Kennedy gets another shot against first place Rays..

IPK is back and looking to prove himself. He made one start int he minors and completely dominated. He went 8.1 IP allowing 2 hits and struck out 8 batters. He got the win and issued no walks. I hope he can carry some of that stuff to today’s game. Robbie Cano seems to be breaking out as he is 14 for his last 37. (.378 )

Girardi on Kennedy….

“I have a good idea what I’m going to see. I believe I’m going to see a guy have a good outing,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We wouldn’t have called him back if we didn’t believe that. We feel he’s going to attack the zone and throw strikes, and he’s going to compete and give us a good opportunity to win.”

Pitching Match Up:

RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.37 ERA)   vs.   LHP Scott Kazmir (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

Yankees Lineup:

Damon LF
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Giambi DH
Duncan RF
Ensberg 1B
Cano 2B
Gonzalez 3B
Molina C

Game News & Notes:

• Abreu and Matsui are getting the day off against LHP Scott Kazmir.
• Kei Igawa was sent down to Triple-A Scranton.

The game will be televised on the YES Network at 4:10PM ET, which will take place at Tropicana Field. The game can also be heard on the radio on WCBS 880.

Yanks Ace looking to put teams struggles behind them..Arod looking to return next week

    The Yankees are currently four games behind the first place Red Sox. They also have two games in hand on them. It seems like the teams would be in dead last place, but know body is pulling away with the division. The injuries, pitching struggles, and lack of hitting in RISP hasn’t helped. Once Arod and Posada come back I feel the team will start rolling again, but for now they need to keep themselves in the race and at least play .500 baseball..if not better.

    Yankees RHP Chien-Ming Wang will start tonight against the Rays. He might be the new “stopper” for the Yanks. Edwin Jackson will start for the Rays.

Edwin Jackson’s Career Stats against Yanks:

(W-L) 2-2  31.2IP  5.40ERA  32 H  21R  19ER  18 BB  22K   

Pitching Match Up:

RHP Chien-Ming Wang (6-1, 3.12 ERA)   vs.   RHP Edwin Jackson (2-3, 4.04 ERA)

Yankees Lineup:

Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Gonzalez 3B
Molina C

News & Notes:

• Wang is 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA over his last nine starts vs. the Rays
• Arod is looking to get back in the Yankees lineup next week in the Orioles series opener. The team is not looking to rush him and are leaving him out for precautionary reasons.
• Yanks are trying to prevent the Rays from winning 6 games in a row.

The game will be televised on the YES Network at 7:10PM ET which will take place at Tropicana Field. The game can also be heard on the radio on WCBS 880.

Pettitte & Yanks head down to the Trop…

Andy Pettitte will be pitching tonight for the Yanks trying to bring the team back over .500. The Rays are a hot team at the moment, and the Yanks will try and put them back where they belong. haha.

Matt Garza’s Career Stats against Yanks:  (W-L)  0-1  6.2IP  6.75 ERA  9H  5R  5ER  4BB  3K

Pitching Match Up:

LHP Andy Pettitte  (3-3, 3.77 ERA)   vs.   RHP Matt Garza  (1-1, 4.91 ERA) 

Yankees Lineup:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gonzalez 3B

Game News & Notes:

• Arod had his MRI today, but it revealed that he wasn’t just ready to start playing in rehab games. He will be out through the Mets series.
• Peter Abraham reports that Igawa will be moved to the bullpen. Ian Kennedy will most likely start on Thursday for the Yanks to fill the hole in the rotation.

The game will be televised on the YES Network at 7:00PM ET at Tropicana Field. It can also be heard on the radio on WCBS 880.

Rasner improves to 2-0. Betemit goes down again. Gonzalez coming back?

Darrell Rasner has been a delight to watch considering the Yankees pitching struggles so far this season. He works quick, throws strikes, and picks up wins. Rasner pitched 6 solid innings allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs. The bullpen looked great today. Farnsy got into some trouble, but he got out of his own jam not allowing an ER. Joba and Mo did what they usually do and shut the door.

Derek Jeter showed some power today as he hit his first home run of the season. The Yanks picked up a total of 9 hits on the day and drew 5 walks. The Yankees need to be more patient at the plate..especially with Posada and Arod out of the lineup. They did a good job today making Bonderman work.

