Bottom of 9th: This one is over folks! Victor Martinez ripped a game-winning single to left to give the Indians a 4-3 victory. Ross Ohlendorf relieved Farnsie and was not sharp. He struck out Blake then served up back-to-back singles to Sizemore and Dellucci. After throwing a wild pitch, which moved both runners into scoring position, Ohlendorf intentionally walked Hafner to get the force at any plate, but couldn’t retire the talented Martinez. FINAL: Indians 4, Yanks 3.
Top of 9th: The Yanks missed yet another chance to score as the Captain grounded into an inning-ending double play with runners on first and third. Damon singled to center (his fourth hit) and took third on a base hit by Cabrera.
Bottom of 8th: Kyle Farnsworth relieved Hawkins and worked in and out of trouble. With two outs and runners on first and second, he struck out Gutierrez to keep things at 3-3. Indians manager Eric Wedge was tossed by second base umpire Derryl Cousins after arguing a call at second. Garko grounded to short and Jeter threw a wide throw to second, but Cousins called Martinez, who led off with a walk, out. It looked like Jeter’s throw took Cano off the bag.
Top of 8th: The Yanks go down in order. Cleveland’s Masa Kobayashi relieved Lewis and set down Bobby Abreu (who pinch hit for Duncan), Cano and Posada.
Bottom of 7th: Posado threw out the speedy Sizemore, who led off the inning with walk, as the dangerous Martinez was left standing at the plate. It was the first time Sizemore has been caught stealing in eight attempts.
Top of 7th: The Yankees just wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead. They had first and second with one out (on a leadoff double by Damon and an infield single by Jeter), but A-Rod struck out and Giambi popped out to shallow center. *sigh* The Yankees have 10 hits, three each by Damon and Jeter.
Bottom of 6th: As expected, Kennedy came out and just when it looked like LaTroy Hawkins would give up a run, Gonzalez made a nice play at third as he caught a liner by Blake and threw to first for the inning-ending double play. By the way, Cano, who pinch hit for Ensberg, is playing second, Gonzalez is at third and Posada is behind the plate.
Top of 6th: The Yankees finally got on the board. Jorge Posada pinch hit for Molina and lined a shot (off reliever Jensen Lewis) at Dellucci, who couldn’t come up with a diving catch, as A-Rod, Giambi and Duncan came around to score. Sowers allowed a single to A-Rod, plunked Giambi and walked Duncan before coming out. Yanks 3, Indians 3.
Bottom of 5th: Kennedy just threw his second perfect inning. Hafner lined out to Ensberg while Martinez and Garko flied out to Cabrera. I don’t want to jinx him, but he has seemed to settle down after a shaky first and second inning. Though, he is up to 105 pitches and he is likely done. By the way, nice posts by blogger “Hughes Your Daddy” on the Yanks minor league pitchers.
Top of 5th: The Yanks are still unable to figure out Sowers. They had two on and one out, but Cabrera lined into an inning-ending double play. Talk about a rally killer.
Bottom of 4th: Kennedy retired the side in order, his first 1-2-3 inning. The
Yanks have Molina, Gonzalez and Damon due up. Let’s see if they can get their bats going. The have just four hits so far -- two by Jeter.
Top of 4th: The Yanks failed to capitalize on a good start to the inning. Jeter and A-Rod led off with singles, but Giambi and Duncan flew out to left and Ensberg was called out on strikes. When are the Yankees going to start hitting?
Bottom of 3rd: Ok, Kennedy is back on track...for now. He had a relatively easy inning, but did issue another walk, which is his fourth of the afternoon.
Top of 3rd: Not much for the Yanks this inning other than a two-out double by Damon, who came hustling out of the box to stretch a single into a double.
Bottom of 2nd: Control issues have been Kennedy’s problem and this inning his control hurt him. With the bases loaded and one out, he walked Sizemore, gave up a sacrifice fly to Dellucci and an RBI single to Hafner before (thankfully) getting Martinez to fly out to left. Kennedy is up to 57 pitches. Indians 3, Yanks 0.
