Sep
09
Kennedy throws a simulated game
ByA few hours ago, Joe examined the recent spate of arm injuries currently plaguing the Yankee farm system. One of those pitchers is on the mend. Ian Kennedy, five months removed from an aneurysm in his throwing arm, tossed a simulated game yesterday in Tampa. He threw 22 of 33 pitches for strikes and said afterward that he felt good. While Kennedy doesn’t expect to pitch in any of the Minor League playoff games, he will throw a 50-pitch simulated game on Saturday and plans to pitch in both an instructional league this month and the Arizona Fall League starting in October. With a strong fall and a solid spring, Kennedy will be in the mix for a spot on the Big League club next year.
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IPK smells redemption in 2010
And cheeseburgers.
Coming from one of those guys named Humberto’s locker.
Ian Kennedy – who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.
today we spell redemption I-P-K
wes mantooth out.
ietc
personally…i would have no problem with Ian Kennedy be our #5 starter next season.
To start the season? I would. That would mean you’ve got a rotation of CC, AJ, Joba, Phil, IPK? That’s mighty thin. IPK should be #6 or #7, getting in his work out in Scranton and re-building his strength.
Yeah, I’m all on board with bringing back Pettitte in place of Wang and going CC-AJ-Joba-Hughes-Pettitte, with IPK as #6.
Does Wang pitch at all next year?
Wang has to get some action next year, it’s not like he’s Matt.
http://www.instantrimshot.com
Yea, I think he will be good depth possibly for the 2nd half if he is ready
Wang’s good for depth in the bottom half, eh?
Practically writes itself.
Heh TCWA
I was giving FMV the benefit of the doubt but I’m afraid he might have meant a rotation of CC, AJ, Andy, Joba and IPK with Phil in the pen.
::Shudders::
ipk should play the role hughes was supposed to play this year. starter in aaa full time, plan 6, spot starter for any double headers, etc. then when an injury happens he moves up.
And this time, DON’T MOVE HIM TO THE PEN IN JUNE IN A PANIC MOVE.
Personally, I kinda want to see it. Just think what it’ll be like here when all the people that just spent 2 years screaming how horrible IPK is, they never liked him, and knew he would never amount to anything spin around and talk about how awesome he is as a reliever.
And before anyone says IPK can’t handle the 8th, I present this.
:: head explodes ::
Yeah but he’d only get the job if he looked strong in ST. We’re probably going to pick up the option on Mitre so we should have some healthy competition for #5. All of this is dependent on AP and Wang’s ability to comeback mid-season.
Gaudin’s still under team control for another year as well. 2010 is his final arb season.
my rotation would have Andy Pettite in it.
i would not move Phil Hughes to the starting rotation to begin the season..i’m sorry if people don’t like that…but i would NOT! No way..now how…because you run into the same problem you had with Joba this season.
so what i would do would be this:
go into the season with CC,AJ, Andy, Joba, IPK….leave Hughes in the pen until you are sure he can be moved to the rotation to stay.
I just vomited in my mouth a little bit. I knew it.
I couldn’t disagree more strongly. First of all, Hughes is one of the 5 best starters on the team. In addition, it’s incumbent upon on the Yankees to build his innings. The stated goal is for Hughes to be a starter for this team, and the Yankees only delay that by putting him in the pen and suppressing his innings to much that he must be built back up again.
I could swear we’ve had this conversation before around here.
I’m raising the Terriost Threat Warning Level from Fuchsia to Vermilion.
2 things….
1) Phil Hughes as a starter has not proven anything…matter of fact…he is been worse then joba has as starter in his big league career.
2) Phil Hughes will go into next year with an innings limit…if you don’t agree with that you are flat out stupid(Which i don’t believe you are). so you have 3 ways to limit those innings.
a) start him in the pen until you believe he can be let go as a starter for the rest of the season. OR b) let him start next year at AAA again. OR C) let him pitch until he reaches that limit and shut him down.
I’ll take C, thank you.
Cash and Co will weight their options.
