Friday, May 9, 2008

Igawa Pitches, Results Unsurprising

Kei Igawa pitched predictably poor, only getting through 3 innings while giving up 6 runs. I hope the Yankees aren't seriously still thinking about starting him on Wednesday. Igawa's 18.00 ERA makes you fondly recall the good old days of Ian Kennedy's ERA under 9.

With the way he pitched the other night, I think Kennedy should be brought back up. The plan was to have him pitch at least two outings in the minors, and I can understand wanting him to get another start under his belt, but you cannot let Igawa anywhere near a major league park again. Ever.

Chris Britton was optioned but will be back soon as Albaladejo left with elbow pain after throwing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

Sean Henn was claimed off waivers by the Padres. I think Henn would have been a better left handed option than Traber, who didn't work out. The constant reliever shuffle is going to cost the Yankees as there are a few teams out there that need bullpen help and anyone with potential has a good chance of not clearing waivers.

Joe Girardi's pregame interviews had some good injury updates with Posada taking BP and A-Rod fielding some balls and running. Also, Long reliever Jeff Karstens should be throwing this weekend in extended spring training.

The Yankees had some positives tonight. Albaladejo, Hakwins and Ramirez all pitched very well coming out of the bullpen. Giambi and Cano each went 2 for 4 and might be slowly coming out of their slumps.

The New York offense came close to tying up the game, and the ninth inning rally was exciting to watch, at least up to the point where they eventually lost. The bullpen really did an outstanding job of keeping the team in the game, it's too bad the bats came up short.

Wilson Betemit also went 2 for 4, but cost the team several runs with his poor defense. This guy is a huge liability. Ideally you want a utility infielder that can play excellent defense. The kind of guy you can put in late in a game if you have a lead. Betemit should be playing for a minor league team. Or the Pirates. I lost count of the poor plays he had where he didn't hustle, missed a ball, misplayed a ball. Ugh. While he had a decent night hitting, about all you are going to see out of Willy is his current .250 average with some power.

4 comments:

Mike said...

You mean SEAN Henn.

Jeff said...

Exactly. Sean Henn, Chris Britton. Must have confused the first names. Thanks for pointing that out - I'll do a quick edit.

Anonymous said...

Hey there. Found your blog on the top 100 baseball sites. You're a damn good writer. Keep it up!

Igawa was huge mistake, but I think Rasner has a new attitude this year and may be with the team for a while.

Jeff said...

Thanks for the compliments and thanks for stopping by.

I agree about Igawa and Rasner. I'm hoping Darrel continues to pitch well and finds a permanent spot in NY.