Top of 2nd: Giambi, who reached first on an error from Sowers, was thrown out at second to end the inning. Last night, Giambi crushed two homers. He has homered in 7 of 8 games at Progressive Field. (Which just doesn’t have the same ring as Jacobs Field).
Bottom of 1st: Ian Kennedy worked around a two-out walk to Travis Hafner and a bloop single to Victor Martinez as he got Ryan Garko to ground out to Morgan Ensberg at third. Jason Giambi, not known for his glove, made a nice scoop at first on a liner from Grady Sizemore to start the inning.
Top of 1st: Quiet inning for the Yanks. Jeter ripped a two-out single to right, but Damon flew out, Cabrera struck out looking and A-Rod, who went an 0-for-4 in his first game back last night, lined out to left.
By the way, the Indians are wearing their old uniforms -- they look good.
Hey everyone! Marc Jimenez here as today’s blogger as the Yanks and the Indians are getting ready to square off at 3:55pm. The Yankees bring Ian Kennedy to the hill. Let’s hope he can get on track and give the Yanks some quality innings. Kennedy is 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA in four starts. Meanwhile, Jeremy Sowers is making his season debut for the Indians, who have won four straight. In four starts at Triple-A Buffalo, Sowers went 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA.
In other sports news…Did you hear, the NFL draft is going on? (I know what you’re thinking, the NFL really needs to hype this thing more. Not enough attention is being paid to it). Check out Bob Glauber’s live coverage of the draft in between innings.
Jets pick ... Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State.
Be back after the first inning.
Comments (23)
Where the F is A-Rod?
Forget it he's DHing
IPK = DFA
Welcome back KEI hah
Kennedy if he doesn't pitch well let's say into the 5th or 6th inning after giving up 3 runs will probably be optioned to Scranton after the game.He was snake bit a little by a couple dink base hits .It is my feeling he'll be a good pitcher sometime soon but needs more work at triple A.
He certainly will not be DFA.Probably Rasner gets the call.
Rasner is pitching today for SWB. Let's see how he does before proclaiming that he'll get called up. I know he's pitched well so far, but let's keep looking. I'd rather see someone like Ohlendorf go down for Rasner. Ohlendorf is not an ideal long man, but that's how he's being used. I like him, I really do, but I think that he's being used in the wrong role. Also, and possibly more important, I want to see a spot open up in the SWB rotation. Dan McCutchen has been lights out in Trenton and I don't think they can afford to hold him there much longer. Here's an update through last night's game compliments of Ashish Skaria (I edited his write up slightly to correct the grammar):
Dan McCutchen got the start, and he was absolutely filthy. He pitched 7 innings allowing a run on a hit and a walk. That was great no doubt, but what was trully amazing was that McCutch was able strike out 12 batters in the process. Oh yeah, he also had a 7-3 GBO-FBO ratio. He was able to lower his ERA to 1.42 on the season.
Chad Jennings is reporting that it was Steven Jackson that was promoted to SWB and not David Robertson as the initial reports indicated. I'm disappointed to hear this, but am happy for Jackson. He has pitched well as I've discussed here before. Again, how good does that RJ trade look? Alberto Gonzalez, Ross Ohlendorf, Steven Jackson, and Luis Vizcaino...if that sandwich pick turns into something good, then wow!
More on McCutchen:
He's leading the Thunder in IPs with 31.2. In those IPs, he's amased an ERA of 1.42, a WHIP of 0.79 and 31 Ks against 7 BBs. He's given up 2 HRs on the year. I know I talk about him a lot, but there really is something special about this kid. I know I said I'd post pictures at some point and I'm really going to have to do that soon because I have two great pictures of Dan from the AA vs. AAA exhibition game when he was sititng in the stands. Anyway, here's hoping he gets the nod soon and that the Yanks don't convert him to a reliever.
I said if Kennedy doesn't rebound during this game he'd more than likely be sent down.It looks as though he saved his own butt.
I also said Rasner would PROBABLY get promoted.
HIP HIP....