1) They can go the Jober route.
2) They can go the Price route, start in AAA in limited innings then finish in the bigs.
3) Come up with some new shit.
2 is my preference.
Our opening day fivesome is CC, AJ, Joba, Andy, and Gaudin/Marte/pick your favorite cheap rehab candidate free agent. Hughes stays in Tampa for EXST on super-low innings restrictions, and joins the team in May as the 5th starter. Stays in the rotation through the end of the year.
I’m still intrigued by options that would allow him to pitch into the postseason, like having him start in AAA or just start the season late (a la TSJC’s suggestion for Joba in 2009). I’d rather shut him down than have him blow way past his innings limits, but I’d also rather have him pitch until the end of the season than have to shut him down early.
Ok, I think your 2(a) mitigates the damage a bit. If you’re just talking about starting the season with Hughes in the pen and then transitioning him to the rotation as a mechanism for keeping his innings in check, that’s a different story. I’m not sure the Yanks will go that route after they did it with Joba and he got hurt, but we’ll see. I’d prefer that he just start the season in AAA for a month or two, throwing short outings to keep his innings down before he comes up and takes over a rotation spot for good.
PS: Even if you send Hughes to AAA to start the season, I still don’t want IPK taking those innings in the MLB rotation. The guy just missed just about an entire season and underwent a serious medical procedure. Let’s watch him pitch some innings in AAA before throwing him back into the MLB rotation. Mitre, Gaudin, Aceves and a number of other short-term options should be around in 2010 to take some starts in the 5 slot if necessary.
that is what i was talking about all along…just using hughes in the pen until you feel comfartable with him starting the rest of the season with no rules…there was not reason to go vomiting in your mouth.
now…another topic of concern is this: you have seen what Hughes and Joba can do in that 8th inning role…so once you move Hughes to the rotation…you have your 2 best set-up men starting…so he is the 8th inning guy?
You have to be more clear about what you mean if you mention wanting Hughes in the bullpen in 2010. We’ve spent a freaking eternity having this kind of discussion regarding Joba and we’re all exhausted by the whole thing, so when someone says they want Hughes in the bullpen in 2010 it’s pretty easy to think that person is just a B-Jobber in a B-Hugheser’s clothes. If you were clear about that at all, there wouldn’t have been any confusion as to what you meant.
I’m not sure where you’re going with your second paragraph… Are you now making the case that Hughes should stay in the bullpen and be the vaunted 8th inning guy? The 8th inning guy will be whoever is out there and performs well. It’s not like there won’t be options, between Marte, Bruney, Melancon, Robertson and whoever else they might have out in the pen.
8th inning guys:
Robertson
Marte
Bruney
Aceves
Melancon
And don’t forget that we have an opportunity to spend some of our expiring Nady/Molina money (plus any savings we could get if Matsui/Damon take pay cuts) on a free agent bullpen addition.
Jose Valverde, Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano, Trevor Hoffman, and Fernando Rodney, are all on the market this winter. Rodney’s a Type B, as well, so no pick surrendered.
“so once you move Hughes to the rotation…you have your 2 best set-up men starting…so he is the 8th inning guy?”
Please stop. The Yankees should have their FIVE BEST 8TH INNING GUYS STARTING. Starters are more important. Most starters could thrive in a one-inning role. Repeat after me. Starters are more important.
Me gusta Jose Valverde.
i agree that starters are more important but at what point do you say..”hey this guy ain’t cutting it as a starter..and we’ve seen what he can do out of the pen…maybe the bullpen is the way to go”?
that is not directly pointed at joba and hughes…but more in general.
Me gusta Jose Valverde.
A 157 ERA+ (2.76 ERA) and 1.130 WHIP with 10.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over the last three years is nothing to sneeze at, that’s for sure.
i agree that starters are more important but at what point do you say..”hey this guy ain’t cutting it as a starter..and we’ve seen what he can do out of the pen…maybe the bullpen is the way to go”?
that is not directly pointed at joba and hughes…but more in general.
