Chamberlain Continues to Stretch Out

Andy Pettitte was pitching at a high enough level last night that the Yankees didn't bring Joba in until midway through the bottom of the 7th inning.  Chamberlain pitched 1.1 innings, threw 28 pitches and faced 6 batters. With a 2 run lead, Joe Girardi went with Mariano Rivera in the 9th and Joba continued to throw in the bullpen afterward.

Jason Giambi went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and a home run. His average is now up to .244 and he continues to have a hot bat. You've gotta respect the 'stache. Melky Cabrera has been struggling at the plate a bit lately and had a nice outing hitting in the 9th spot and going 2 for 4. Matsui also had 2 and Damon went 3 for 5.

It's good to see Pettitte deliver a quality outing, going 6.2 innings. The bullpen is looking rather vulnerable at the moment and the Yankees absolutely aren't equipped to handle an early exit by too many of their pitchers. Ian Kennedy has a strained Latissimus muscle and some shoulder bursitis. Apparently he is expected back in 15 days and shouldn't miss an extended period. He probably deserves an extended stay down in the minors, and might need to be joined by Ohlendorf for a while.

There has been no official word yet on what will happen for Ian's next scheduled start. Pettitte may move up a day or Joba may get his first start. I doubt we'll be seeing Igawa back in New York. Chris Britton was called back up to fill Ike's spot on the roster temporarily, but the Yankees like moving him back and forth too much to let him linger long in the Big Apple.

Easy Come, Easy Go

The Yankees big wins over Seattle seem like a thing of the long past, having now lost two straight to Baltimore.

Darrel Rasner looked good on Memorial day, giving up only one run in his six inning outing. Because his teammates failed to provide any run support during that time, Rasner got saddled with the loss. So far this season, I think Darrel has proven to be the biggest surprise and the best performing  fresh face.

Ian Kennedy left last night's game after pitching three innings and giving up four runs. Ike had a muscle strain near his ribcage. The number of Yankee injuries this season has been absolutely staggering.

Relief pitching proved to be the Yankees weak spot in Tuesday's late night game. Ross Ohlendorf gave up 4 hits and 4 ER in 2.1 inninngs to blow an early 4 run lead and later, Latroy Hawkins gave up 2 ER on 3 hits in the 11th to end the game. The night before Hawkins gave up 3 ER in 0.2 innings and Jose Veras gave up 2 ER over 1.1 innings.

The other big factor in last night's game was 3 errors by the Yankees and a baserunning mistake by Jeter. The errors really come back to haunt you in close games. Also, Jeter, who got thrown out taking too big of a lead at second (after successfully stealing) cost the team a potential game winning run with A-Rod coming to the plate.

Tonigh Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to pitch another extended outing. He may get a chance to start soon if Kennedy is out for an extended period of time.

It's hard to find too many silver linings in the clouds of the last two games. The Yankees had some offense but still left 8 and 9 runners on base. Darrel looked sharp in his start but the bullpen is coming undone. While I've been very high on Ohlendorf, he's really showing a lack of consistency. Latroy Hawkins is just plain bad. Veras had a bad outing and Farnsworth is completely unpredictable. Edwar Ramirez is looking like the only dependable bullpen guy right now, but that observation is based on very few appearances and doesn't account for much.

Just when you think these Yankees might be digging themselves out of a hole, Baltimore sends them sliding right back in.

Rasner Win Overshadowed by Joba News

Let's get one thing straight, Darrel Rasner pitched one heck of a game last night. 7.0 innings of work, 6 strikeouts and only 1 walk with 0 runs. You can't ask for anything more from a starting pitcher. It's something no other Yankee pitcher has come close to in their recent starts. For a guy called up in the middle of the season, Rasner is doing a commendable job. It wasn't a flawless performance, as Rasner got himself in trouble once or twice, but just as quickly he got out of the jam without giving up a run.

I like what I see from Darrel. I'm not putting him down as the next Cy Young winner, but I think he could prove a reliable back end guy. If he could pitch like he did last night all of the time, he'd be the ace on someone's rotation, but not all of the games will go as smoothly as what we just saw.

The big news generated after the game was Joe Girardi's comments about Joba Chamberlain stating that the process had begun and that the Yankees were beginning to stretch out Joba's innings to prepare him for a starting role. More news has been coming out from various sources that Cashman had talked with Joba and the young star confirmed that he's mentally ready and wants to give starting a try. That is the most important part of the equation for me. I was getting worried that Joba would become too comfortable in his set-up role and might not look favorably on the move to the rotation which would subconsciously kill any real chance of him ever succeeding in that role. The fact that Chamberlain thinks he's ready is a good sign. It's also a good sign that the Yankees still have some baseball sense about them and realize what a tragic mistake it would be if they didn't give him a shot as a starter.

On the other side of the ball, Alex Rodriguez was on fire. Officially he had 3 hits including 1 home run and 2 RBIs, but anyone watching on TV saw the replay clearly indicating that one hit ruled a double was clearly a home run. There was no doubt about it in anyone's mind and it will again cause a bit of talk about the idea of instant replay in baseball. A-Rod looked good at the plate and seemed to run well also, hustling out plays and going near full speed. Even in his absence, the Yankee hitters should have been producing more runs and playing better than they had. I'm not buying the lack of A-Rod as a valid excuse for their previous struggles. Having A-Rod back, having a guy who starts making contact and hitting the ball can provide a spark that jump starts some of the other players.