Ruse: You're way too defensive, chill. I read your post, read exactly what you said and then provided a differing opinion. Probably means you believe it, so I offered what i thought was a better decision (my opinion). I don't think it would be good to send IPK down this early, but that's my opinion, just like yours was that he would probably or maybe it's more that you thought he should, be demoted if he didn't finish strong today. I don't think Rasner is a MLB starter and think it would be smarter to call up Igawa than Rasner if we were looking for a starter.
Kennedy is not getting sent down. At least not anytime soon. The team made a decision to gamble on these kids and they aren't going to pull the plug on this project this early.
Besides, neither Igawa nor Rasner is any kind of upgrade right now. Kennedy has nothing to learn in the minors.
Be patient. Good things will happen soon enough.
I never understood the "He's got nothing to learn in the minors" argument for keeping a guy at the ML level. If he stinks here then obviously he does have something to learn...and if he doesn't have anything to learn then what? Is this a baseball team or a tutorial class. If a guy can't get the job done you have 3 options.....send him down, release him or continue to allow him to lose for you.
Nudge,
If every team took that approach and sent down rookie pitchers that struggled their first month in the majors - those kids would never develop.
Not many kids come right out of the shoot and mow down major league hitters from the get-go.
Besides, as I said, the only other options right now is Rasner or Igawa and they are anything but an upgrade over Kennedy.
He's going to have more bad days, but he will be a better pitcher for it down the road.
From a Strategic Management Point of View ...
US$ 1 billion plus spent in salaries over the past 5 years.
What did we win?
US$ 1 billion plus in team equity. The richest franchise in any sport on the planet.
And who are our replacements for the rotation right now?
Igawa, who gave up a Grand Slam to a pimple-faced Tampa college teenager. (Cashman should have resigned in that very moment if he had any shame).
Rasner, Karstens ... Pavano?
Where are all of these vaunted kids we heard about? I know Hughes YD tried to explain it to me ... There's Betances, Marquez, Horne and the others? Brackman? The Trenton kids. Where are they?
Why haven't we developed ONE star lefty since Pettitte?
Lilly was drafted by the Expos and perfected by the A's. He doesn't count.
I just don't get it. How can all this money be spent yet team be so under-staffed?
I am at a loss.
Would real businessmen let Cashman run Coca-Cola or Microsoft this way?
Why does Colorado have far more talent for 20 percent of the payroll? Why can't we draft Troy K the shortstop and Hawpe and Helton and Holliday and Francis? Instead we have Be-a-mit, Farns, Igawa and the rest ...
Where are our scouts?
If the payroll was 50 million I wouldn't complain. But it's 200 million and a third of that is a total waste!
In the end it is just baseball. The Yankees have not won the World Series in 8 years. They won't win it this year. They won't win it next year.
We can still enjoy the games ... why get so upset anymore? It's like banging your head vs. a brick wall.
Until Cashman goes and Steinbrenner's son in law goes, nothing will change ...
Running a baseball team is a bit different than running Microsoft. No one can say with certainty how this season will pan out for the Yankees. However, I'm pleased that they have taken the approach that they have. After years of buying a team, they are finally developing some home grown players. The problem for some people is that they expect the results to be instantly outstanding. Brackman and Sanchez are two power pitchers who have had Tommy John surgery. Don't expect them to contribute this year. Igawa has performed decently in AAA and he may finally be on the verge of overcoming all the difficulties he has had since he was signed. The Yankees do spend a lot on scouting. I live in Australia and there are scouts over here. In baseball, money does not equate to instant success. The Yankees have finally figured that out and are now trying a different approach. Sure they'll be active in free agency but will also provide a lot of talent that was developed within the organization. Bettances is only very young, maybe younger than Hughes. He was 3-0 with plenty of strikeouts the last time I checked. He still needs to learn how to pitch and go through normal growing pains as he develops. Horne was injured earlier and has not gotten off to a brilliant start. The 200 million dollar roster has contracts that finish up next year. Hopefully, younger players will have more opportunities. We are currently 12-13 and it is ridiculous to base anything on such a small number of games. Hughes and Kennedy have been slow starters, as most reasonable people would have expected. It's likely that they will improve or if they don't then someone else will get a chance to produce. Playing for the Yankees brings with it a level of pressure not experienced anywhere else in baseball. True Yankee fans will be patient and ride out the current rough patches. A bounce of the ball cost us the game today. If Jeter's shot up the middle doesn't deflect off the mound and into a double play then we are at least one run up with the potential for more and Mariano to handle the 9th. That didn't happen but that's baseball. If the Yankees are 48-52 (the equivalent of our current 12-13) after 100 games, then you can say that the year may be lost, but not after 25 games.
