BULLPEN Role of middle relievers invaluable, Torre says

They wield far more power than one might realize.
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Last Wednesday in Baltimore, a succession of New York Yankees relievers entered a wild game with five total inherited runners and allowed all five to score, all in a six-run sixth inning.
Despite blowing a 7-2 lead, the Yankees roared back for a 12-9 win behind three combined shutdown innings from setup man Tom Gordon and closer Mariano Rivera.
But the Maalox night still served to remind Yankees manager Joe Torre of the immense importance of the game's most overlooked area: middle relief.
You can have the greatest closer in the world, but if you can't get the ball to him with a lead intact, if you don't have a solid bridge once the starter gives you his six or so innings, it won't matter.
Perfect example
Just ask the Marlins, who have had to mix and match with the likes of Nate Bump, Justin Wayne and Toby Borland since invaluable setup man Chad Fox went down with an elbow injury.
"To me that is such an important part of the team," Torre said recently. "I remember going back to the '50s and Ernie Johnson used to be a middle reliever for the Milwaukee Braves. He said it's the loneliest person in town. You don't start the game and you don't finish the game, so you're showering alone a lot."
Which gives the middle reliever plenty of time to ponder his impact on a team's long-term fortunes. Even though they tend to be among the lowest-paid performers in the game, these afterthoughts wield far more power than you might realize.
Witness the contributions of Ryan Madson with the Phillies, Scot Shields with the Angels and Brian Boehringer in Pittsburgh, just to name three.
"It's so important, and today especially," Torre said. "Who knows how many runs is enough runs? But if you can stop the other team from scoring, no matter how many they score early, there's a chance you could come back. Middle relief is very, very important in my estimation."
Key component
For years the Yankees had Ramiro Mendoza to pitch the seventh inning and sometimes the sixth as well. His swingman ability made him a vital piece of a consistently strong bullpen.
The Yankees are hoping free-agent signee Paul Quantrill can develop into that kind of presence, but as shown by his work in Baltimore last week, he's not quite there yet.
"Ramiro wanted to be a starter because he was successful," Torre said of Mendoza, now with the Red Sox. "Once he realized how important that role was, then he felt pretty good about it. When you're on a club that wins and you have that role, you feel like you're significant. But if it's a club that's not winning, you certainly would like to get a chance to have people notice you. If you're not winning, you're not going to get noticed in that role."
That's because there are no widely accepted statistics to measure the value of the middle reliever. The two best, many feel, are percentage of inherited runners stranded and first-batter efficiency, but how many water-cooler debates include such arcane data?
"I think the best statistic that goes with the middle guy is that infamous 'H' they put up there in that box score," Torre said with a wry smile. "A nice 'hold.' You've got a five-run lead, you give up four and you get a hold. Nice. There are no statistics connected with a middle reliever, so there's not as much glamour connected with a middle reliever."
Even the job title doesn't seem sufficient for what's at stake.
"I like to call them the 'long man,' " Torre said. "Somebody who can stop the bleeding, basically, and give you a chance to get back in the game."
Teams that have talked with the Marlins say they have been dogged in their search for another arm or two in the middle of their bullpen. Sources say they made a hard push for Tigers right-hander Al Levine, but Detroit still thinks it can stay in the AL Central race a while longer. The Marlins also have shown interest in the Expos' Jeremy Fikac, the Orioles' Mike DeJean (9.19 ERA), Boston's Byung-Hyun Kim (if the Red Sox will pay a large chunk of the roughly $8.7 million that remains on his contract through next year) and a pair of Brewers arms: Dave Burba and Luis Vizcaino. Deposed Indians closer David Riske is another name to keep in mind.