15 IP, 12 K, 0 BB, 6 H, 0.00 ERA
 

05.10.2008 Early injuries hurting Yankees for 2nd year in a row

2007:

April 1, 2007 Placed RHP Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-day disabled list 
April 8, 2007 Placed outfielder Hideki Matsui on the 15-day disabled list 
April 15, 2007 Placed pitchers Carl Pavano and Mike Mussina on the 15-day disabled list 
April 29, 2007 Placed pitcher Jeff Karstens on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured fibula in his right leg 
May 20, 2007 Placed RHP Darrell Rasner on the 60-day disabled list with a fractured right index finger 
June 1, 2007 Placed 1B/DH Jason Giambi on the 15-day disabled list 
June 5, 2007 Placed first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on the 15-day disabled list

2008:

3/28/08 Placed LHP Andy Pettitte on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 21, with back spasms; Placed RHP Jeff Karstens on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right groin 
4/14/08 Placed INF Wilson Betemit on 15-day disabled list (conjunctivitis) 
4/25/08 Placed RHP Brian Bruney on the 15-day disabled list (now 60-day)
4/28/08 Placed C Jorge Posada on the 15-day disabled list 
4/30/08 Placed INF Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list with a Grade 2 strain of his right quadriceps, retroactive to April 29; Placed RHP Phil Hughes on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique 

And now add Albaladejo and Betemit (again).
 

05.09.2008 Keep in mind the Yankees paid $26 million just to talk to this guy

3 IP, 11 hits, 6 ER

A better career path for Igawa?
 

05.07.2008 Emotionally detached

This team is extremely boring.  Wake us up when something exciting happens.
 

05.07.2008 Ian Kennedy: Not nearly as good as he thinks he is

Ian Kennedy speaks about his start at AAA:

“I’m trying to say it humbly, but it doesn’t matter what I say, it’s going to come out cocky,” he said. “You just know. I woke up today and told my wife, I just have a feeling I’m going to make these guys look stupid.”

“I just felt like I could do no wrong,” Kennedy said. “Whether it was 2-0, I didn’t care, I could place a fastball away. I’ve been working on it every start, getting my mind set in the big leagues. I felt like I was getting better and better every time. It just led up to this. It was inevitable for me to do well. It was just a matter of time.”

 “It’s not so much here, it’s that I know what I can do," he said. "That was the main thing I was battling with (in New York). It goes back to trying to be too perfect. You’re giving them too much credit in the big leagues. These guys in Triple-A aren’t much different. They could be big leaguers tomorrow, and some of them have played in the big leagues. It’s not so much the hitters, it’s myself.” (Source)

For someone who has been putrid in the big leagues, Kennedy sure speaks highly of himself. 

05.06.2008 He's not a machine, he's a man

Joba lets up game-winning HR vs. Cleveland
 

05.06.2008 Kennedy starts in Scranton

7.1 IP, 1 H, 8K, 0 BB, 90 pitches (58 strikes) vs. Charlotte
 

05.05.2008 What do you think?

Which will happen first? Phil Hughes gets a win. Joba Chamberlain gets a start. view results

05.05.2008 An unfortunate event Terrible, horrible, attrocious, despicable

We received tons of emails about this, so we thought we should post it.

A woman accused of running down a man in her car after a Red Sox-Yankees argument in a bar never hit her brakes as she accelerated toward the small group he was in, a prosecutor said Monday.

"She never braked, and she accelerated at a high speed for about 200 feet. She went directly at this group of people," prosecutor Susan Morrell said of Ivonne Hernandez, who is charged with reckless second-degree murder in the death early Friday of Matthew Beaudoin, 29.

Authorities won't describe the argument beforehand in Slade's Food & Spirits, but witnesses said it heated up when Hernandez identified herself as a New York Yankees fan. Like the rest of New Hampshire, Nashua, 45 miles northwest of Boston, is Red Sox country.

Bartender Tanya Moran said the argument spilled outside, and at least one person in a group that included Beaudoin began chanting "Yankees suck!" when they saw a Yankees sticker on Hernandez's car. (Source)
 

05.04.2008 The correct decision

Five days ago, we said that Kennedy should be demoted.  On Sunday, it was announced that Ian and his 49 ERA+ would be sent to AAA.  It's definitely the right move as Kennedy has looked as lost as Hughes.

Since Kennedy doesn't have dominant stuff, his command and control are vital to his success.  With a K:BB ratio of 0.80 and a BB/9 of 7.6, "terrible" isn't even the right word to describe his pitching.   We've never rated Kennedy as high as other people have, but like Hughes, his performance so far has been shockingly bad.

Kennedy, however, disagreed with the decision because apparently an 8.57 ERA is worthy of a rotation spot. 

He said Saturday he "shouldn't be" the one to go down..."I can't say I'm happy about it," Kennedy said. "I feel like I was making progress, but it was bound to happen if you don't win. Especially here." (Source)

"Especially here?"  Right, Ian, the Yankees are just being impatient.  Sorry to break the bad news to you, but you actually have to earn your playing time.
 

05.02.2008 A look at the Yankees offense (or lack thereof)

Entering Friday night's game against Seattle, here's how the Yankees offense stacked up against the rest of the AL:

Runs per game: 4.30 (10th)
OPS: .735 (6th)
OBP: .327 (10th)
SLG: .408 (6th)
Ground ball %: 47% (t-3rd highest % in AL)
BA/RISP: .241 (12th)
Pitches per PA: 3.77 (10th)

A quick look at some of the culprits:

Derek Jeter: .286 / .317 / .357 / .674, hitting for no power and he's only walking in 2.9% of his plate appearances (career rate is 9%).  He's also hacking away in the box, averaging 3.09 pitches/PA (3.75 career avg).

Robinson Cano: .155 / .212 / .236 / .448, one could make the argument that he has been very unlucky, considering his ground ball and line drive rates are right within career averages, and his BA on balls in play (BAbip) is a microscopic .160.  The outrageously low BAbip could have something to do with him swinging like a girl.

Jason Giambi: .164 / .315 / .411 / .726, still getting his walks, but the man just refuses to hit the ball to the left side, even though everyone and their mother plays him to pull. 

Bobby Abreu: .277 / .331 / .438 / .769, walk rate is way down (7.4% compared to 15.3% career avg).  This could be the 2nd year in a row we see a decline in Abreu's walk rate. 
 

05.01.2008 We stand corrected

Looks like our post yesterday was way off-base, as it's been announced that Phil Hughes has been pitching with a broken rib.

Phil Hughes has a stress fracture in one of his ribs, and the New York Yankees' pitcher is expected to be sidelined for at least two months.

Hughes, placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, had tests that revealed a stress fracture in the ninth rib on his right side. He will be shut down for four weeks and then re-evaluated. Cashman said the team probably can't expect the 21-year-old right-hander back before July. 

"His fastball command has been uncommonly off. Now we get an idea why," Cashman said.  (Source)

This could very well be the source of the puzzling velocity and command issues Hughes has experienced so far this year.  It's one thing to initially struggle against a higher level of competition.  It's another thing to not show any of the tools which got you to that level.  Hughes has looked like a completely different pitcher than the highly-prized prospect we have been following.  A broken rib would explain this, although we don't yet know when or how the injury occurred.

Perhaps the Yankees are not run by propagandists.
 

05.01.2008 Robinson Cano: Worst player in baseball?

Right now, yes.

Out of 588 position players in MLB, Robinson Cano ranks 588th in VORP.

This season is awesome.

jb