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It's funny how a lot of people speculate whether Bruney will make the team or not -- or if Britton will supplant him. I don't get this. Yeah, once Torre started using him on a daily basis, Bruney started getting a little wild (his walks went up). But he has lights-out stuff. Britton, from what I saw when he pitched against the Yankees and Sox, has a PRETTY good fastball, but not much else. And he wasn't nearly as impressive as Bruney was.

Unless Bruney is hurt or absolutely atrocious in spring training, I think he's guaranteed a spot. Britton, more likely than not, will start the year in AAA. I wouldn't be surprised if Bruney, this year, didn't find himself pitching quite often in the eighth inning. (If Bruney is around, that would leave the 'pen as Mo, Farnsworth, Bruney, Proctor, Vizcaino, Britton/Beam/Rasner/some righty, and some lefty.)

As for Myers/Villone/Henn -- I think Henn basically has no shot (though I've always liked him), and the Yankees seem devoted to Myers for some reason (even though Villone pitches well against lefties). So it will be interesting to see if Villone actually makes the team.

It's all in the WHIP.

Bruney is 1.704 lifetime and Britton 1.174 - that's the story. You come out of the pen, you can't be allowing runners to get on base. I think that's why most expect Britton to have an edge.

Of course, he has the weight issue too. So, it's going to be a battle for these two.

CAREER? Britton only has 53 innings to his career -- all from '06. I believe he came to the bigs straight out of AA. He fell apart in the second half (5.14 ERA, 1.43 WHIP). So I hardly think we can consider his "career" numbers -- being fair, we don't know if Britton will get better or regress.

Bruney walks too many, but he's a strikeout machine. You never want a reliever to walk guys, but when you have the strikeout ability of Bruney, it's not quite as horrible.

I think Bruney's upside far exceeds Britton's (who seems like a generic righty reliever).

Dang, I was hoping for that extra draft pick.

~~~CAREER? Britton only has 53 innings to his career~~~

How many does Bruney have in the bigs?

FWIW, I've heard that Britton has closer like stuff. He's not chopped liver. He just looks like he ate 400 pounds of the stuff.

the Yankees seem devoted to Myers for some reason (even though Villone pitches well against lefties).
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His contract. If the Yanks cut him loose, they'd have to eat the contract.

As for Britton vs. Bruney, I don't think a .10 WHIP difference between the two means all that much. I do see Britton starting the season in AAA, because the Yanks don't have room for him in the pen (Bruney, Proctor, Vizcaino, Farns, Meyers, Rivera). Villone may have an inside track, as one of Torre's favorites, but I would think that if for some reason Igawa bombs, he'd be the second lefty in the pen.

The staff's a bit crowded now (8 potential starters, 11 potential relievers), but these things always have a way of working themselves out.

FWIW, I've heard that Britton has closer like stuff.
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I wouldn't put too much stock in that; there have been plenty of guys with great stuff that have flamed out in the league

~~~As for Britton vs. Bruney, I don't think a .10 WHIP difference between the two means all that much.~~~

How about .5 - which is what it is?

Oof, my dyslexia's acting up again... Thanks for the catch, Steve :)

Britton and Bruney pitched well last year. I hate to see either of them not make the team, just because he's a righty.

BTW, if as a relief pitcher Britton possibly isn't even at a major league level, then he wasn't much of a return in trade for an adequate SP.

I'm hoping this is an either/or between Villone and Myers. It would be a shame if either Bruney or Britton - two guys with considerable upside - loses out just because Torre wants an extra lefty in the pen. Contract or not, Myers has very limited value at this point vis a vis Villone, who can at least work to multiple batters.