“It just took me a while to get into a groove,” said Karsay, who signed a two-year deal with the New York Yankees last December. “Each game I’m getting better, but I’m not where I…
By Arthur V. Claps
Despite being erratic, Steve Karsay hasn’t had trouble staying confident.
“It just took me a while to get into a groove,” said Karsay, who signed a two-year deal with the New York Yankees last December. “Each game I’m getting better, but I’m not where I want to be yet. I just got to keep pitching until it comes and I will get into my groove.”
The Yankees got Karsay, a former standout hurler from Christ the King from 1986 to 1990, to solidify the team’s late-inning relief and take pressure off closer Mariano Rivera. For the first month of the season, the hard-throwing right-hander was out of sync, posting a mediocre 3.55 ERA, hardly numbers that made him one of the league’s premier set-up men.
He came on strong in May and June to lower his ERA more than a point, but Karsay fell apart in July with an 8.31 ERA, which ultimately prevented the newcomer from being the team’s temporary closer with Rivera on the disabled list last month.
Karsay admits he was trying too hard in the early going, but has learned to relax.
“You need short-term memory when you’re a reliever, especially in New York,” he said. “You are as good as your last outing.”
Karsay has minimized his outside distractions and stayed away from his roots — he has yet to return to Christ the King to visit, nor has he toured his native College Point much.
“Everyone is going to go through tough times, slumps,” Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. “But he’s really boosted the bullpen, taking a load off Mariano. He comes into every game ready to pitch and that’s all you can ask for.”
Karsay began his Major League career in 1993 as a member of the Oakland A’s, posting a 3-3 record in eight starts with a 4.04 ERA. He followed that with four starts in 1994, going 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA before arm trouble put him on the shelf.
The Queens native missed the 1995 and 1996 season before coming back in 1997, posting a 3-12 record with a 5.77 ERA in 24 starts. And while his numbers were far from great, his arm was healed.
He was shipped to Cleveland the following year, starting just once, but seeing action in 11 games. He finished with a 0-2 record with a 5.92 ERA. He truly bounced back the next season, going 10-2 with Cleveland in 50 appearances, most as a reliever, and posting a 2.97 ERA.
In 2000 Karsay saw a lot of action as the Indians’ closer, registering 20 saves and going 5-9 with a 3.76 ERA in 72 appearances. He had pitched in 31 games for Cleveland in 2001 and had a 1.25 ERA through 43.1 innings before being traded to the Atlanta Braves in a highly publicized deal that included John Rocker.
He finished out the year with Atlanta, going 3-4 with the Braves, recording seven saves and a 3.43 ERA before signing with the Yankees this past off-season.
Through Tuesday, the 30-year-old Karsay has recorded four saves and three holds, and more importantly, he has shown signs of getting into a good stretch.
“I think he’s done an exceptional job for us — not that we didn’t expect it,” said Yankees reliever Mike Stanton, who leads the team in appearances this season. “He’s given us depth and has been a great person in the clubhouse. In this game, you have to be able to get the good and the bad and Karsay knows how to do that.”
The skittish Karsay doesn’t deny that the pressure has taken its toll, but doesn’t regret returning home. He calls his first four months with the Yankees “a great and fun experience.”
“It’s all what I expected and more,” Karsay said. “I just can’t get distracted from being here.”
With the bullpen decidedly vulnerable lately — dependable reliever Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza have been unusually shaky — Karsay’s role is magnified. The team brass is sure he will straighten out.
“He’s been everything we wanted,” Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said of Karsay. “It worried me a little bringing him back home with all the distractions, but he was the guy we wanted. We just got to make sure he’s properly used.”
“I know it will come around for me,” Karsay said. “Just as long as it’s there for the playoffs.”
— Anthony Bosco contributed to this story
Reach contributing writer Arthur V. Claps by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
