Game Four: Another rookie takes the hill
ByIt was a beautiful thing last night, seeing Phil go six strong with Joba picking up the (meaningless) W. Tonight we see the final member of the Big Three taking the hill, IPK. He’ll be opposed by Andy Sonnastine, whom none of the Yankees have had more than 7 at bats against.
Rob Thompson will manage the team tonight, as Girardi is suffering from a upper respiratory infection.
Melky’s suspension has been reduced two two games. He’ll sit out today and tomorrow. I’d feel far more comfortable if we had a groundballer like Wang out on the hill during those contests. An outfield of Matsui-Damon-Abreu is probably bottom 5 in the AL defensively. Duncan’s hearing is up Monday, according to PeteAbe.
I had posted PeteAbe’s lineup earlier, but Mark Feinsand reports that Posada has been moved to DH. I would assume then that Betemit sits and Molina slides into the nine spot. So this is the assumed lineup:
1. Damon, CF
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. Rodriguez, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B
6. Cano, 2B
7. Posada, DH
8. Matsui, LF
9. Molina, C
And on the mound, number thirty-one, Ian Kennedy
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It sure would be nice to get that bench some ABs.
I was thinking that too. I know its only game 4, but I would really like to start seeing some of that 1B rotation and Damon/Hideki having a day off.
let shelly play before he serves his 2 games on usnday & monday
if i hear the phrase ‘generation trey’ one more time….
Here here.
Zone a little tight tonight no?
So Kennedy doesn’t look too hot.
holy crap that strike zone sucks tonight… and I’m in Orlando so I’m watching that game on “Rays TV” and their announcer said that this was one of the most pitcher friendly umps in the bigs… kinda hard to believe
he’s getting squeezed like florida oranges.
Absolutely disagree with him getting squeezed. He’s been close on some, but he’s not going to get all those calls.
but some of them would be nice instead of none
thank you kay for that tidbit..singleton saying they never won more than 70 surely did not already let us know they haven’t lost less than 90..you know there being 162 games and all…
Just as a side note, since I’m in Orlando the Rays are blacked out on MLB.tv so I switched it over to the Jays and man do those powder blues look horrible. I’m not uniform nazi or anything like Keith Law or Shyster, but wow
That’s like the 4th time IPK has pulled the changeup into the ground.
Its gonna be a long night for the pen.
Damn Mets/Braves got rained out. Was looking forward to see John Maine, lot of predictions on that man this year.
so did the weather total miss the stadium or is it scheduled to make a stop later?
The weather report changed like seven times today. It’s anyone’s guess.
hopefully it lays off…and oh yeah don’t know how old you are Joey but those Jays uni’s are throwbacks…
18, but they look like pajamas more than professional ballplayer uni’s
lol look up the padres 70′s unis if you want to see real ugly…
Oh that Cano. He’s so lazy.
lol, nice play by Robbie
Pedroia would have beaten Crawford to the bag.
Good God has IPK been ahead on anyone tonight?
he doesn’t look good at all. I like the Giambi mound visit though, give the kid a short break
IPK is struggling with his control but this Ump is an asshole.
well have a good night fellas.
ugh
Im glad it’s a Friday, won’t have to hear as much BS from the media tomorrow about Santana regret or w/e.
those mussina comparisons are more accurate than i expected.
young moose hit mid 90′s on the gun………this guy looks like old moose
Girardi picked a good time to take a sick day.
Hit-Deki!
Too much nibbling at the corners than having to make a strike killed IPK. Good luck next time!
Damon can’t even make contact…….why is he leading off? I hope Melky replaces him after his suspension.
Jeter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Molina can fucking rake.
Hideki now Molina………….rally!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope
Well if Hideki and Molina can get hits anyone in our lineup can, that “long reliever” would have been nice about now
i’m sick of johnny damon. he’s killing us already. nice shot by cap’n jetes.
Cap’n Jetes (dunno if Neyer’s copyrighted that yet) strikes again!
We really need Jetes to cross home, cutting this lead in half in one inning is real important right now.
Well comparing the two starters I would take IPK right now. He wasn’t getting smacked (except for the bases clearing double that he left over the plate to just get a strike), just had no control.
all that counts in the end is the “W”
i thought ian was terrible but why is sonnastine getting those close pitches and not ian? hopefully one day this season we’ll get consistency behind the plate for both sides.
GIAMBINO!!! Alright come on Cano.