When they’re about both about 30. That’s when we give up on the “Let’s see if they can cut it as starters” concept.
I think I meant his “2″ mitigates the damage of his earlier comment, not “2(a)” in particular. That’s actually the one option of the three that I like least, as can be seen in my other comments. My bad.
1) This comment has been echoed by many people. It’s false. He hasn’t proven that he’s a COMPLETE and CONSISTENT pitcher at the BIG LEAGUE LEVEL. What he has proven is a) he’s proven to be lights-out, child-please, kiss-the-baby dominant at all levels of the minor leagues, and he’s proven the ability to replicate that dominance at the big league level. He just can’t do it every start. That’s fine, that’s what good young pitchers do. Phil Hughes’s body of work firmly entitles him to a big league starting spot. Firmly. He’s mastered all the lower levels, and he’s shown the ability to do it (inconsistently) at the big league level too. Consistency is the last piece of the puzzle. It only arrives via giving him a big league spot. There’s nothing else he can do to “prove” that he’s a big league starting pitcher other than continuing to be a big league starting pitcher.
2) He will go into the year with an innings limit, yes. That doesn’t mean he should be in the pen to start the year, no. Your proposed solution A is the worst of the three solutions you propose. B or C are far more desirable.
as you said…i feel as though phil hughes has proved all he can at the minor league level.
that point can not be debated…he has nothing left to prove at AA or any level in the minors.
but…phil hughes has started 28 games at the major league level..and has pitched 141.1 innings…thats not something to poo poo. He has not been a a consitent starter at the ML level and i’m not saying he can’t be.
however…with joba and Hughes is the exact same way…if it walks like a duck and it sounds like a duck…then it is probably a duck. And to me a duck = a LIGHTS OUT set-up man/closer.
So IMO…1 of those 2 kids should be setting up games and/or closing games for the rest of their career.
“however…with joba and Hughes is the exact same way…if it walks like a duck and it sounds like a duck…then it is probably a duck. And to me a duck = a LIGHTS OUT set-up man/closer.”
You do realize CC and AJ would be LIGHTS OUT 8th inning guys, too, right? But I don’t think you’d call CC and AJ ducks.
Your response will be something along the lines of “but they have track records as starters,” or “but CC and AJ are STARTING PITCHAS.”
To which I respond: Joba and Phil could have those track records too, but not if you don’t let them do their thing as starters. You want the good starters to stay in the rotation and not move to the bullpen because you know that starters are more important than relievers, you just can’t see that Joba and Phil could (and likely will) be very good starters because you haven’t seen it yet. Be a baseball progressive, though. Think forward, not backward.
So you don’t give them a chance to be consistent? Copying someone earlier, I believe it was whozat, but if every team does this every starting pitching prospect will go to the bullpen unless you’re a Tim Lincecum/King Felix type of guys which you have very low chances of acquiring.
Beckett was meh in his first year of starting. How meh? Joba meh. But was he moved to the bullpen? No. Look where he is now. Or rather 2 months ago.
He’s one example out of… well a lot. You don’t give up on these guys WITH VERY LIMITED STARTING PITCH INNINGS.
By the way did I mention Beckett only pitched like a 120 innings in his first full year of starting? I thought only the Evil Empire did that to fuck with their prospects and to sucker the fans out of their money.
Oh, and PS… You gave me shit earlier for thinking that you were saying you want Phil permanently in the bullpen because you claimed you only wanted him in the bullpen to start the 2010 season before transitioning him back to the rotation… But now you’re arguing that either Phil or Joba, or both, should permanently be in the bullpen. So apparently you were being less than honest earlier.
Exactly.
The fact that they’re lights out closers is irrelevant. They have the chance to be lights out starters. We should give them EVERY opportunity to become lights out starters.
