Struggling Pitcher Small Designated For Assignment

[ThomasTomasz]

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - Aaron Small was an unlikely hero in the New York Yankees' run to the playoffs last season. But that was a long time ago.

Small has been unable to recapture his magical form from 2005 and was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Saturday.

A journeyman of 12-plus seasons, Small was nothing more than a mediocre reliever for 12 different organizations until last year, when the Yankees called him up from the minors to provide aid for a patchwork starting rotation.

Small responded with a phenomenal season, going 10-0 with a 3.20 ERA in nine starts and six relief appearances. He became the fourth pitcher in major league history to record at least 10 wins without a loss.

But the righthander struggled this season, going 0-3 with an 8.46 ERA in 11 outings - three starts.

"They felt like I was like fish out of water in the bullpen, that I'm more of a starter, but I'm not going to make excuses," Small told the Yankees official website. "I apologized to (manager) Joe (Torre) for not getting the job done.

"To me, it's pitching. I didn't get people out consistently in a relief role or a starting role, so I'm not going to stand here and make excuses. I didn't do the job."

To fill Small's spot on the roster, the Yankees recalled righthander T.J. Beam from Class AAA Columbus. The 6-7, 25-year-old went 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in five relief appearances with the Clippers after getting promoted from Class AA Trenton, where he went 4-0 with an 0.86 ERA in 18 outings.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...v=st&type=lgns

[ThomasTomasz]

Small got lucky last season, as pitchers like him usually do. All Small throws is junk, and many times, junk pitchers reel off extremely hot, and extremely cold streaks. I don't imagine any team will go ahead and claim Small, and he'll likely be sent down to the Yankees AAA club, just in case they might need him again. You never know, considering the health and age of some of the Yankees pitchers, especially starters.