YankeesRedSox.com

Given that Kennedy and Hughes have looked like Burbach and Verbanic(I date myself), I'd be inclined to go with what we have or with what we can pick up.

Also, I-Rod is going to have to show an ability to work with pitchers before we serve up the young guys to him. He must have done something right in Detroit and Florida, but doesn't he make you a little nervous?

I say keep Ponson going out there :)

who will fill the 8th, have the Yanks figured that one out yet? Seems Farnsworth was settling in there lately. That might be the bigger hole to fill right now.

I would DFA Ponson immediately and bring up Kennedy for another attempt. IPK certainly doesn't lack confidence and his stuff HAS to be better that Sidney's. I am really trying to avoid watching tonight's game - I hate watching us get killed.

Yep, a Sox fan would love to see Sidney stick with us - sort of like my always wanting to see Timlin come in at a crucial point, but ... :)

Speaking of the bottom of the rotation guys - I didn't like Rasner's most recent interview on the Yes Network. He struggled his entire outing but when asked what how he thought he did, he replied, "I felt good out there". Looked bad, but he felt good. Uh, OK ... I guess.

OK, so Sidney pitches a two hit shutout for 7 innings. I was SO wrong. Go figure ...

Losing that one hurts just the same.

Yes, Ponson threw a two-hit shutout, but he walked quite a few, ran up too many high pitch counts, was saved by a few good catches (Melky and two by -- believe it or not -- Abreu [and by the wall, no less]). It felt like he was flirting with danger most innings. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the big blow. He had two, maybe three easy innings. When Mo came out, I mentioned to my cousin that while Mo has been practically flawless in save situations, in situations like tonight's, he's not been quite as good. Damned if it didn't happen again. Watching the Yanks offense continue to sputter and leave men on base is so frustrating.

I'm not sure I agree that "IPK certainly doesn't lack confidence". I would argue that earlier this year, at the MLB level, he was not pitching with confidence. I think if the Yanks bring IPK and Hughes back up, they'll do better than they did earlier this year. Of course, that's not saying much as their collectibve ERA was about 9.00. I'm not so sure that they'll do much better than Rasner and Ponson. If Washburn can be had for nothing but cash, then I'd pick him up and drop Ponson. Tonight's performance notwithstanding, Pnson's ERA with the Yankees is, I think, not pretty (please let me know if I'm wrong, I haven't checked the numbers). When Hughes is ready, I'd drop Rasner. I'd leave IPK at AAA until the rosters expand in September.

I think the point about I-Rod and the young guys is well taken. Molina didn't hit worth a damn, but the pitchers absolutely loved pitching to him. It's hard to quantify, of course, but this must have played some role in the success the pitching staff had the first 8 games after the ASB.

I'm not expecting Wang back until 2009. If the Yanks miss the playoffs by a few games, I'll probably look back at Wang's injury as the biggest obstacle that they weren't able to overcome.

2 Words, Carl Pavano

Thanks for the laugh, Matt!

Interesting baseball weekend, no?

Three things to mention:

Rasner is not getting it done. Time to pull him.

To respond to Greg: Kennedy does not lack confidence in any way. He is so confident that he comes across as arrogant and cocky. He's silly to think he can live on the corners in the bigs and survive the same way some verteran pitchers do. But he is someone I would bring up to replace Rasner or Ponson. Perhaps he's been sufficiently humbled by now to actually learn from his coaches and the MLB catchers he'd be throwing to.

Another possible name of a pitcher who has been doing well in Scranton - who I have booed out of many an earlier game? Well, I'll just type his name and then exit quickly.

Ready?

Kei Igawa

Gardner .400 OBP in the majors? Yours at .350. Come on, I'm an optimst but really....

You're right Tim, it's very optimistic, but a guy can dream, can't he?