Pitching Stats:

Darrell Rasner  W (2-0)  6IP  4H  2R  2ER  1BB  1K

Jeremy Bonderman  L (2-4)  4IP  6H  5R  5ER  4BB  3K

Joba Chamberlain 1IP  0H  0R  0BB  1K

Mariano Rivera  S (10)  1IP  1H  0R  0BB

Hitting Stats:

Derek Jeter  2-5  2R  1RBI  (HR, Single)

Bobby Abreu  2-4  2R  1RBI  (Double, Single)

Jason Giambi  1-3  1RBI  1BB  (Double)

Robinson Cano  1-3  1R  1BB  (Single)

Final Score: 5-2 Yankees

Notes-

• Wilson Betemit will be placed on the 15-day DL tomorrow with a hamstring injury. Alberto Gonzalez will be recalled from Scranton to replace him.
• Mariano Rivera is a perfect 10 for 10 in save situations this season.
• Tomorrow’s pitching match up:  LHP Andy Pettitte   vs.  LHP Nate Robertson

Yanks head to Motown for some revenge against the Tigers

Kei Igawa will be making his season debut today. He has yet to live up to the great expectations the Yankees have put on him. I think Yankee fans should just be looking for him to keep the team in the game and hopefully throw strikes. He will be opposing Kenny Rogers.

Pitching Match Up:

LHP Kei Igawa (0-0, 0.00 ERA)   vs.   LHP Kenny Rogers (2-3 6.27 ERA)

Yankees Lineup:

Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Duncan 1B
Giambi DH
Betemit 3B
Cano 2B
Moeller C

Game News & Notes:

• Kei Igawa will be making his 2008 season debut. His stats int he minors this year were: 39.2 IP  (W-L) 3-3  3.86 ERA  33 H  17 ER  12 BB  40 K.
• Mariano Rivera is 10-for-10 in save opportunities this year. He just made the 800th appearance of his career yesterday.
• Chris Britton was optioned to AAA Scranton
• Kyle Farnsworth ban was cut to one game after an appeal by the Yankees reliever.

The game will be televised on MY9 at 7:05PM ET. the game will be at Comerica Park in Detroit. The game can also be heard on the  on WCBS 880.

 

The Unbeaten go face to face. Wanger vs. Lee

Chien-Ming Wang and Cliff Lee both have perfect records so far this season. Wang is 6-0 & Lee is 5-0. Over the years, Cliff Lee hasn’t had great numbers against the Yankees with a career 6.82 ERA. This seems to be a different pitcher, so I don’t know exactly what to expect. Wang has been the Yankees most reliable pitcher so far this season and he has acted like an ace, which many said he wasn’t after his collapse last year in the postseason.

Derek Jeter is eight for his last thirteen at-bats and has looked really good since coming off the DL. He hasn’t hit the ball extremely hard, but he is hitting ground balls up the middle and finding holes. Hideki Matsui is riding a 15 game hit streak and hopes to keep it up tonight.

Pitching Match up:

RHP Chien-Ming Wang (6-0, 3.00 ERA)   vs.   LHP Cliff Lee (5-0, 0.96 ERA)

Yankees Lineup:
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Duncan 1B
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Ensberg 3B
Molina C

Game News & Notes:

• Hideki Matsui is currently in the middle of a career-high 15 game hitting streak.
• Cliff Lee’s Career Statistics against the Yanks: 33IP  (W-L) 2-3  6.82 ERA  40 H  25 ER  13 BB  23 K
• Alex Rodriguez could possibly rejoin the team next Wednesday. He will be headed down to Tampa tomorrow to begin his rehab assignment.

The game will be televised on the YES Network & ESPN at 7:05PM ET. The game will be held at Yankee Stadium. The game can also be heard on the radio on WCBS 880.

Yankees host the tribe in the Bronx..Kennedy starts for Scranton

Andy Pettitte will be taking the hill tonight aginst the Cleveland Indians. Pettitte has been up and down so far this year, but he is usually a solid pitcher throughout the season. I am not worried about him, but it seems like he has been giving up to many home runs. I’ve noticed that he usually cruises early on, and he has one bad inning that ruins his start. Hoping for big things out of him tonight. It won’t be that easy though, as the Yankees hitters will have to face Fausto Carmona. Carmona has looked pretty good this year, but he is leading the league in walks.

-Robinson Cano has shown a sign that he may be coming out of his slump as he hit a home run in his last game. His bat would be a big boost to the lineup as they are without Posada and Arod.

