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.