I don't like Ian Kennedy

Actually, I never did. I listened to everyone say what a promising pitcher he was... how he had such great starts last year. I hear about all the wonderful things he does in triple-a. You know what? This kid is no better the Igawa. I have said it before and I will repeat it again: I don't give a rat's ass what this kid can do in the minor leagues. If he can't do it where it counts, get him off the mound. He had three lousy starts last year and took away one single win. Certainly nothing to base a career on. "I think I belong here and I want to work out my problems here," is what Kennedy had to say about yesterday's 5-to-2 loss to the Rays. You know what Ian... Yankee Stadium is not the place to work out your problems. And another thing: stop all your whining and excuses... you haven't earn the right to complain about anything yet. It is not going to be long before this kid starts getting booed whenever he takes the field. Yankee fans are not terribly supportive of players that can't perform.

Now that I have had my rant about pitching, this is normally where I would comment about hitting. Except, once again, there is not much to say... Damon and Giambi, nothing. Our two pinch-hitters, Matsui and Abreu... nothing. Appearently, Girardi likes to try to spark things up by bringing in substituting hitters. The only problem is that they haven't been generating any sparks. Even the hitters of the afternoon only came through with singles. 8 left on base... not a great way to try to win a ball game.

So, it is back to New York where the Bombers will face the Mets. One would believe that the way the Mets have been playing, perhaps this would be a good opportunity for the Yankees but I am not so sure anymore. I hope I am wrong.

Excitement

Wait a minute... isn't that a fist pump that Morgan Ensberg gave after tagging Cliff Floyd out at third to end the second inning? I thought that emotional reaction of excitement had been outlawed by the Yankees. I mean, after Goose Gossage denounced Joba Chamberlin a few days ago for fisting David Dellucci, I thought someone from the Yankees organization would have spoken to the team. Wasn't that the subject of the 45-minute, closed-door team meeting that occurred before last night's 2-to-1 Yankee win over the Rays? Seriously folks, if this cheerful display of confidence goes unchecked, we might soon see Melky Cabrera high-fiving fans over the wall just like Manny.

Well, I propose that it is this kind of excitement that will take the Yankees to where they need to be. All too often I think we tend to forget that this is a GAME. If we have to second guess what our opponent might be "feeling" before reacting to a good play, then we are thinking too much. I am not saying that we need to chant in the dugout like the Nationals, but a little excitement can go a long way.

Moose pitched an amazingly good game last night and since I am the kind of person who likes to say "I told you so," I hope all you radio talk show callers and bloggers who were calling for the Moose to be "put down" in early April are able to take notice that Mussina has won his last 5 starts and is now 6-and-3.

The Yankees bats aren't really where I would like them to be but it is nice to see some life in Cano who went 4-for-4 last night. More importantly though, it seems like Girardi has finally woken up to the fact that he needs to more aggressively manage this team. Perhaps it was the report from Hank demanding more fire from the team, but Joe is showing more signs of life too.

The Yanks will have a chance to even up the 4-game series against the Rays today at 4pm.

Yanks Fail... Rays Prevail

I think Matsui said it best:

"We shouldn't be depending on guys like Alex and Jorge to score. We should be able to score runs without their presence, as well,"

If you listen to some of the sports talk shows and read some of the press releases discussing last night's extra-innings, 2-to-1 Yankee loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, many will cite that New York is hurting without the strong slugging of Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. Ok. Fine. But wouldn't you think that the 12 players currently on the active roster could do better than 2 runs in the last 24 innings?

You can't blame Wang because there was nothing wrong with the way he pitched. Going seven innings and only giving up one run is something that any MLB club would take. You can't blame Rivera (and shame on you to anyone out there who is) because even the sandman is human. Go and try to find another 0.56 ERA closer. Joba did his part. Even Fartsworth gave the lineup a chance.

So, let's look at the lineup from last night:

Damon, DH .271
Jeter, SS .305
Abreu, RF .287
Matsui, LF .319
Giambi, 1B .194
Cabrera, CF .269
Cano, 2B .183
Gonzalez, 3B .290
a-Duncan, S, PH .188
Ensberg, 3B .219
Molina, C .203

I will let you make your own determinations here. One thing I don't understand is why Girardi would have Duncan (who has been ice cold lately) pinch hit for Gonzalez (who has been promising at .290) in the seventh.

So now we have the Rays in first place on a six-game winning streak while New York is making sure that our Canadian friends aren't too lonely at the bottom of the AL-East.

"It is only May," I keep telling myself. "It is only May."

See-Saw Baseball

I don't know about you but I am getting a little tired of watching the Yankees teeter on the .500 mark of baseball. With last night's 7-to-1 loss to the Rays in Tampa, the Yankees fell once again to one game below .500. This is the 8th time this season that this has happened... trust me, I have been counting.

It is rather amusing to me (insert sarcasm here) that it is the Tampa Bay Rays who are partially responsible for holding them back. Last night's Yankee lost translated to a Ray's win that put Tampa Bay six games above .500, the first time ever that that has happened in their franchise history. Who would have thought that this team would still be sitting in 2nd place and now just 1/2 game behind Boston? The truth is, Tampa played last night's game exactly the way the Yankees should be playing. They hit the ball well, were aggressive on the bases, and came through when there were runners in scoring position.

Yes, I realize that this a Yankee blog and it is pathetic that I have to find my excitement by writing about an opposing team. So let's talk about Pettitte and the Yankees. The last time that Andy Pettitte lost a start against Tampa, gas prices were at $1.15 a gallon and Bill Clinton was denying sexual relations; Windows 98 was just released and Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a first-run series. Although Pettitte started out the night looking sharp, he crashed in the 4th inning giving up 7 hits that scored 4 runs. For the first time this season, Pettitte left the game pitching less than 5 innings and did so with 82 throws across the plate. He was clearly distracted and admitted in the post game interview that he let the runners on base get to him.

Offensively, we had nothing. Gonzalez was the only one that showed any life at all really with 2 hits. Molina crossed the plate for the Yanks' only run.

Sorry to be so depressing, but sometimes you just have to write about what there is. Wang, Mussina, and Kennedy will try to do something with the next three games in Florida before Rasner gets a shot against the Mets on Friday night.