The Girl Who Loved Andy Pettitte

The Yankees game yesterday was pretty ugly, not much to say there except the hitters still are not alive and Kyle Farnsworth is still no good.

Ian Kennedy didn’t start the game because of the threat of rain, but did pitch three innings and looked good after the first. His command was much better than in his first outing, with any luck this will continue and the team will get a lot of solid innings out of him this year.

Last night’s game and Kennedy’s first outing have shown the Yankees could use a long reliever/spot starter in the bullpen. Jeff Karstens is hurt so while fans are saved from that potential headache, the alternatives are Darrel Rasner (completely league average, would not be bad necessarily) or Kei Igawa (who knows what you will get out of him when he comes into a game, starts a game, or throws a ball off the mound in general).

The problem is to make room for a long reliever they’d have to make room for one, and the two people who I’d most like to see out of the bullpen (LaTroy Hawkins and Kyle Farnsworth) aren’t about to be shuffled out. This leaves Brian Bruney, Russ Ohlendorf, and Billy Traber as candidates. Bruney has had a good showing so far since he has stopped the “throw as fast as he can approach” and Traber is the obligatory lefty so Ohlendorf would probably be the choice. Really though I wish I lived in a world where it would be Farnsworth, I know that they want to get something out of him but I don’t know if there is anything to get.

Pitching is not really the issue, though, the offense is and that’s not as easy to “fix”. The season is not even 10 games old but I don’t think it’s too early to be just a little concerned. After three weeks if things haven’t changed my concern will be kicked up several notches, however.

…

Ozzie Guillen quote of the week:

“You play against A.J., you hate him. But you play with him, you hate him a little less.”

Geoff Young at The Hardball Times examines the question Does Trevor Hoffman Struggle in Non-Save Situations?

File this under things that never in a million years needed a wiki entry.

Hank and Hal have new titles in the Yankee organization.

Tags: bullpen