For C.C. Sabathia to start the year.
I guess he's a bust too. Maybe the Indians should send him down to AAA, huh?
Or maybe everyone should just relax for a little while with Kennedy and Hughes. Sometimes pitchers struggle, sometimes young pitchers struggle, and in Sabathia's case, sometimes Cy Young award winners struggle.
Here are some other guys that must to be sent down immediately:
Roy Oswalt: 1-3 with a 6.65 ERA
Justin Verlander: 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA
Matt Cain: 0-2, with a 6.64 ERA
A.J. Burnett: 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA
Tom Gorzelanny: 1-2 with a 9.35
Nobody would question these pitchers because of a few bad starts, and we shouldn't question Hughes and Kennedy yet based on the same small number of starts - bad starts happen, pitchers struggle, no reason to panic. Now if they continue to struggle for the entire year or longer, that's another thing.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 Comments:
I'm pretty panicked at the moment. The current starting rotation has me concerned. Wang is an ace. Pettitte is a workhorse, he'll get through innings even if he gives up runs. Mussina is at the point where he's going to have more bad outings than good. The problem is that his bad outings are so bad that he needs to come out early, thereby wearing down our bullpen.
Hughes and Kennedy are bound to have growing pains, but you'd like to see them go 6-7 innings and give up a few runs than just bomb out early. I think they'll both be fine starting pitchers in a year or two but it is difficult for a team that hopes to contend for a title to carry both of them at the same time. It is nearly impossible to carry both of them and Mussina.
I thought Moose would settle down. I thought Hughes would show flashes of brilliance mixed in with some rough outings. I really thought Ian Kennedy would be a total workhorse, with a so-so ERA but able to grind out innings. So far I haven't been too close to the mark.
Joe Girardi is starting get upset with the situation (which is good). If things don't turn around in the next week, I expect moves to be made. I hope they don't trade away the young arms, but I can't see management letting this rotation go on like this much longer.
I management doesn't get too upset too quickly. I totally agree with "relax." It is early in the season. When the Yankees have given they young guys some run support early they have calmed down and done okay. Kennedy left the last game at 7-2, even though he didn't get the win. In spring training, both did fine. This is the big stage; they are young kids; I sure hope management gives them time to adjust. I truly believe that both have the talent to be major contributors for a long time to come.
Big difference between CC and IPK and Hughes. CC is a proven pitcher in the majors. The whole problem with the Yanks plan is that there is no way to know whether or not these kids will ever be any good (see Mets3 young guns). THis is the part that has perplexed me from the off season on. Why did all the Yankee bloggers out there think that this was going to be a sure fired plan. It's pretty rare that young kids come up together and perform at this level. This is why Santana was a no brainer that got away. I'm not panicked because I can't say I'm surprised at all. The whole season was predicated on the arms of 3 kids with 14 combined starts.
Jeff,
Mussina is very important for this team. They need him to be reliable, which is a lot to ask from him.
And what moves can be made? and why only give it another week? Four starts aren’t enough to make a fair evaluation of a pitcher. If it were then we would know that Hughes and Kennedy can cut it because of how well they pitched last year.
If these guys pitch one good start each these early struggles will be a distant memory.
Anonymous-1,
Exactly, the team isn't scoring, and to me that's a lot more of a concern. Than a couple rookies have a tough time finding the strike zone.
Anonymous-2,
"Big difference between CC and IPK and Hughes. CC is a proven pitcher in the majors."
Yes, there’s a difference, but that's why it's important to understand that all pitchers can have a bad outing, or even 5 bad outings. And if C.C. was a Yankee there would be Yankees fans saying we shouldn’t resign him, and trade him immediately, etc. So fans would be overreacting in a similar way.
And I don't think anyone thought this was a "sure fire" plan. These kids do have good stuff, even last night, Kennedy's pitches had good movement and when he threw strikes he was striking guys out.
Hughes' stuff also looks good; he's also having some issues throwing strikes. This happens with young pitchers all the time.
"This is why Santana was a no brainer that got away."
We won't know one way or another for several years.
WOW?!?! So Hughes and Kennedy already have a strong enough track record that you'll bring up CC, Oswalt, Verlander, Matt Cain, Burnett and Gorz.
That is bold.
No, and nowhere in this post did I say that.
I'm not putting them on those other guy's levels. I'm saying that all pitchers can struggle for a few starts and we can't make too much out of three or four bad starts.
Some of you may not get where I'm coming from, and that's my fault. So I added this to the original post:
Nobody would question these pitchers because of a few bad starts, and we shouldn't question Hughes and Kennedy yet based on the same small number of starts - bad starts happen, pitchers struggle, no reason to panic. Now if they continue to struggle for the entire year or longer, that's another thing.
Post a Comment