Another Win for Rasner

Six innings pitched and two earned runs for Darrel Rasner in his second major league appearance of 2008 and his second straight win. Darrel threw 87 pitches - 61 for strikes. He only walked one batter and generally looked sharp all afternoon.

The Farns had a slightly rocky outing, giving up 2 quick hits and allowing one inherited runner to score. Although the stats don't look that bad for him, Farnsworth had us all holding our breath. Chamberlain and Rivera did their job although Rivera did give up a hit. Pete Abraham over at the LoHud Yankees Blog summed Farnsworth up nicely by saying "If he pitches and you still have the lead, that’s a plus." I'm trying to stay positive about the up and down Farnsworth, but he sure can keep a game interesting.

Most of the offense was provided by Derek Jeter, who went 2 for 5 and hit a home run. Jeter scored twice and drove in a run. Jason Giambi hit a nice double but later was thrown out after he completely missed the signal to stop at third. That most likely cost the Yankees a run.

Wilson Betemit left the game after hitting a double and straining his hamstring. I can't say I'll miss him if he goes on the DL.

Jeff Karstens threw today and continues to make progress in his rehab. He'll be a useful tool to have either as a long reliever or a spot starter. For some reason the Yankees are insisting that Igawa is still scheduled to make the start next Wednesday. I don't see how they could let him take the mound again unless they had a fully rested bullpen ready to pitch 7 innings of relief.

Tigers Sweep Yanks at Home

Ian Kennedy only looked horrible for one inning, the third, and looked sharp for a few innings. Unfortunately in the fifth he started struggling again and was pulled by Girardi. If your starter doesn't make it at least six innings, your chances of winning are pretty small. Kennedy is second to last in the league for average innings per game for starters. The bottom of the list is occupied by Phil Hughes. That should tell you something about the Yankees chances of winning.

Jonathan Albaladejo came in and got out of one jam, but then started allowing a few runs in the next two innings he pitched in, eventually being replaced by Chris Britton. The one ray of hope was that despite all his shuttling back and forth between NY and Scranton, Britton was sharp and pitched 2.2 hitless and scoreless innings.

The Yankees had a nice start to the game offensively, with a walk a hit and then a three run homer by Bobby Abreu. The Yankees had a few other hits during the night and Shelley Duncan picked up an RBI single, but the Yankees once again couldn't score enough to save their struggling pitchers. The team LOB was 11, once again showing us the Yanks are having trouble hitting with runners in scoring position.

I can't see Kennedy spending too much more time in the rotation here. I think he needs to spend the rest of the year in Scranton. The problem is the only replacement available at the moment other than Joba is Kei Igawa and no one wants to see him in NY.