The Yankees’ superhuman backend of the bullpen has lived up to the bill this season, but the middle relief corps has been disappointing to say the least.
There’s a saying that a team is only as strong as its weakest player. I’m not quite sure how accurate that is (after all, the 1927 Yankees had a .238 hitter on the roster), but there are some instances when the expression holds some water. The Yankees’ bullpen may be one of these cases, at least in some ways.
The backend of a bullpen will define the whole relief corps, as they tend to be the best arms and are used as such.