One of the biggest questions facing the Yankees when they broke camp was whether they had enough in the bullpen.
Three weeks into the season, even with one terrific week to start, that question very much remains.
It is still April, making it dangerous to offer sweeping evaluations of any unit or player after just 19 games. But those who were concerned about the Yankees bullpen coming into the season have probably seen enough already to confirm those fears, especially coming off a rough series against the Angels in which it allowed 14 runs in 17 innings.
“Natural ebbs and flows of the pen,” is how pitching coach Matt Blake summed up the state of his bullpen on Tuesday. “Obviously a tough one [Monday] night, but up to [Monday] night, I feel like they’ve been mostly consistent. Now, the starters have shortened a lot of the games for them, so that helps. But I think we’ve been able to keep some outings shorter in nature and not overextend guys, even though we’ve used them a lot. I think that’s where it helps you match up maybe more efficiently when the games are shorter.
