Listen man, Fernando Cruz is THAT guy. Not just because the numbers jump off the page — 39 games, 2.66 ERA, 65 strikeouts in just 40.2 innings, a filthy 14.39 K/9, and a WHIP barely over 1.00. That’s dominance. That’s a dude embarrassing hitters every time he takes the mound.
But here’s the real thing — he’s not some mopey, slouch-around-the-dugout type when things get tight. Cruz brings ENERGY. He’s hype, he’s locked in, and you can feel it when he’s on the bump. Yankees need that. Fans need that. I need Cruz to hype ME up just watching him.
Yeah, he had the setbacks this season — shoulder, oblique, two IL stints that cost him months. But when he’s been out there? Money. And you saw it in August when he came back: Yankees bullpen had been blowing leads left and right, ERA north of 4.20, but Cruz walks back in and it feels different. Stabilizing.
This is the kind of arm and attitude that carries into October. Forget the stat sheet for a second, the 40 percent strikeout rate, the 2.22 FIP — all elite. What matters is he’s the guy in that dugout keeping the fire alive. The Yankees need more of that.
Give me Cruz on the mound and Cruz hyping the boys. That’s how you win when the lights are brightest.
Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS.com, the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platform, active since 2005.
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