Nice G-man, nice
Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here comes the potent Yankee offense! About time
Anyone surprised that there’s been no mound visit by Tampa?
Shame on me for doubting the power of our offense…still going to sleep though..gotta work tonight DVR hopefully catches the rest of this comeback…
Come on Alba, just get us to the 6th with a couple scoreless and you would’ve done everything necessary.
matt stairs just hit one out. 1-0 blue jays.
go figure, our offense is finally starting to warm up when our pitching goes to sleep
and our defense is sleeping as well…
While the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20,” there is NO hindsight in my prediction that IPK would be a bust. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good kid, and I wish him all the best, but he’s just not going to be a very good ML pitcher. He doesnt have the makeup, build, or power. His velocity is awful, which therein makes his offspead stuff much more hittable. Bottom line, everything has to be PERFECT for him to pitch well. If his velocity is down, or he can’t get his change over for strikes, the game is over. Gentlemen, thats not good. There is a stark difference b/w IPK and the other 2 members of Generation Trey. IPK is at BEST a number 4 starter.
Does this sound familiar???? Ofcourse it does, Mussina ’08. Mussina and IPK are clones, and this is NOT a good thing. I heard reports that at the 11th hour, Minny offered Santana for a package that included Melky and IPK. If Cash turned that down, we will regret it for a decade.
Conclusion – we should have traded IPK over the winter when his stock was probably the highest. He came off a year of great hype and effective numbers in his few starts. After a full year pitching in the bigs, if IPK loses more than he wins and has an ERA over 5, we gonna be fucked.
thank you keith law.
I doubt that considering the rumors that they wanted Wang and IPK + Melky as a last offer. Plus your basing your opinion on one bad start, he’s pitched better and will contribute to the 08 Yanks as nothing less than an inning eater, if not a pretty effective starter
Why do people have to make outrageous statements and predictions? Think about what you’re sayinh.
IPK got in trouble because hsi change was bad and so was the ump. He also looked nervous. That does not make him a bust. Of course he could very well end up a bust, a lot of young pitchers do.
And if the Yankees do regret not trading for Santana, that’ll last a whole year ’till Sabathia pulls on pinstripes.
Has that been said before by any chance?
Mike P,
Look, i know its brash to dump IPK this early on, but come on. Its not like he has great stuff but one bad start. Its more like he has OK stuff and he got bombed (not to mention he got in consistent trouble in ST).
If you look at IPK’s starts last yr, you’ll notice that with the exception of the Toronto start, he barely ever made it out of the 5th inning. He’s always in trouble because his stuff just isnt good enough. No matter what he does, his fastball will never be higher than 89. I’m sorry, but thats not gonna cut it in the AL East. Everything has to go 100% right for him to be very effective. If the weather is off, or his velocity is off, or his command is off – its over. He can never “grind out” a win like Hughes and Joba can. He lacks the makeup of an effective starting pitcher (he’s too short and too thin – therefore its physically impossible for him to generate the torque or power to get ML hitters out consistently). There is very little change in speed b/w his pitches.
With him and Moose at the back end of the rotation, we have to keep our fingers crossed twice a week.
One outing does mean a whole career now doesn’t it???? Insert sarcasm……………………………………………….wait…………….here!
Toronto up 2-0 on the sox
3-0 jays bases loaded
LoL, guess you all are keeping tabs as well.
If anyone needs some good news, the Blue Jays scored 3 runs off Wakefield in the 6th. Shawn Marcum has pitched a 1-hitter through his first six.
yup yup, and Marcum’s looks pretty nasty so far
J-Alba is owning. And Rock ‘N Rohlendorf is warming up!
Exactly what we needed from Alba. Now we can try to get another two scoreless from Rohlendorf.
nice swing johnny.
8 K’s for Marcum, Mannys the latest victim
Goddamnit. I can’t believe I sat Marcum (fantasy team). How bout that Alba? And that Hideki homer? Maybe Hideki will continue to make his bid for the number 5 spot.
Do they always have to make mention of that first lineup that Sheppard announce every year?
fucking jd drew!!! 3-3 game.
Can’t believe I sat JD Drew. God Damnit.
Just when I compliment him, he gives up a 3 run homer to Nancy Drew…
Nancy Drew LOL
Straight Nasty by Ohlendorf.
well our pen is lookin good
Shhhhhh, ESPN Lords might hear you…
Does CANO ever not swing at the 1st pitch?
