It was the last day of Spring Training, and of the six players who would be walking into a wall of bad news, Jose Veras thought he was the one most on the bubble.

The 27-year-old reliever had pitched well enough to merit serious consideration toward making the team -- if the Yankees entered the season without a left-handed reliever, he believed New York was in his future. But southpaw Billy Traber made the roster instead, and Veras was left to punch his ticket to Triple-A.

Months later, manager Joe Girardi recalled that it had been "a very difficult decision," but as he said on Friday, he had been struck by Veras' confidence during the interaction in the visiting manager's office at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

"He told me that he could help us, and that he'd be back," Girardi said. "He was right."

Veras has returned to the Yankees with a flourish, taking hold of an opportunity and pitching in for a bullpen that has performed quite well, despite Joba Chamberlain's hyped transition out of the eighth inning and into the starting rotation.

When Chamberlain hit his pitch count of 100 on Thursday afternoon, it was Veras who was summoned to throw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, helping secure the path to closer Mariano Rivera in a 2-1 victory over the Padres.

"The only thing you can control is throwing the ball," Veras said. "That's what I've been doing. I made the comeback, and now I'll try my best to stay here and do my job."

Veras has pitched nine straight scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.00, allowing just four hits in his last six appearances, including his first two Major League victories. He credits trusting his mid-90s fastball to offset his breaking pitches, and using a more aggressive approach.

"I just try to do my best and do the things that help my team win games," he said.

In the larger blueprint, Veras has assumed a role as the seventh-inning reliever, taking over after the veteran LaTroy Hawkins floundered in long relief. The assignment is somewhat flexible -- Kyle Farnsworth's grasp as the eighth-inning setup man is not iron-clad, and already Veras has been used in that role on occasion.

"I have a lot of faith in the way that Jose has pitched, and I'd use him at any time," Girardi said. "He's throwing strikes, and they're good strikes -- they're not just strikes. His curveball has been very effective, [he has] a 96-mph fastball [and] he changes speeds to keep hitters off balance. He's been a big part of our bullpen, and he's been outstanding."

The organization's trust has developed after Veras essentially lost his entire '07 campaign to right elbow surgery, cutting short his spring to have bone chips removed.

The good-spirited Veras showed up at the Spring Training clubhouse in Tampa last March clutching a small plastic bag, showing off the elbow fragments to curious teammates and reporters, but it would be months before he suited up for the Yankees again, making nine September appearances and recording a 5.79 ERA.

Much of the difference has been opportunity-based. Veras' outing on Thursday was his 19th of the season, and he has struck out 21 batters so far in 21 innings while walking only seven.

"I've got more innings now," he said. "I've been pitching more, and I'm more aggressive. Maybe that's why everything became better now."

Girardi believes that Rivera's influence has also been important to Veras. Rivera has created a small circle of relievers that includes right-hander Edwar Ramirez.

"I'm sure that Mariano was one of the guys they idolized as kids," Girardi said. "Who wouldn't idolize Mariano, if you were a reliever?"

Veras said that he has watched Rivera go about his business, and he extracts lessons from that workload. Rivera drops impromptu lessons and advice upon the hurlers while they congregate in the bullpen and also away from the stadium.

"He teaches me a lot," Veras said. "He taught me a lot of things that I had to do to get better every day. I have to attack the hitter and hit my spots, and try to control the outside corner. Things like that, because late in the game, you have to make the hitter hit another way. It works. Everything has come up good so far."
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/articl...sp&c_id=nyy

Nice!