Friday’s Bits: The Early Morning Edition
Okay, with the work winding down, I’ll be posting regularly again. My apologies for the lack of posts these past few days. Let’s get right into it (no more bulletin points).
1) Well, the first bit of news for today is that Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens’ former friend and accuser, crashed his car into a NYC bus at around 12:30 pm in Queens (another car was involved as well). McNamee apparently fainted at the wheel, which ultimately caused the crash. explanation for the crash was that he has an ongoing medical problem. For some reason (call me crazy!), I feel as though this won’t be the last we hear of this accident.
2) Next up, while we’ve all been slightly worried about Phil Hughes’ recent rough outing (verse the Pirates), maybe even overly worried (it is just ST), Ian Kennedy continues to impress, as demonstrated by his performance against the Blue Jays. Joba Chamberlain also came in to the game knowing his role for the season (for now), and promptly struck out 3 Jays (I always want to say BJ’s but it sounds bad). Also, for all you Wilson Betemit fans (…), he had a big blast and a double to cap off his day.
3) Finally, Joe Girardi isn’t telling us about his bullpen or his bench, just yet. However, he has given us some decent clues and some good information to let us figure it out on our own. A few weeks ago, Joe Girardi stated that he would like to have a lefty (and a long-reliever) in the pen, but yesterday, he also stated that it is not a necessesity because he has faith in his righties. Basically, the bullpen has 3 open spots. I think Scott Patterson has earned one, I think Billy Traber will be in there (Girardi says it doesn’t matter but you get the feeling that he enjoys the matchup lefty option), and I say, give Chris Britton a shot (unless Girardi goes with Karstens as a long-man). A lot of new blood, but why not? Fill the pen up with guys who can throw strikes. Your other realistic options are Bruney, Ohlendorf, Veras, and Albaladejo and do you really have confidence in any of them to the point that you want to put them in the pen right away? Let them work on their stuff in AAA and if another guy totally impresses you, or if a reliever gets injured as the season progresses, you still have plenty of good in-house options that you can call on.
Girardi’s bench is also a mystery, as Wilson Betemit looks like the guy who’ll see the most time in the IF (SS, 3B, 2B) along with Shelley Duncan, who will only play 1B and the occasional OF. The Yankees basically have one other spot open, and I’m thinking it’ll go to Morgan Ensberg (not a utility guy like Nick Green, Ransom, etc.). Ensberg has showed his hitting abilities in the past and he’ll be a solid right-handed bat for Girardi to turn to. Girardi also called Ensberg a “strong candidate” if that even means anything. Maybe Ensberg can revitalize his career in NY. He’s still relatively young and his struggled these past few years could be attributed to an assortment of injuries.
