Chris Britton Sent to Minor League Camp

It appears the Yanks sent right handed reliever Chris Britton down to the minor league camp. I'm not really sure why we got Chris Britton. At first I was under the impression that we got him to pitch for us, but now I'm questioning my own assumptions. Maybe he has some other talents that we're unaware of. Maybe he's really Cashman's property manager for his condo's in Scranton. Or maybe he maintains the fields for the team. Judging by his size, maybe he's really Cashman's hitman down in Scranton. Either way, he's not pitching for the Yankees. Its good to have someone like him in the minors to call up whenever we need an arm, but he had a really solid season for the Orioles before coming here, and I'm sure its very demoralizing to start two consecutive seasons in the minors to follow. Not that I thought he'd make the team, but the Yankees need to develop a plan for this guy. He can't stay in AAA forever.

I'm really pulling for Patterson to make the roster. I don't think he will because they want a long man, and Karstens, despite a pretty crappy spring, looks to land that job. I still hope that Patterson will make it though. Him and Traber both have earned spots.

Also, with Ensberg making the 40 man roster, I think its pretty clear that he's going to make the team. That lands us a bench of Ensberg, Molina, Duncan, and Betemit. There's a lot of pop on that bench. A lot of strikeout potential too. The main limitation is that there is no speed on that bench. It may not be as big of an issue with Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, and Abreu likely to swipe 20 bases a peice. Melky can pick up a base if he wants to as well. Still, speed can change a game, especially in the late innings. Just think about that 8th inning where Giambi draws a walk, and Matsui launches a double in the gap, but Giambi only makes it to third. And what can Girardi do? Put in Ensberg to run for him? Duncan? Duncan might run through the catcher, but he won't beat the throw. I also don't know how much bunting ability there is on that bench. So basically, the tools that make up a good bench, namely speed, and bunting ability, are pretty much absent. Mientkiewicz was not fast, but he could lay down a good bunt on command. I just hope there's enough pop on the bench that it doesn't matter. Hey, our bench in '96 was Leyritz, Darryl Strawberry, Cecil Fielder, and Tim Raines. Raines could still steal a base at that stage in his career, but he definetely lost a step. Leyritz, Strawberry and Fielder were not particularly fleet of foot. Their bats however changed some games.