So yesterday I kindly requested that we add Mark Teixiera to play first base and be a middle of the order hitter. Today I call for one of our old bullpen brethren to be returned to Atlanta. It was the pennant race of 2005 and we had already suffered through a summer of the Kolbian Disaster and we had run out of a healthy Reitsma, so our intrepid GM went out and got the hottest relief pitcher on the market, Kyle Farnsworth. The Farns proceeded to stabilize the setup role and then convert 10 of 10 save chances once he earned the closer's role.
I know what you're going to say; he blew it in the playoffs. Yes, he didn't do so well in the playoffs, but Berkman hit a ball five inches off the plate to the shortest left field porch in baseball. I can overlook his shaky playoff appearance and see what he did and how important he was down the stretch for the Braves - which was much like what Wickman did for us last year.
Now I'm not proposing we trade away top prospects, especially to the Yankees. Quite the opposite, I think we can get Farnsworth for next to nothing. Yes, he's not having the best season, but he really hasn't been good since going to New York, so maybe it's something more than just a decline in his stuff - a lot of players have a tough time in the Big Apple. So while he's not having that great of a year, he's still worth acquiring.
Farnsworth is also apparently in Joe Torre's doghouse for throwing his glove against the dugout wall after being removed from a game on June 29. This might make him easier to acquire, and less expensive in terms of what we would have to give up. Our organization is already familiar with Farnsworth, and Bobby likely has solid confidence in him as a setup man and/or closer. He's just one more power arm piece to complement the other arms in the pen, and really just an acquisition target of opportunity we should shoot for. If the Yankees go on another bad losing streak like they had before the break, then they could become sellers at the trade deadline.
He's also signed at a reasonable 5.5 million for next season, so whomever we did trade away would not be wasted on a rent-a-player for part of a season.