Darrel Rasner didn't have his best outing to date, but was done in by Yankee hitting rather than Twins hitting. Hopefully this was just a temporary bump in the road for Darrel, and he;ll continue to shine in his next outings. While 8 hits and 2 walks is a little much, he did strike out five and made it through 5.1 innings. Earlier in the season, the frequent bouts of Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy getting pulled before getting through 5 IP took a heavy toll on the bullpen. In last nights game, Girardi was able to get by by using Patterson and Britton.
Scott Patterson had some difficulty and needed 40 pitches to get through 1.1 innings, and gave up a hit, a couple of walks and a single earned run. Chris Britton looked good throwing a hitless 1.1 innings. Poor Britton has been bounced back and forth so many times this season, has gotten warmed up in the bullpen and not called into games and finally got another legitimate chance to pitch again last night. He has shown a lot of patience and an ability to keep cool under the distracting situations. I'd certainly go to him in a heartbeat over LaTroy Hawkins.
Patterson turned a few heads in spring training but Girardi didn't think he was ready. He didn't exactly dominate down in the minor leagues and I think Joe had a better eye about this guy than myself and a few other Yankee bloggers who wanted him on the roster. I don't think keeping him in NY is a bad idea, but he still needs time to develop and won't be an overnight reliever sensation.
Morgan Ensberg has been DFA and likely won't be seen in NY again. Wilson Betemit was back in the lineup to continue his competition with Robinson Cano to see who can be the worst Yankee hitter.
The Yankees might be calling up RHP Dan Giese to fill in the long reliever roll. I can't believe I just typed that. The 2008 Yankees have a long reliever? Can't be. Seriously though folks, here's another thought and question. When Ian Kennedy comes of the DL, what do the Yankees do with him? Send him down to AAA to finish out the season and get more experience, or keep him on the roster as a long reliever?
I've been thinking about that for a while now, that Kennedy could have some utility in the long reliever roll. My guess is that he'd probably struggle just as much there as in the rotation, but possibly not. It would be a pleasant surprise if he turned into a guy that could give you 2, 3 or even 4 solid innings in relief (but couldn't make a start to save his life). Unlikely, but a possibility.
2 comments:
Send IPK back to SWB. Let him dominate there for a while and see if this increases his trade value at the deadline or in the off season. The more he fails at the club level the less he is worth. Give Hughes another shot when he comes back but keep the leash short.
If Kennedy goes back to AAA and does well, it opens up a lot of options. I don't know about Hughes, his injury history worries me. Personally, I'd let him go in any decent trade offer because I think he's going to be a chronic DL guy. Both of these players have shown potential at times and could be trade bait. I like the idea of a Yankees youth movement, but I'm not sure these two are up to the challenge.
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