Normal starters = lights out closers
Good starters >>> lights out closers
Lights out starters >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> lights out closers
What Joba and Phil can become >>>>>>>> What Joba and Phil are now
Giving them opportunity to become great, even if there are bumps in the road >>>>>>>> curtailing their careers before they begin by assigning them to roles not of their maximum potential utility
By the way did I mention Beckett only pitched like a 120 innings in his first full year of starting? I thought only the Evil Empire did that to fuck with their prospects and to sucker the fans out of their money.
Both Lincecum and Felix have been on innings limits for more years in their young careers than they have been limit-free.
CC is a lights out 8th inning guy? really? What are his stats?
i’ll go ahead an tell you AJ’s…AJ has pitched a total of 5.2 innings in the pen…and they weren’t that good…9 hits, 7 ERs.
We have seen that Hughes and Joba can be SHUTDOWN…turn the lights off…close the door on your way out..set up men.
i am not saying Joba and Hughes can’t be great starters…never did i say that. But i can tell you what they are out of the bullpen…and thats damn good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....chology%29
i think Hughes and Joba should be able to prove that they can be great starters.
but if they can’t be great starters…or even “ok” starters…at some point you have to admit that and put them in the pen.
would you disagree with that?
I agree with that.
The time when we stop giving them chances to “prove” they can be great starters is when they turn 30.
I’m dead serious. No hyperbole.
Thirty years old. Thirty. If Joba and Hughes are still struggling to go 7+ innings and be dominant in 2016, sure, make them relievers.
He’s going to absolutely kill the AFL.
IPK will be the 8th inning guy next year, I can’t wait for the first B-IPKers to emerge.
We may just have to call them terriosts for an easier shorthand. This acronym is being stretched beyond its feasible limits.
Would the terrorists win or lose if IPK does well in the 8th inning?
I think if the Yanks could just draft enough young, amazing pitchers, they wouldn’t need starters. Everyone could just throw and inning, leading up to Mo to close things out.
That way everyone could just empty the tank for one solid inning, and there’s just one massive bullpen.
(/sarcasm)
Sorry, “AN inning”.
yeah b-hughsers was a mighty stretch as it is
It just adds to the ridiculousness of their arguments.
There are B-Bracks already.
So we can possibly have:
B-Jobbers
B-Hughesers
B-IPKers
B-Arodys
B-Jairos
B-Macs (McAllister)
B-Dellins (maybe if he can figure things out)
B-Garcias (if he stays healthy)
B-Konts (Kontos, though this one may be actually a good thing as he might struggle as a starter and profiles as a reliever anyway)
B-Warrens
B-Mannies (ManBan)
B-Bleichs
And several more so yea “terriosts” may be the best.
Bianers
Bikers.
Bullpen-Ian-KEnnedy-RS
Morons.
Because they’re morons.
Hey, their ideas are moronic. They, themselves are not morons.
It’s just what the media has lead them to believe.
They’re followers, not…. ya, wait a minute. They’re morons.
That’s a reach TSJC, you’re better than that.
Terriosts.
I wish the best for IPK, I hope he can prove the doubters wrong.
But hey, he could probably pitch in the NL.
So could Kei Igawa
Meh, he probably couldn’t.
K-Man>>Manny Parra?
At running.
At looking more asain
He might be a serviceable 5th pitcher in the NL.
He’ll be an AWESOME 4th starter in the NL.
/Pags’d
That comment is now official, no more conference calls or other chances to change your mind.
Just probably pitch? He WILL obliterate the NL (a bit of an overstatement but you get my point)
Why not sign one of Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer to a low risk incentive based contract?
It could work out well.
Brandon Webb!!!!
He has an $8.5 mill club option that would be hard not to exercise.
I’m down with all those ideas.
All depends on price, though. I like Duke the best. Opening day fivesome is CC, AJ, Joba, Andy, and Duke. Hughes joins the rotation in May, Duke moves to the pen.
T.J. Houshamazilli… CHAMPIONSHIP!
If they determine those guys will be healthy and ready to go and they can get them on a very cheap deal, I’m sure they’ll explore the possibility very diligently.
Of course they could turn out like Penny or Smoltz. But at least worth trying.