Ian Kennedy

We had heard over and over that the Yankees were not going to rush Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain and other pitchers through the minors. Yet that's exactly what they did in 2007, an

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depth, with Chien-Ming Wang joining nine other Yankee pitchers on the DL, including future hotshots Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes. That leaves them with a rotation of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Darrell Rasner, and a still-developing Joba Chamberlain, with Dan Giese expected to step into the fifth starter role.  That’s a shallow rotation, weighted at the older and younger ends like a barbell. Hurry up, C.C. Sabathia.

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ll being stretched out as a starter) and Darrell Rasner, filling in for an injured (and struggling) Ian Kennedy. 

None of these guys are legit #1 starters; Pettitte, who is past his prime, couldn't handle the burden when he was with the Astros, and he's the best guy to take the job now. Moose is also too old, and Rasner/Kennedy or Chamberlain is too young, though Joba's got #1 potential someday.

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After last night's disaster in Joba Chamberlain's first career start, things were back to normal tonight for the Yankees as they didn't have to deal with the media circus.

 Mike Mussina took the ball looking to get the Yankees back on track by ending their three-game losing streak.  He did so, pitching six effective innings and earning the win.  The win was number nine for Mussina, which ties him for the league lead. Mussina, whose loss of velocity has been well documented this season, kept the Bluejays hitters off balanced with an array of different offspeed pitches and a fastball which sported impressive late movement.  One night after Chamberlain went 2.1 innings in his first start, the Yankees were in need of a good start to give the bullpen a bit of a breather and Mussina provided that.

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through the years that only "can't-miss" prospects like Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy (two-thirds of whom are struggling or injured) still remain. There are more prospects behind them, but they're a year or two away, at least, and the Yanks must clear room for them by shedding some of their aging vets.

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-This is a little dated now because Ian Kennedy threw much better last night but the Yankees need him and Phil Hughes to step it up.  They also need Damon, Cano and Giambi to give them something (again this is a little late because Damon had a nice night and Cano hit the game winning homer but they still have struggled).

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de package for Santana and will instead rely heavily upon rookies Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy this season. While all seem very promising prospects, the Yankees will still have to endure that rough patches that young pitchers are prone to, as well as carefully monitoring the innings each will be allowed to work this season. Chamberlain, who is on the most limited number of innings, will actually start the season in the bullpen, and could possibly join the rotation after the All-Star break. Though Hughes and Kennedy will be in the starting rotation, their innings are also limited and cannot be expected to work too deep into games, even when they are pitching well, just so that they can be stretched over the course of the season.

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rotation and you don’t have to rely so much on Mike Mussina (who knows what he has left) and Ian Kennedy (who scouts only project to be a number three starter down the road).  Using Joba as a starter gives you a nasty 1-2-3 punch of Wang-Pettitte-Chamberlain.  It also puts him back to the position he is most used too, starting games.  In the rotation you would get around 150 innings from Joba instead of just 60 or 70 if you use him out of the bullpen.  Isn’t it better to have your best pitchers throw as many innings as possible?  The other argument is that without a quality start there may be no need for the bullpen because you may be losing.  Isn’t the bullpen irrelevant if the starter can’t pitch well enough to have a lead in the 5th or 6th inning? As of now the Yankees rotation looks to be very inconsistent and adding Joba too the mix would definitely make them better.  I understand a good bullpen is key to a team but how many teams have found lightening in a bottle over the past five years and lucked into a great set-up man.  Remember, Hideki Okajima was brought over more to help Dice-K’s move to America and he ended being one of the best set-up men in the game.  Also, if the bullpen isn’t working through half of the year, the Yankees have great arms in the minors that they could convert into relievers, much like they did with Joba last season.  Humberto Sanchez anyone?

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