Let's Use Our Heads
There are a ton of stories in the paper today about how yesterday's rainout helped the Yankees. The thinking is that because the rain washed out Andy Pettitte's start, the Yankees can shift the rotation and skip Igawa's scheduled turn on Wednesday. All of that is true, but consider the fact that by pitching today Pettitte will not be able to make his scheduled start on Friday which is the opener of the Subway Series.
Add in the fact that the Mets were rained out last Friday and had to play two on Saturday. They used Santana and Pelfrey in their two games Saturday. They play this upcoming Thursday and then head to the Stadium Friday. They can slot Pelfrey and Santana however they want for those two games so does anyone doubt that they will save Santana for Friday night against the Yankees?
Because of the rain, the Yankees have to chose when they want to pitch Rasner, Thursday or Friday, they will need to use either Igawa or the infamous "TBA" for the other start. Considering the opponent and likely starter, I think it is unlikely you would see any of the rookies, including Kennedy make Friday's start. So, I would imagine Rasner goes Friday and that leaves Thursday's start up in the air. This is just a guess, but I would suspect that Dan Giese, the 30-year old journeyman who is doing well in AAA gets the call. Giese pitched for Scranton on Saturday which means he is in turn and he has a 1.13 ERA in 39 innings so far this year. My backup candidate would be Chase Wright. Wright is only at AA, but he has pitched pretty well and we have obviously seen him before. Wright's one advantage is that he is already on the 40-man roster. The Yankees could move Cervelli to the 60-day DL to make room for Giese so I don't think it is that big an advantage.
I think the one thing every Yankees' fan can agree on is that we don't want to see Igawa again. Stay tuned....
UPDATE 6:10PM- Apparently it will be Kennedy pitching Thursday. Is one start in the minors enough to have fixed him? I'm not sure about that, though I favor using him over Igawa. The problem is, what do the Yankees do if he bombs on Thursday? And, what do they do with Igawa at this point? That's definitely $46 million down the tank, but how long do they continue to pretend he has a future in New York as a starter? How about trying him as a reliever now and see if that does anything to improve his value?
Comments
I think Kennedy is cocky enough to give another chance after his recent humiliation - being sent down. As the saying goes, we'll see what we see.
Iggy is not a guy that I would guess would transform into a decent reliever. It's not as if he would transform into a different guy if he no longer had to pace himself for a 90 pitch outing - he just doesn't have the stuff or the control to get guys out - even if it's for one batter (would that make him a ROOGY - jeez, I think I'll let that drop right now). As far as the $46MM? Forget it, it's lost at this point unless he transforms into Aaron Small for 5 games and Cash can swap him for a catcher. Hey, I can dream with the best of 'em.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 12, 2008 07:19 PM
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Mitchell
Can't disagree and I am 99% sure that he is a sunk cost, but I figure a lefty who is still breathing must have some value to someone. How do the Yankees unlock that and get him out of the system?
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 12, 2008 08:13 PM
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Peter - I think all we can do is hope that Iggy finds a role of some sort with the team and demonstrates some value as a major league player. That seems to be the only way. If he shows some competence, they can find a way to deal him.
I just read that Iggy is still on the 25 man roster and that he's been or is being considered a long reliever. I've been wrong before and I'd love to be just that when I say that I just don't see him working out well in that role (please be wrong, please be wrong).
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 12, 2008 11:11 PM
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