Updated Check On Some Old Friends

Scott Proctor's Arm does a periodic check on old friends and I think that it's a good way to gauge how Brian Cashman really did this past offseason. Although there's a little update on the guys below (including a nice game from Carl Pavano in his last outing), I think the Yankees were better off without mostly all of them. I say mostly, because, surprisingly, the guy they could have used the most from that group was Ivan Rodriguez. Although he was pretty much awful with the team last year (his OPS+ was 51) and not worth offering arbitration, they probably should have thought about bringing him back with the backup options they've shown so far. He's been hitting well in Houston so far and with Posada and Molina out, I sort of wish he was here. But, alas, the team wouldn't take 3 catchers so it wouldn't matter. So here's the list (stats through May 11th) with one addition below that I would like to point out:

 

Jason Giambi (OAK) – 20-for-96 (.208/.345/.344), 3 HR, 13 RBI, 4 2B, 17 R, 16 BB, 22 K
Bobby Abreu (LAA) – 34-for-110 (.309/.389/.355), 0 HR, 12 RBI, 5 2B, 10 R, 15 BB, 17 K
Wilson Betemit (CWS) – 9-for-31 (.290/.333/.452), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5 2B, 2 BB, 11 K
Ivan Rodriguez (HOU) – 27-for-99 (.273/.318/.495), 4 HR, 14 RBI, 6 2B, 2 3B, 6 BB, 22 K
Carl Pavano (CLE) – 2-3, 6.61 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 40 H, 23 R, 23 ER, 4 HR, 8 BB, 23 K
Kyle Farnsworth (KC) – 0-3, 1 BSV, 6.10 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 10 K

 

Jose Contreras (CHW) - 0-5, 8.19 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 40 H, 30 R, 27 ER, 16 BB, 17 K

And, worse for Jose (who has given up a run an inning), the White Sox were somehow able to pass him through waivers and, according to Rob Neyer, they have demoted him to the International League. Interestingly, Contreras' first year with the Yankees was his best as he posted a 7-2 record with a 3.30 ERA (133 ERA+). Since that season, his ERA+ has steadily declined (it was 17 before his demotion this year). I always thought Cashman (and Torre) hastily got rid of him during that 2004 season, and maybe they could have used him in the 2004 playoffs after seeing how he pitched in 2005 for the White Sox...but maybe they saw this decline coming.