Friday’s Bits: Rotation, Rotation, Melky, Matsui, Pudge

Here are a few items of interest for Friday’s early birds (and Saturday’s insomniacs):

1. The rotation is in shambles—yes. With Joba Chamberlain’s rotator cuff tendinitis, which, while not a truly severe injury, can still force Joba out for a lengthy chunk of the season, the team will have to make some important moves. The club is teetering in the AL East and every pitching performance is now extremely valuable. With the season on the line, Ian Kennedy (Friday) and Dan Giese (Saturday) have been given opportunities, as they’ll face off agains the Angels in Anaheim. It’ll be particularly interesting to see how IPK reacts to a fresh start in the majors and I for one think that he’ll be able to handle the Angels’ lineup. Dan Giese will get the start over Rasner, and will replace him in the rotation for the time being. Also, rumors about Andy Pettitte and a possible arm injury are continuing to circulate despite Joe Girardi’s denials, so the team could use strong performances from both starters before Pettitte’s next scheduled start (which would be on Sunday).

2. Although IPK and Giese are getting opportunities right now, Phil Hughes and maybe even Carl Pavano are on the comeback trail. Hughes pitched 4.2 innings last night for AAA (1 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 2 BB), and Pavano went 3.2 for AA (1 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 ER). Pavano looked to be laboring a lot during his performance, so his contributions are highly doubtful (and tempered, at best), but Phil Hughes will definitely get another shot at proving himself down the stretch (barring setbacks, of course). If he returns, he’ll probably take Giese’s spot unless IPK drops the ball.

3. With all the pitching problems the Yankees have faced over the year (or should I say, over the years?), one arm has showed up, repeatedly, and that arm (it’s an old one) belongs to the “soft tossing” Mike Mussina. Mussina won his 15th game of the year last night (15-7 record), shutting down a potent Texas lineup for 7 innings while the meager Yankee offense struggled against the mediocre Scott Feldman. Moose certainly has a chance to become a 20-game winner for the first time in his long and accomplished career and, who knows, with a little bit of luck, he could even win 20+ in 2008.

4. Well Melk Man, it was nice while it lasted. It seems like Melky Cabrera’s days are numbered, as his role has been severely limited during the Texas series. With yesterday’s “day off”, Melky had missed 4 days in a row and now, fans are left wondering about Melky’s playing time as the season winds down. I mean, let’s face it, we all love Melky (as a sort of youthful character), but his defense has been the only thing keeping him in the lineup as of late. He’s not hitting much of anything anymore and a lineup that features Damon in CF seems ideal (offensively) as the team tries to make a playoff push. While Girardi is reportedly giving Melky a shot against the Angels tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him relegated to the bench by the season’s end.

5. Melky’s playing time could actually take a bigger hit if Hideki Matsui can return soon. Matsui began a running program for his sore knee yesterday (he’ll be joined by Joba Chamberlain today) and if his leg reacts well, he could be back with the team before season’s end. This would allow Joe Girardi to slide Matsui in as the regular DH, with Damon in CF, Nady in LF and Abreu in RF (no Melky). With the offensive inconsistencies we’ve witnessed in 2008, a lineup that featured that configuration would probably be best. At this point, I would expect Melky Cabrera to get traded in the offseason (Justin Christian could possibly be a decent 4th outfielder and a great set of bench wheels).

6. Finally, wrapping things up, we have some Pudge Rodriguez news. After a nasty collision on Wednesday, Pudge will likely return to the lineup in today’s game against the Angels. The Yankees need to win these games and they’re facing a truly tough team, so it’ll be important for them to have their best players on the field and Pudge’s return should bolster the offense a bit.

Back with more, later.