When the Yanks first signed LaTroy Hawkins, I was doubtful that he was going to help the team. A few years ago when he was pitching for Baltimore, he became a piñata for the sluggers in the A.L., and fair game for the banjo hitters as well. His K/9 rates were dropping as much as Bush's approval ratings; his neck was sore from glancing back at the long drives hit off him.

But LaTroy re-invented himself. He no longer tries to throw it by anyone. Having recognized his eroding skills, he developed a sinker and he is a dramatically different pitcher now. Of course it's too early to tell if he will be successful in New York, but his 8 2/3 spring innings yielded no earned runs; that's got to offer some hope. (Insert laughter from Cubs fans here.)

The chart below shoes how much Hawkins has changed. With all the ground balls, he may be indistinguishable from Chien-Ming Wang this year. Of course, those groundballs necessitate someone to field them …but that's another story:

	IP	GB	FB	G/F Ratio
2005	56.1	76	66	1.15
2006	60.1	97	74	1.31
2007	55.1	110	36	3.06

Besides being a groundball-throwing machine, Hawkins seems to be a very caring individual. George King of the New York Post relayed a story the other day about how Hawkins came to Scott Patterson's aid when the 28-year-old indie was sent packing to Scranton.

King tells us: "Seeing that Scott Patterson was upset about being sent out, Hawkins headed for Patterson's locker. Hawkins knew Patterson was almost perfect in eight games (one hit, no runs in 71/3 innings) and figured he needed some encouragement. 

"I told him to go to his room and have some drinks and charge it to my room, 901," Hawkins said. 

Patterson didn't run up Hawkins' room service bill but appreciated the support. 

"That was awesome, I probably needed that at that point," said Patterson. 

"I told him I have been there before and they know what you can do," Hawkins said. "He isn't that far away. They put him in every situation they could and he came out smelling like a rose. He got big-league hitters out. It was OK to be upset." 

This isn't the first time Hawkins has been mentioned as a great teammate. A former Twins player once said: "You meet a lot of guys who will lend you an umbrella, but they want it back if it rains. LaTroy's the kind of guy that gives it to you when it rains."

Ok, so maybe that's a weird metaphor, but we are talking about ballplayers here. 

With all the negativity swirling around, it's refreshing to hear about a genuine good guy. 

Big Surprises on Opening Day Roster

When I heard what direction Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman went in for the opening day relief pitching staff, I was shocked. But it's a GOOD shocked. After hearing all Spring from Joe that he prefers a long man, he's decided to eschew that role-at least for now-and trust some of the more talented arms available to him.

That means no Kei Igawa on the Opening Day roster. No Darrel Rasner. And no Jeff Karstens, who was ruled out when he injured his leg last Thursday.

No Scott Patterson either and that's a shame. But I trust we will see Scott some time this season.

These are the relievers that will go north to New York. One of them will be sent down when Andy Pettitte comes off the DL on April 5. 

Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
Kyle Farnsworth
LaTroy Hawkins
Billy Traber
Ross Ohlendorf
Jon Albaladejo
Brian Bruney

Brian Bruney needs to seize this opportunity and throw strikes. He has the talent and throws hard, but he's got to trust himself more. Jonathon Albaledejo made mince meat of the Mets last September, and his small sample size numbers looked great last year.

I'm glad these guys are getting chances, along with the fireballing 4-seam fastballer Ross Ohlendorf and the re-invented Billy Traber.

This is a fine bullpen. Kudos to Giradi and Cashman for making some difficult choices.