Lastly I want to comment on another guy who's doing an outstanding job, Chad Moeller. Moeller seems to be doing an excellent job of reading his pitchers and hitters. He's made some nice defensive plays and has been hitting decently. Last night he went 2 for 5 and brought his average up to .262. Despite being placed on waivers earlier in the season, Chad indicated he would be happy to remain with the organization even in the minors. When he was called back up he continued to perform well. This guy has done all that you could ask and more. I don't know what his future with the Yankees will be, considering you've got Posada, Molina and Cervelli, but he certainly has served the team well.

Strong Outing For Pettitte

Andy Pettitte pitched a strong 7 scoreless innings today, providing the bullpen some much needed relief. Yankee fans need to hope and pray that Pettitte can stay healthy all year and not miss any starts.

Joba faced two batters but was unable to get an out and Bruney relieved him and let an inherited runner score, giving Chamberlain an earned run.

Johnny Damon went 2 for 4 and hit a 2 run home run. Chad Moeller continues to impress, also going 2 for 4. One of his hits bounced off of the centerfield wall and was half an inch from being a home run. He's done more than anyone expected and will be kept around for a while longer just in case Posada has a setback when he returns to catching.

Jason Giambi continues to struggle at the plate and is now hitting .109 for the season.

A Rod had a strained right quad and left the game. Expect him to be out for the better part of a week.

There were two rain delays, each of 37 minutes, but the wait didn't affect Mariano Rivera who came in and closed out the 9th inning.

This game should boost spirits a bit. Andy Pettitte was the star of the game and is still a cornerstone of this team.

It's hard to believe this Chad Moeller is the same journeyman with the abysmal bat in prior years. He's excelled in his latest big league stint. Good job Chad!

Final score: Yankees 7, Orioles 1.

Time to Panic?

The buzz on the Yankee blog scene lately has been consisting mostly of people telling their readers not to panic, that the season is still young, these pitchers will settle down and the offense will come to life.

I'm panicking.

Ian Kennedy couldn't get out of the 3rd inning. It's especially worrisome given Phil Hughes and Mike Mussina's performances of late.

This team can't carry three pitchers who won't make it more than 3 innings per start. Mussina, Hughes, and Kennedy can't be in the same starting rotation with the way they are currently playing. I don't doubt that Hughes and Kennedy could both turn into reliable, quality starting pitchers, but bringing them both along at the same time is not a roadmap for success this year.

Mike Mussina looks like he's just about done. When he comes out to pitch if he doesn't have his stuff he's going to get lit up. If he does have his stuff, he's only good for about 4-5 innings. Maybe the Yankees could use him as a long reliever, but his starter days are numbered.

It remains to be seen what will happen with Joba. He was back in the lineup tonight and closed out the 9th inning in style. I'm glad that Joba's dad is doing better and relieved (no pun intended) to see Chamberlain back in the bullpen. Ross Ohlendorf gave up a couple of runs but is performing reasonably well in his defacto role of long reliever. Billy Traber is working out well and will be valuable as more than just a situational guy who gets called in to face left handed batters.

I like the move of Posada to 1st base. While his shoulder is sore that's a great use for him, putting the struggling Giambi on the bench and allowing others a chance at the DH spot.

It's hard not to sound like a broken record, but the Bombers need to right the ship when it comes to starting pitching, and the offense needs to wake up. I think they've got the talent with the bats, but am keeping a close eye on the transaction reports, expecting to see a move to acquire pitching soon.

The Yankees left 8 men on base tonight, had 6 hits but were unable to score a run. I keep thinking in the back of my head that it's only a matter of time before they start gelling a bit more, getting hits at the right time and stringing together their offense so as to start driving in more runs.

AL East Roundup - Baltimore On Top

Yes, that's right the Baltimore Orioles, pre-season favorites to finish last in the division, are sitting alone at the top of the standings. The Boston Red Sox, who many thought would finish first, are in last place. It's still early and things will settle down as the season wears on, but still, it's quite amusing.

The Yankees offense will definitely start scoring a lot more runs before long. The big question is will it be enough to keep their pitching staff afloat. I think what you've seen is what you'll get from the Yankees rotation the rest of the year. Pettitte will have better days, but he'll also have bad days and will miss starts due to injury. Wang will once again pitch consistently well. Kennedy will certainly have better days but will bomb frequently in his first full season as a starter. Phil the franchise will throw masterpieces from time to time, but expect him to get roughed up as well. Mussina will give up 4-5 runs or every outing and will need help from the offense. Joba will work his way into the rotation eventually. Farnsworth and Hawkins will continue to give up runs.

The Red Sox have hit well, but haven't been able to put together sequences to give them runs. They'll start tacking more points up on the board and will right the ship. It seemed to me they were the victim of some uncharacteristic errors and poor fielding this week. Toronto has been playing very well and definitely served the Sox a harsh wake up call. Beckett will get back into form and start lasting longer, giving Sox fans the quality starts they've been expencting. Lester will have his ups and downs. Dice-K continues to show he's the real deal Buchholz is going to have some growing pains. MDC might just be Boston's version of Kyle Farnsworth. The good news for the Sox is that they are playing winless Detroit next. Maybe Kenny Rogers will help the BoSox bats get hot.

Toronto has been on their game. Starting pitching has looked solid and their bats have delivered in the clutch. I'm thinking that they're going to give someone quite a battle for second place in the East.

Tampa had some strong outings against the Yankees, taking advantage of sloppy pitching and throwing some great games themselves. Despite their impressive start, I'm not buying into the hype or the few predictions that they're going to win 90+ games this year.

I don't have any explanation for Baltimore's success so far, other than to say somehow they score more runs than the other guy. It won't take long for them to find their place back at the bottom of the standings.