WHY CORY WADE'S A BRIGHT SPOT IN THE YANKEES PEN

What can you say about Cory Wade? He was a big surprise in 2011, but not the type that's disappointing. Wade came into an already crowded pen and made a spot for himself and he did it by simply delivering each and every time he was handed the ball. To have him back is terrific and the Yankees made the right move to pursue him again. Read about when he re-signed HERE.

Let’s not forget the crappy road Cory Wade drove into the Major Leagues on. He started out with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he got hurt. Some suggested it was Joe Torre's fault for working him too hard. The New York Daily News had a unique quote describing Wade HERE:

"...if Wade had it to do over again as a rookie with the Dodgers in 2008, he would have said "no" once in a while when Joe Torre asked if he was good to pitch."

Don't forget, Torre was also accused of ruining Scott Proctor, but Torre recently defended himself... read HERE. Whatever the case, Wade ended up getting hurt and had a long road back. He signed briefly with the Tampa Bay Rays (READ) and then after that didn't work out, the Yankees took a chance on a cheap investiment in Wade, and they got back on that investment pretty nicely. In 2011, Wade was 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 39.2 IP. He had 30 strikeouts and only gave up 8 walks. No bad. The Yankees brought back Wade this winter signing him to a 1 year deal and a raise. Why give up on a good thing right? I like having Wade in the pen. Between he, Boone Logan, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, eventually Joba Chamberlain and the always reliable Mariano Rivera, I feel like this may be the best pen in baseball. Not only can we hand the ball to the pen in the 5^th inning if we needed too, we can rest guys using other reliable arms when needed. There’s no doubt Cory Wade is a good investiment. 2012 will be another good year for him, I have no doubt about it.

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