It’s Up to Ian

It’ll be up to Ian Kennedy to work his way back into the Yankee rotation, as nothing looks guaranteed at this point. Kei Igawa will replace Kennedy for now, and hopefully, IPK will be back sooner rather than later.

Kennedy says Joe Girardi told him that attitude will play a large role in determining how fast he returns to the Yankees.

“If you want to pout and moan and stay there for awhile, that’s what is going to happen,” Kennedy said. “But if you want to go out there and work and continue to work, and pitch like you know how, you could be [back] here in a matter of a couple of starts. I’d rather have that happen.”

IPK will staighten himself out. I can’t see Igawa sticking around in the rotation for too long. He’s done fairly well in AAA so far and whatever he can provide for now will be just fine until Kennedy is back.

Sweeping Seattle

Darrell Rasner pitched very well today and the Yankee offense kept doing what its supposed to do against mediocre pitchers like Carlos Silva. How about that Melky Cabrera, hitting his 6th homer of the young season. Who knew Rasner would end up pitching for the Yankees in early May, especially when the Yanks let him walk in the offseason (they resigned him later, obviously).

Quick note on Phil Hughes. Bryan Hoch has a writeup on Hughes and how he’s dealing with his injury situation. Hughes is still sort of vague and uncertain as to how his rib injury occurred. He says that he felt it during his rain-shortened outing in Chicago. Hughes has been injured a lot over the past few seasons (4 out of 5 season, actually) and one has to wonder why. The answer seems fairly obvious when you think about it. He’s overthrowing when he gets into jams and his mechanics become troublesome. A few months ago, I asked whether or not Hughes’ mechanical issues should cause us to worry about his health. Judging from what we’ve seen this year, that question has been answered, and we should continue to worry about his health in the future, as well.

Yanks Demote Kennedy

The Yankees, despite all the talk about not demoting Ian Kennedy, have done exactly that in order to make room on the roster for Darrell Rasner. We’ll have to wait and see how this works out.

Here’s some more info courtesy of the AP (via USA Today):

“I was kind of surprised,” Kennedy said. “But it’s bound to happen if you don’t win, especially here.”

The 23-year-old right-hander lasted 4 2-3 innings in his most recent outing Thursday night against Detroit and got little help from his defense while squandering a 3-0 lead. He was expected to fill a slot at the back of New York’s rotation this year and acknowledged he was disappointed about being demoted.

“I just feel like I was making progress,” said Kennedy, who went 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts for the Yankees late last season. “I know that I don’t have as much confidence as I had last September.”

The move opened a roster spot for Rasner, who was set to start Sunday’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners in place of injured Phil Hughes.

The Yankees plan to give Rasner, 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA in five outings at Triple-A, another start Friday or Saturday in Detroit. Kei Igawa could be called up from Triple-A to pitch in that series as well.

“That’s the way we’re leaning right now,” general manager Brian Cashman said.

Igawa was 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA at Triple-A going into Sunday’s scheduled start against Durham. The Yankees spent $46 million to bring him over from Japan before last season and the left-hander finished a disappointing 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA in 14 games, including 12 starts.

To make room for Rasner on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred reliever Brian Bruney (right foot) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

As for Kennedy, he hopes to be back in the big leagues soon. The Yankees said that simply depends on how well he pitches in the minors.

“To me, this is just a little detour in his career,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He just needs to iron out some things.”

Hopefully, IPK will stick around after he adjusts his approach. I don’t think Yankee fans are terribly interested in seeing Kei Igawa pitch for the club.

Tabata’s Prospect Pressure

Jose Tabata is one of the best position prospects the Yankees have had in years (stats). He’s entrenched in the OF for the Yanks’ Double-A club and he’s been regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball (see Baseball America’s highly respected ranking system). Think of him as an untouchable, or at least he’s the closest thing to an untouchable that the Yankees have in their blossoming farm system. When asked about a comparison for Tabata, scouts and personnel are quick to liken him to a young Manny Ramirez, which is obviously a huge statement pertaining to the kid’s inherent ability and shining future.

Of course, that type of pressure can really get to a guy.

From John Nalbone:

Jose Tabata batted sixth and played right field against Portland last night, one day after the Thunder prospect finished serving a three-game suspension for storming out of the clubhouse and going home moments after striking out in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 7-4 loss to New Britain.

Despondent over a horrendous slump that has dropped his batting average to a season-low .188, the 19-year-old Tabata was reinstated by the Yankees prior to going 0-for-3 in Thursday’s 5-4 setback to Connecticut at Dodd Stadium.

“The expectations of who I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do finally got to me,” Tabata said through assistant coach and translator, Julius Matos. “I made an irrational decision. Maybe it was immaturity, inexperience or just that I didn’t know how to handle what was happening. I just kept thinking I am not producing the way I should be and maybe I didn’t belong here.”

The suspension first was reported by Double-A blogger Mike Ashmore Sunday and confirmed by Yankees vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman prior to last night’s game against the Sea Dogs.

With no home runs, 12 RBIs and just three extra-base hits heading into the weekend, Tabata slammed his bat down in frustration following the strikeout Saturday afternoon.

According to team sources, Tabata bolted from the dugout and headed to his locker, where the talented but struggling Venezuelan quickly gathered his things and left the stadium.

The game did not end until the 12th inning.

By then, Tabata was long gone.

“I just felt like I had to go,” Tabata said in an exclusive interview with The Times yesterday. “It was a rash decision, but after talking to my wife, she asked me if this was really what I wanted to do and if leaving (the team) was the right decision to make. I thought about it a little and realized I am not a quitter. I was either going to face the consequences, learn from this and grow, or I was going to run away. So, here I am.”

Tabata admitted he contemplated going so far as to ask the Yankees for his release, a request that most assuredly would have been denied.

Tabata first reconciled the potentially explosive situation with manager Tony Franklin, then his teammates, before rejoining the club in Norwich Tuesday.

“I was just really sad and upset … mainly at myself,” Tabata said. “But I realized that if I was man enough to quit on my teammates, then I would have to be double the man to come back and face them again, explain that I was sorry and make sure they knew it would not happen again. I am willing to do whatever it takes to earn their respect again.”

Tabata drove in the game’s first run last night with a second inning fielder’s choice, before being thrown out attempting to steal second base. He flied out to right field in the bottom of the fifth, extending his hitless skid to 15 at bats.

Tough stuff for Tabata, but this kid is just that–a kid. He’s 19 years old (yup, you heard me right) and there are bound to be a few bumps and bruises on the long road to success. I can understand the pressure Tabata is feeling, especially with Yankee fans becoming more and more aware of the team’s farm system via blogs and baseball magazines (technology, specifically the internet, has changed a lot for baseball). Anytime someone is compared to Manny Ramirez, the pressure is bound to take its toll.

Hopefully, he’ll learn to deal with his status as a top prospect as time passes by. If he can’t do that, he might as well forget about a career in NYC (hey, no pressure!).

(Props to Bronx Liaison).