Coke Addict

I have a confession to make. When I started the "Best player to make his major league debut with the Yankees in 2008" poll, I was a much bigger Alfredo Aceves fan. I really thought he was going to outshine Phil Coke and win the poll, but it looks like I was wrong.

I just submitted my vote for Coke. It wasn't an easy choice, especially considering Aceves pitched twice as many innings, in a completely different role, as Coke. But, in the end, I have to say that Aceves looks promising, but I'm very excited about Coke. With a 7-to-5 advantage and the poll about to close in less than an hour and a half, it looks like the consensus is that he's the Yankees' top pure rookie.

The first game of Sunday's doubleheader was the deciding factor as far as I'm concerned. Personally, I was surprised that Girardi took Mike Mussina out of his potential 20th win after 6 innings, and just 73 pitches. But, when Coke pitched the 7th and blew away Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew enroute to a 13-pitch 1-2-3 inning, I no longer questioned the decision. Then, of course, Joba Chamberlain faltered in the 8th and had to be bailed out by Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte and Mariano Rivera. This further emphasized what an impressive performance it was by Coke, in the only game that still mattered for the Yankees this year.

Aceves ends the season with an impressive 2.40 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .227 opponents' batting average in 30 IP. But, a few deeper statistics indicate that there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. With just 16 strikeouts, his 4.8 K/9 IP rate is below average, and although his control is above average (3 BB/9 IP), his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.6 is unimpressive. The league average is 2, and when I'm looking for a pitcher who I think is going to be dominant, I look for a ratio closer to 2.5 or better. I also look for a pitcher who keeps the ball in the yard, and his 4 HR (1.2 per 9 IP) allowed is a little worse than average. This is not necessarily cause for concern, but it's nothing to be excited about either.

Coke's statistics need to be evaluated on a somewhat different scale, because of a relief pitcher's inherent advantage of throwing only an inning or two at a time. However, there's really no downside to his September performance. I'll start with his 0.66 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and .160 opponents' batting average in 14 2/3 IP. Looking beyond those statistics, though, it gets even better. With a 7-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (14 SO, 2 BB) and just 8 hits and no home runs allowed, I am absolutely hooked, and looking forward to another fix next season.