Coke May Be The Main Lefty Out Of The Pen

From Bill Madden:

There are those around the Yankee camp - most notably the manager himself, Joe Girardi - who are becoming convinced that Phil Coke, initially believed to be destined for starting duty at Triple-A Scranton, has the talent and makeup to handle lefty relief duty, be it long or short, for the big club.

"Last season I showed them I could come out of the bullpen after having success in Double-A as a starter, and that I'm capable of handling whatever opportunities they care to give me. Do I have a preference? For that I have a simple answer. I prefer they either give me the ball every day or every five days."

So far this spring, Girardi has sort of done just that. After a few short one-inning efforts, Coke was called upon to relieve Andy Pettitte in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, when he was left in to pitch three innings. Afterward, Girardi insisted Coke was not a candidate for the long relief job (that remains up for grabs from among Brett Tomko, Jason Johnson, Dan Giese and Alfredo Aceves), but rather as more of a "hybrid" middle man who could give the Yankees more than one inning. Nevertheless, there seems to be a growing sentiment that Coke, and not Marte, could wind up being Girardi's best lefthanded option in the pen.

"The difference," said one camp observer, "is that Coke has big, um, guts and isn't afraid to throw strikes, while the other guy (Marte) can't ever repeat his delivery and has trouble throwing strikes."

"I was told exactly what's occurring here," said Coke, "to be ready to go to camp as a starter, even though we might want you to go back to relieving. I'm just happy to play baseball. I mean, this is the New York Yankees! Starting, relieving, it doesn't matter!"

First of all, I like the guy's attitude. He just wants to play and help the team as much as he can. That's always a good thing. There are far too many players, in all sports, who are overly concerned with what their role is. Shut up and play the game.

Second, in my opinion Coke will play a larger role in this pen than Marte will this season. That's not saying Marte won't be important, because he will, but I think Coke's ability to work multiple innings will make him the more valuable pitcher.

With that said, Coke and Marte together will make the Yankees relief corp that much more of an impressive unit. Having two lefties gives Girardi a lot of options and obviously makes it harder on the opponent.