Pitching Match Up:

RHP Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.60 ERA)    vs.   LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.93 ERA)

Yankees Lineup:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Betemit 3B
Molina C

Game News & Notes:

• Wilson Betemit has been activated off the DL..he is in the lineup today.
• Ian Kennedy will pitch today for AAA Scranton as he makes his first start since being sent down to the minors. He will be starting against LHP Wes Whisler. Hope he does well.

The game will be televised on the YES Network at 7:00PM ET at Yankee Stadium. The game can also be heard on the radio on WCBS 880.

  

2008 Tampa Yankees Minor League Review

Tampa Yankees Minor League Review (Record: 17-13)

Tim Battle  76AB  8R  16H  3HR  6RBI  4BB  2SB  .211AVG

Eduardo Nunez  79AB  8R  21H  1HR  10RBI  3BB  1SB  .266AVG

Damon Sublett  97AB  11R  26H  1HR  9RBI  14BB  3SB  .268AVG

Jose Gil  38AB  2R  12H  0HR  1RBI  3BB  2SB  .316AVG

*Eric Hacker*  40IP  (W-L) 2-1  0.90ERA  20H  6R  4ER  5BB  26K

*Ryan Pope*  30.1IP  (W-L) 2-2  2.67ERA  29H  16R  9ER  8BB  22K

*Michael Dunn*  29.1IP  (W-L) 1-1  2.76ERA  29H  12R  9ER 15BB  26K

*Mark Melancon* 19IP  (W-L) 1-0  3.32ERA  19H  7R  7ER  5BB  13K

*Jose Valdez*  15.2IP  (W-L) 4-1  1.15ERA  10H  2R  2ER  3BB  11K

   

Yanks have the day off..Cleveland Series starts tomorrow

Yankees have the day off today after completing a three game sweep of the Seattle Mariners. They will open up a three game series with the Cleveland Indians tomorrow. The pitching match ups will be:

Tuesday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte , 3-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. Indians (Fausto Carmona, 3-1, 2.60 ERA), 7:05p.m. ET
Wednesday: Yankees (Chien-Ming Wang, 6-0, 3.00) vs. Indians (Cliff Lee, 5-0, 0.96), 7:05 p.m. ET
Thursday: Yankees (Mike Mussina, 3-3, 3.93) vs. Indians (Paul Byrd, 1-2, 3.74), 1:05 p.m. ET

Moooooosee strings together three consecutive wins as Yanks top Mariners

Sorry about not having a Yankee pregame summary today…

Since Hank Steinbrenner made some fiery statements about Mussina, he seems to be a whole different pitcher. In his last 3 starts he is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA. Yankees bats picked up 13 hits today, and looked good with RISP. This is exactly what the team needs with Arod and Posada out of the lineup.

Mussina shares his feelings…

“I just wanted to come out this year and prove to myself, more than anything, that I could still be competitive at this level and do what I’ve been doing for all these years. You have a bad year and you don’t know what is going to happen the next year. When you start getting up in your 30s, you are not really sure what is going to happen. I wasn’t really sure if all that stuff that happened to me last year was going to linger, carry over or cause any residual problems.”

Pitching Stats:

RHP Mike Mussina- W (4-3) 6IP  7H  1R  1ER  0BB  5K

RHP Feliz Hernandez- L (2-2) 5.2IP  12H  6R  6ER  3BB  3K

Hitting Stats:

Johnny Damon- 3-5  3R  2RBI  (HR, 2 Doubles)

Derek Jeter- 3-5  1R  1RBI  (Double, 2 Singles)

Bobby Abreu- 2-4  1RBI  1BB  1SB  (2 Singles)

Hideki Matsui- 2-5  1R  1RBI  (2 Singles)

Melky Cabrera- 2-4  1RBI  (Double, Single)

Jose Molina- 1-3  1R  1BB (Single)

Final Score: 6-1 Yankees

Tomorrow’s game will start at 1:05PM ET on the YES Network. Darrell Rasner will get the call as Phil Hughes is on the DL. He dominated in Scranton, and the team has hopes that he can bring it to the Bronx. He will be oppsing Carlos Silva.

RHP Carlos Silva (3-0, 2.79 ERA)   vs.   RHP Darrell Rasner (0-0, 0.00 ERA)