly if he does have a setback and get hit hard again.
I think Farnsworth is bound to get shelled every now and then, but if he can continue to pitch like he is, challenging hitters and getting his fastball working, he could be a dependable set up man. I like the idea of using Farnsy for only one inning, as too many at bats might start giving opposing hitters a good look at Kyle’s stuff.
Historically he hasn’t been any worse in two innings compared to just one, but I like limiting Farnsworth to just one inning.
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