Joe Girardi should work for the government…

From PA (LoHud):

Pre-game question to Joe Girardi: “Marte has thrown 12 pitches in the last nine days, you haven’t used him much. Is he OK physically?”

Answer: “Oh, he’s fine. I had him up last night. Physically he’s OK.”

Question: “It seems strange because he hasn’t pitched much.”

Answer: “No, no. It’s just when the situation presents itself.”

Question to Marte after the game: “You had a few days off, did you feel strong today?”

Answer: “I did. For the last week I’ve had inflammation in my elbow. That has been bothering me. They gave me some days off.”

As he talked, Marte’s left elbow was wrapped in enough ice to chill three cases of beer.

Hmmm…

One thing we’ve learned about Joe Girardi this season is that he’s extremely vague and some would say downright “dishonest” when it comes to team matters, specifically those that relate to injuries. He’s done this over and over again. It’s not really that serious, but I think it’s nice for the fans to know why a player isn’t performing, especially if there is a health-issue involved. It seems like that would be the fair thing to do for the player as well (so people would understand why he’s struggling).

While this seems minor, these fuzzy moments of truth (there have been multiple incidents) can often hurt a manager’s credibility with writers, fans, and so on and so forth. Joe should just help himself out and be a bit more truthful in his responses (especially if the injured player is going to contradict him with the facts). Where’s the downside in that (or am I being too hard on the guy)?

Rasner’s Replacement

While Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are always in the mix for a start, there are a couple of other candidates that could possibly take Darrell Rasner’s place in the rotation (assuming Joba won’t be back until some time next month). Realistically, Rasner just doesn’t have it and the Yankees may not be able to survive with him in their rotation. With that said, here are a few guys (some dark horses) who could step in for a start and could possibly replace Rasner.

1. Victor Zambrano – Zambrano is what he is and was rumored to be a candidate for Saturday’s start, which ultimately went to Carl Pavano. While Zambrano has been plagued by injuries (serious ones at that) and dreadful performances (he had a 9.45 ERA and 2.30 WHIP for Colorado’s AAA team this year), he has been stellar for the Yanks at Double-A. There, he has pitched 12 innings, giving up only 1 ER on 7 hits, with 2 BB, and 11 K’s. That’s a good line (in the minors), but we’ve been fooled before, so we’ll see. Zambrano actually pitched well on Saturday night, going 7 innings, giving up 1 ER on 3 hits while striking out 6. He walked one, which is a good sign.

2. Alfredo Aceves – Everyone was talking about Aceves a few months ago, however, upon his promotion to SWB, his star quickly faded after a few bumps in the road. He was giving up too many runs on too many hits and wasn’t going deep into games. Nevertheless, he could be finding his stroke, yet again, as his past two outings have been very solid (12 IP, 2 ER, 5 BB, 16 K). In his latest start (today), Aceves actually faced Cleveland’s AAA squad and their lineup included Victor Martinez, Josh Barfield and Travis Hafner (they’re on rehab assignments). He went 6 innings, gave up zero runs, and struck out 8. That’s an eye-opening performance and it could be the leverage he needs for his shot.

3. Chase Wright – That’s right, our boy Wright. Wright (a lefty) has been having a quiet, yet great 2008. For SWB, Wright has thrown 30.2 innings and has given up 7 ER on 20 hits. He has only walked 8 batters and has struck out 16. His ERA is a pristine 2.05 (2.65 total) and he was solid in his last effort (last night), going 7 innings while only giving up 5 hits. He allowed no runs and struck out 3. Wright, as we all know, struggled when called up last year, however, he seems to have figured it out right now. Out of all the dark horse candidates, he’s probably the biggest long shot. But, you can’t argue with the results.

What do you think? Will Darrell Rasner stick, or will he be replaced?

Sweepy

The Yankees won a wild one, beating the Orioles 8-7, as they finally got to Daniel Cabrera (he had won his last 3 starts against NY), knocking him out of the game in the 4th inning. Cabrera gave up 7 ER and things were looking pretty for the Yanks. Then, however, Darrell Rasner came out and gave up 5 runs, 3 of which were earned (Jeter and Nady errors), and Rasner, like Cabrera, failed to make it out of the 4th inning. Rasner has been pretty miserable in the rotation and I think his time as a starter has finally come to an end. While he gave up only 3 ER, he didn’t look good at all (2 BB and 2 HR in 3.1 IP), and his season ERA is now over 5. Despite the poor start and an already taxed bullpen, the Yankee relievers came through (for the most part) and ultimately held the lead (thanks to a 7th inning homer from Robbie Cano).

The Red Sox won today, so the Yankees didn’t gain any ground in the Wild Card chase, but they definitely gained some momentum after the sweep, their first road sweep of an AL team this season (yup). With an off-day tomorrow, they’ll square off against the Red Sox for a 3-game set beginning Tuesday. The series could likely define the rest of the season for both teams. Luckily for the Yankees, the pitching matchups seem pretty favorable now that Rasner and Pavano’s starts are out of the way. The Yankees won’t see Dice-K or Beckett during the 3-game set as they’ll send Andy Pettitte, Sidney Ponson (pray), and Mike Mussina to the mound (in that order). The Sox will counter with Tim Wakefield, Paul Byrd and Jon Lester (the toughest of the bunch).

Game 130: Yanks VS. Orioles

From the man himself, PA:

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
I. Rodriguez C
Rasner RHP

The Yankees are only 5 back in the Wild Card race and can close the gap with a win here tonight. The Red Sox are facing off against the Blue Jays and their anemic offense, however, the Jays have AJ Burnett on the mound, so that’s a break for us as we square off against the very wild Daniel Cabrera. Somehow, Cabrera has found out how to pitch against the Yankees, and in his last start against us, he went 7 strong innings, giving up 3 ER and 8 hits. In fact, he has 3 wins and a 3.15 ERA in 20 IP against the Yankees, this year, and has yet to lose a game against them. Seems like he’s due for a bad outing.

STILL ALIVE — Be on the lookout for Jason Giambi’s bat. I’ve ragged on him these past few weeks but it looks like his offense may be gearing up for a nice run. In his past 3 games, Giambi has 5 hits, including a 3-run homer. He has a .313 AVG and a .621 OBP (albeit, his SLG is a lowly .313) against Daniel Cabrera. If Giambi was looking to string something together, he’s run into the right pitcher.

Let’s get the brooms ready.