Why Brian Bruney in the Bullpen is a BAD Idea

Listen, I know that it's tempting to have Brian Bruney in the bullpen. He was, by far, the best reliever on the Yankees early in the season. And, at times, he showed great stuff late in the season. But he is too inconsistent/stubborn to be trusted. He tries to throw everything through the wall which is great against the Baltimores and Torontos of the American League, but when you go up against a team like the Angels, it doesn't work as well.

But, courtesy of Keith Law, here's a much, much better reason why Bruney should be left off the ALCS roster:

Joe Girardi will be managing in his first postseason, and while the offense can probably manage itself, he does have a tendency to overthink his bullpen decisions, and I'm concerned he'll indulge his irrational attachment to Brian Bruney in a leveraged situation, or try to extend a specialist like Coke or Gaudin with superior options left in the 'pen. I know Bruney throws hard, Joe, but you can throw hard and still be terrible.

See: Farnsworth, Kyle.

At least with Marte he knows that he can't face righties (they absolutely murder him), but Joe has the idea that Bruney can get out anyone (he's given up 3 HR in 5 games pitched in Anaheim in his career...yikes!).

But Marte isn't good either. There is a myth that Marte was much better when he came off the DL late in the season. Although he was unscored upon in 2.1 innings in August, he had a 7.94 ERA in limited work in September/October. Yes, there is supposed value as a lefty specialist only because lefties hit .120/.214/.280 against him this season. But the two lefties he faced in the ALDS both got hits off of him and the only lefty in the Angels lineup is Bobby Abreu.

Side Note: Girardi may be tantalized by the small sample size of success he's had against some of the tougher Angels against the Yankees: in 30 PA, Torii Hunter, Chone Figgins, Gary Matthews and Abreu have amassed only two hits and 4 walks to 9 Ks. But this is exactly why a small sample size should never be used to make decisions like these. He also may be intrigued to turn Kendy Morales around but Marte gave it up to righties to a tune of .414/.485/.690 (Coke was at least a "manageable" .227/.346/.432 vs. righties). Don't be tempted Joe!

I think Joe should go with another set of legs off the bench (Freddy Guzman or Ramiro Pena), but if he has to go with a pitcher, he should go with Marte over Bruney just because he may be tempted to trust him a big too much when he has much better options in the bullpen.