Pitchers can learn a lot in the minors
Consistency-trusting your stuff,refining pitches.
Righetti who won the AL rookie of the yr award in 1981 was sent back to the minors in 1982 for a month to work on his stuff.
Majors are not for on the job training and for what used to be called "force feeding".
Kennedy is a very talented young pitcher who rebounded nicely yesterday which was a good sign.On the other hand he is considered NY 5th starter so hypothetically if he was sent down the Bombers wouldn't really lose much given what they've been getting from Kennedy so far this season if they called up Rasner or Igawa.
McCarver made a good point yesterday about the difference between inexperience (not trusting your stuff) and veteran presence.Talented veteran pitchers pitch from the middle part of the plate and work to the corners and off the plate while younger pitchers tend to nibble on the corners.You see this time and time again.
Once again I'm not advocating sending Kennedy down to Scranton but it has to be on Girardi's mind.A team cannot survive with starting pitching giving them 2-5 innings almost every night out.Maybe Kennedy is over the hump.
+ the offense has been lackluster to say the least.No one's hitting w/ RISP.
And looking at it from the kid's point of view, how much can it really benefit a young pitcher's development to keep him here just to be terrified and humiliated every fifth day?
If there is improvement (and we did see a bit last night compared with recent disasters) perhaps he can see some hope.
But he looked frightened and confused most of the times that the camera showed his face.
I am not in favor of giving up on him, or Hughes, but hope the team will do what is best for their development even if it means admitting mistakes were made and attempting a do-over out of the spotlight.
I agree that brighter days are ahead for them but wonder what kind of reception they'll face at the Stadium if those days don't begin fairly soon.
Again if you are not the Paying fan then this patience approach is null. people is not paying 150.00 a game to see a we'll see down the line pitcher lose games or have a no survival ration entering the 6th inning. Like i said before too much HYPE was applied to these kids and the hype led to pressure many of you crazies on here predicted these two to win 15 games each. it is possible but the hype is extreme sometimes maybe a reality check needs to be applied shoot was'nt the Great mantle sent down early in his rookie season?
It's a little early to call anyone over-hyped since it's not even May.
The Front Office made the decision to stick with the kids and not making the Santana deal. There's no going back now and the organization is not going to panic and pull the plug on this experiment after just 25 games.
Yankee fans, whether they are paying $150 a game or not, are going to have to learn to be patient or it's going to be a very long season. Greatness doesn't happen overnight.
If you're gonna send down Kennedy, who do you call up? Rasner? Igawa?
Horne is on the DL right now. Marquez is not ready.
Leave Kennedy where he is. He's a smart kid and knows how to pitch. He'll figure it out.
if you have to then yes you call up the smart hand for a start or two you do not let the kid stink it up out there he is supposed to be a control pitcher we are not saying now but by june if he is still looking like this he may have to go plain and simple right now the stage may be too pressured filled for him to correct himself. Try spot strarting Joba
No to spot starting Joba. That's a good way to get him hurt.
You make the switch once and leave him there. There's no going back and forth from reliever to starter and back to reliever.
Joba's arm is not conditioned to make a spot start right now and needs to be stretched out.
As for Kennedy, I'd rather watch him struggle than call up either Rasner or Igawa - two pitchers who you already know are not major league pitchers.
No use even thinking about additional physical challenges for Joba until we see how soon and how well he comes out of this injury.
Viper -
Is Russ O. a starter or was he always groomed to be a reliever?
after thinking about it Iagree with you on the Leave Joba alone notion.