DP on carl Crawford, we got to win now, LoL.
big frank finally showed up this year. 5-3 jays.
They better not blow the lead, or blow it open. A Sox loss is ALWAYS a good thing, but I could use the save from Accardo : )
This bullpen is just sexy right now.
yup. its weird to be excited about the bullpen. it just goes to show you how horrible it’s been for yankee fans these past few years. and carl crawford grounded into 11 double plays last year, for the record.
Frank Thomas had a little fist pump when he got to second, you think there’s gonna be a huge controversy in Toronto over that tomorrow? (sarcasm)
you think someone could take a pitch and try to get on base against dan wheeler?
thank you paul…i mean…latroy
ugh (again)
Jeter’s looking more-n-more like an OFer playing SS.
yeah he is.
And Matsui a DH in the OF.
it just wasn’t meant to be today…
oh god, farnsworthless is warming up (not that it could get much worse)
Paul O’Neill isn’t pitching too well tonight.
Since when was Paul O’Neill Black?
These are some real bitch ass hits after the two XBHs.
Yankees fans are showing some real bitchassness booing chanting “Paul O’Neill”.
Spring don’t mean shit.
Alba shouldn’t be sent down for Pettitte tommorrow………LaBoy should. It was a garbage signing in the offseason and only proves it the more he pitches!
It’s officially drinking time.
): sknits snikwaK
Rays are better than the Jays. And I’m not just saying that because of 4 games. All those “experts” saying Jays will challenge Yanks/Sox and Rays will be .500 had it back-assward.
Wow The Farnssssssssss aint much better???????????? Two weak links that hopefully can be replaced by Melancon , Cox , Sanchez…
PATERSON
Well the other two Yankees squads in the organization are doing well. Tampa is rallying in the bottom of the 9th down 4-3 and SWB won 2-1. Other two minor league games got rained out.
Good night all, off to the bar for me courtesy of Farm-worthy.
Forgot Patterson
I’m with Bruno, time to go out and drink this one off…
That AVIS commercial was classic.
I am not gonna complain. That would be too easy. Hawkins got some weak hits but sucked nevertheless.
Look on the bright side, Melancon pitch 1.2IP of shutout ball in High A Tampa. I will go on a limb and say that Melancon makes the team by late June.
It’s actually funny to see. Two of Mr. Cashman’s prime bull pens pick-ups. You have to give to Cash he does have a eye for those free agents pitchers.
“It ain’t the fans who are the issue. They’ll be patient.” say Ben read above.
Rough night for IPK he will be fine ONE BAD START DOES NOT MAKE A SEASON.
Maybe Duncan should try and take out Hawkins and Farnsworth. I’m sure the league won’t suspend him. LOL
off the mound in second inning, number thirty-one, Ian Kennedy…..LOL
Just couldn’t help it…. LOL
It was the third inning but still. He will do better. He wasn’t a first round draft pick for nothing.
What a crappy game. Glad I went to last night’s game with Hughes on the mound. IPK will rebound. Oh, and nice 31.50 ERA Hawkins….
I’m sure he will but its like that Meat Loaf song “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”…..
Yes, lets sign a guy who has a 9.51 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, and a .381 BAA at Yankee Stadium. Mr Hawkins is doing what he always has done in Yankee Stadium… suck.
Don’t worry guys he is better in Fenway 7.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and .319 BAA. What a relief….LOL
He is right about one thing spring training doesn’t mean much.
I’d feel a lot better about IPK’s start if we had Bartolo Colon down on the farm instead of the Bosox. I really wish Cashman had the foresight to get him…
Yeah, lets be mad at Cashman for passing on a guy throwing 87-89 MPH all of Spring with no control and accompanying weight/shoulder issues.
IPK had one bad start. The ump smoked crack before the game and Kennedy was getting terrible calls on good pitches. Its not like he was crazy wild. His change was off and if he gets ahead in the count we know he can be good. Also concerning the Santana trade, it wasn’t a bad move because as its been previously said we can get C.C. in pinstripes next year. Lets not get absurd and start acting like IPK is a bust after his 4th major league start (first three were pretty good) and that Cash doesn’t know what he is doing.
It’s not just the ump. Like Moose, IPK has to get calls to be successful. But walking four and serving meatballs is a pitching mechanics issue that needs fixing. If he can’t locate, he can’t pitch.