PITCHING IS A THANKLESS JOB!

Here at BYB, we are fans of David Phelps.  And many of you have shown your support of the young Yankee pitcher through your readership and comments to the number of posts we have written about him.  Our piece, EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DAVID PHELPS got record reads here on BYB.  So, what I am about to share with you now may hit you a little hard, as it has us.

The other evening, while watching the coverage of the Yankee game, there was talk about Larry Rothschild's latest assessment of Phelps.  The broadcasters stated that Rothschild believes that Phelps can't throw more than a couple innings because he is prone to elbow swelling, therefore he is better suited for the bullpen.  What?  Didn't he come in and take over for our ailing pitching staff for most of the season until he got hurt and was forced to hit the DL on August 4th?  He had a ERA under 4, which for most of the summer, was the leading ERA for our starters.  What thanks does he get?  He gets, what I believe is a kick in the teeth from his pitching coach.  Seriously?

Earlier last week, the YES Network reported that Phelps will be returning to the team as a member of the bullpen.  "He never imagined it would take more than a month to get back on the active roster, but he knows now that he will be coming back as a reliever, so it's more imperative to make sure he's 100 percent rather than good enough to make a couple starts," stated the report.  Patch him up and send him in for active duty- it sounds so terrible.

Phelps is a young guy with a big future in front of him.  Why do I know this?  It's in his mindset.  He has a "mastery-oriented mindset," which educator and psychologist Carol Dweck, author of the best selling book Mindset, states is when people "think about learning, not about proving how smart they are. When they experience a setback, they focus on effort and strategies instead of worrying that they are incompetent."  Phelps is that kind of person, who values effort, uses feedback to improve, relishes challenges and focuses on the value of learning.  Here's the concern: if he is listening to Rothschild and thinks he is not starting material because he is prone to "elbow soreness" then he may accept that.  And you know what, Rothschild could be wrong.  He doesn't have the best track record with our pitchers- they all got hurt, except for maybe Hiroki Kuroda.  He signed with the Yankees in 2010 and signed a one-year extension to his contract in October 2013.  Yankee management: Please don't offer him anything else in pinstripes.  I am afraid he is mismanaging our pitchers and leading them down the wrong path.

As for David Phelps, I hope this injury and new position is not a major setback for the young pitcher's career.  I often wonder if pitching is a thankless job.  Nobody cares unless you are screwing up and if you are screwing up, it is your fault- you suck, not anyone else! You are a king if you are hot but you are nothing more than a court jester if you are not.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @suzieprof


 
 
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