Game 117: Yanks VS. Angels

Here’s the lineup (via PA):

YANKEES (63-53)
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Cano 2B
I. Rodriguez C
Cabrera CF
Giese RHP

The Yankees need this game, period. They’ll face John Lackey. Be on the lookout for Robinson Cano, who is hitting .500 in the last 3 games.

A Chatty Moose

David Brown of Yahoo Sports has a nice interview up with Mike Mussina. They discuss an assortment of things, from curve balls to lame magazines. I especially enjoy the part where Mussina talks up how hard it is to win 20 games in this era (he’s so close).

(Thanks to RAB).

Sponsors Section

The iYankees Blog now has a sponsors section with links to various sites and organizations that have supported this blog in some manner (financial resources, physical resources, etc.). It’s great to know that there are people and companies out there who not only read this blog, but are willing to support it as it grows and develops. Be sure to check out the sponsors section if you get a chance.

I’m proud to say our first sponsor is Fuzzy Ink. Fuzzy Ink is an apparrel company that makes clothing with a mustache-theme, so it was a great sponsor for a Yankee blog in light of Jason Giambi’s recent mustache-driven season. Although Giambi has recently shaved off the stache, it’s still immortalized on a great t-shirt by the guys at Fuzzy Ink. I actually got one just a week or so before he shaved off his stache and it’s pretty cool, indeed. Thanks to FI for helping me kick off the sponsors section.

If you’d like to help support this blog and become an iYankee Sponsor, feel free to email me at i-Yankees@hotmail.com. Okay, back to baseball matters.

Manny Wants To Be A Yankee

From George King III (NY Post):

Having successfully orchestrated his divorce from Boston and his landing in with the Dodgers, Manny Ramirez would like to make life miserable for the Red Sox during the next few seasons.

According to people who have spoken to the eccentric outfielder since he was dealt to L.A. on July 31, Ramirez wants to sign a free-agent deal with the Yankees this offseason and get 19 chances a year to punish Boston.

“He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox,” a close friend of Ramirez’s told The Post.

Of course, every free agent says he wants to play for the Yankees. They pay well, will always have a chance to make the postseason, and when they show an interest in a free agent, the price from other clubs skyrockets.

Considering Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, every imaginable angle will be played when the 36-year-old, a product of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, will become a free agent following the World Series.

I’d actually like to see Manny Ramirez wearing pinstripes and beating up Red Sox pitching. Although he’s 36, he’s still a great hitter and I think he’d be productive for at least, one more contract. I’d actually take Manny over Giambi at DH, then have Nady, Damon and, uh, Melky in CF (or, Melky can become a 4th OF and Damon could be our regular CF with Abreu resigned and back in RF, although I doubt that would happen). Manny is very consistent, while Giambi is extremely streaky and one-dimensional. Plus, we all know how good Manny is in Yankee Stadium and how damaging he could be to the Red Sox and their morale if he’s motivated to play against them.

Also, according to the poll on the right side, most of you (55%) do want to see Manny in pinstripes. Remember to keep voting, since that poll will be up all year.

Pudge Bit

A quick note on Pudge. He was supposed to be back in the lineup last night (catching and hitting), but his knee is still a bit sore. He’s been icing it and hopes to be back in the lineup tonight, catching Dan Giese. You know, with Pudge out last night, maybe the Yankees should have went with their best offensive lineup. That would have had Damon in CF, Nady in LF and Abreu in RF. Right now, there’s just not enough time to wait on Melky (defense aside).

IPK Digs Himself Deeper

Here’s an interesting post from PA:

Ian Kennedy gave up more hits (nine) than he got outs (six). But he didn’t think he pitched poorly.

“I felt like I made some good pitches,” he said. “I’m not too upset about it. … What was it, a bunch of singles and three doubles? I’m just not real upset about it. I’m just going to move on and I’ve already done that.”

Those comments will not be popular among his teammates or within the front office.

Joe Girardi said after the game that Kennedy is in the rotation and needs to pitch better against the Twins on Wednesday. But what Kennedy said tonight could change that.

It’s important to have a short memory when you’re a major leaguer. We’ve heard Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter say that 1,000 times. It’s quite another to get shelled and act like it doesn’t matter. Andy Pettitte would have been trying to drown himself in the whirlpool after a game like that.

It will be interesting to see how Girardi handles this. There are plenty of managers who would put the rookie on the first flight back to the minors.

At the beginning of the game, Singleton or Cone had said that some of the Yankee players thought that IPK was somewhat cocky when he came into the 2008 season. They felt the cockiness was unwarranted too, especially since Kennedy hadn’t really done anything in the majors. This comment isn’t going to win over any of those doubters and it certainly won’t increase his popularity in the clubhouse. However, IPK seems like he’s trying to turn the page and that’s obviously important. The method wasn’t exactly the best, but if it works, that’s all that really matters (in the end).

The rest of his year rides on his next start against Minnesota, if he gets that far, but you also have to remember that the Yankees don’t really have anyone else other than Darrell Rasner to pitch. Girardi and others may be irked by these comments, but what can they do? They just can’t teach anyone lessons right now. It’s too late for that.

What To Make Of IPK

Ian Kennedy was terrible last night. He’s probably one of the more frustrating rookies we’ve ever seen. His performance was so awful, in fact, that I cringed whenever he threw one of his patented 87-88 mph fastballs (I thought Kennedy could get it up to 91, but I guess I “misremembered”). However, I wouldn’t write him off just yet.

David Cone’s assessment of Kennedy’s performance last night was spot on. Kennedy barely changed the eye level of hitters. He tried just a handful of times with pitches that dove out of the zone, but it wasn’t enough. Last night, we basically saw fastball-change and a “meh” slider (all belt high) that didn’t really do much of anything. Ken Singleton kept asking where Ian Kennedy’s curve ball was, and I was left wondering the same thing. He needed to use all of his pitches and for whatever reason it didn’t look like he was doing that. The offense tried to battle back and overcome the Kennedy-Rasner-Bruney combination that had dug them into a deep hole, but it just wasn’t happening (although Rasner’s job was decent).

I actually don’t think Ian Kennedy will get another shot in the rotation (this year) and if he does, he’ll likely get one more chance and one more chance alone, to prove himself. When you’re hunting for a playoff spot, that’s the nature of the beast, as the team just doesn’t have the time to experiment. But, as I stated before, IPK shouldn’t be thought of as a failure just yet. His body of work in the majors is too small (not even 100 IP) to judge, while his minor league career is too much to ignore. Maybe he should journey back to AAA for another year and refine his other pitches (curve in particular) a bit more before making the leap. I’m not too sure what should be done, but something just isn’t right and it needs to be addressed. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pitch in the minors for all of next year, actually.