Pettitte Continues to Amaze

Andy Pettitte continues to amaze. After taking a year-plus off to re-connect with his family, Pettitte is back in the Yankees rotation and hasn't skipped a beat. Yes, he's had a couple of rought outings (Seattle, LAA), but he's still knows how to pitch and pitch at a high level.

 

Last night, Pettitte dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in the Yankees 7-0 white-washing of their AL East foe.  The win moved the Bombers to within 1/2 game of first place, behind both the Rays and Orioles. The three teams are even in the loss column.

 

Pettitte struck out a season high 10 hitters and has struck out 32 batters in 35.2 innings, while he has issued just seven walks. Pettitte's success has surprised his manager, but Joe Girardi has been surprised by the number of K's Pettitte has this season. Not known as a strikeout pitcher, Pettitte usually gets most of his outs via the ground. But last night Pettitte was buoyed  by a sharp 2-seam fastball that he was encouraged to throw by pitching Larry Rothschild who had monitored his bullpen warmup.

 

Five of Pettitte's strikeouts occurred when he struck out the last two hitters in the 2nd inning and then proceeded to strike out the side in the 3rd. Pettitte's 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings is higher than CC Sabathia's rate and is tied with Phil Hughes for highest among the team's starters.

 

The Yankees bats also gave the tall Texan plenty to work with. After scoring a pair of unearned runs off of Rays' starter James Shields in the 1st inning, Russell Martin broke the game open with a grand slam in the 4th inning. Martin entered the game hitting just .194, but got back above the "Mendoza Line", for the first time since May 6, with three hits. More than his own grand slam, Martin told YES' Meredith Marakovits just how impressed he was with Pettitte's steady approach and execution.

 

Pettitte has now won 206 games as a Yankee and 243 overall. The latter total tied him with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for 53rd on the all-time career victory list.

 

Yankees Looking to Add Veteran to Rotation?

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees had a scout in attendance Sunday at the A's game to watch Joe Blanton. The A's already dealt Dan Haren this off-season and rumors have persisted that they may be willing to move Blanton as well. A's GM Bill Beane will of course be looking for the moon, but its definitely something worth exploring.

"Until any trade happens, I can't worry about it," Blanton said.

The 27-yr old is entering his 4th full season in the majors and has averaged 208 innings per season. He set personal bests last season for innings pitched (230) and ERA (4.20).

Yankees Looking to Add Veteran to Rotation?

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees had a scout in attendance Sunday at the A's game to watch Joe Blanton. The A's already dealt Dan Haren this off-season and rumors have persisted that they may be willing to move Blanton as well. A's GM Bill Beane will of course be looking for the moon, but its definitely something worth exploring.

"Until any trade happens, I can't worry about it," Blanton said.

The 27-yr old is entering his 4th full season in the majors and has averaged 208 innings per season. He set personal bests last season for innings pitched (230) and ERA (4.20).

Rotate and Twist

With less than a week to go before opening day, the Yankees starting rotation already has buzzards circling over it. Andy Pettitte was hit with back spasms last week. He's been reduced to playing catch on flat ground, but that's better than nothing. Chien-Ming Wang, arguably the ace of the staff, felt something pop in his hamstring. The next day he felt a lot better, but the Yankees are likely to be cautious and put him on the DL until mid to late April.

When times like this occur, you look to the kids to step up. We all thought that would be Jeffrey Karstens, especially after he threw 9 shutout innings. Then he got knocked around a bit by the Blue Jays, and hammered by the Tigers on Sunday. He also had to leave the game with a stiff elbow. And while tests came up negative, Karstens is likely to be placed on the DL as well.

Which now takes us to Darrell Rasner to step it up. I have more faith in Rasner than Karstens anyway. The kid looks like he can pitch in the bigs.

Which still leaves us with Carl Pavano starting opening day...ugh


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As far as the bullpen goes, Brian Bruney is starting to look as nasty as ever. He struck out the side, all looking, yesterday against the Phillies, and has 11 K's in just 5 innings.

Sean Henn finally got knocked around on Sunday, but still has a chance to make the team. Ron Villone finally threw a scoreless inning against minor leaguers yesterday, but seems to have fallen out of favor once again with Joe Torre.

Igawa on the Hot Seat?

Maybe he's just using it as a motivational tool, but Joe Torre has hinted at sending Kei Igawa to the minors until he's up to speed. With the amount of money Igawa has coming to him, it's hard to believe that would be the case, but it wouldn't set a precedent. El Duque started out in the minors, but of course he hadn't been pitching in any professional games for a number of years. Igawa may feel some added pressure, but he needs to show better command tonight when he faces the Phillies. He's allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 7 IP, but the bigger concern is the 7 walks allowed. On a positive note, Igawa has struck out 12.

Some Yankees fans have gone over the top, already labeling Igawa as a bust (perhaps unfond memories of Hideki Irabu). Can we give this guy a chance to throw in some real games before we blast him? He's adjusting to a new throwing routine, a new mound, new teammates, new language, and a new city.

Jeffrey Karstens' bubble finally burst a little yesterday, as he continues to push Igawa and Carl Pavano for the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation. The 24-year old, who was impressive in his 6 starts and 2 relief appearances last season, had thrown 9 shutout innings before the Toronto Blue Jays roughed him up for 4 runs and 6 hits in 4 1/3 innings yesterday afternoon. Even if he starts the season in Triple-A, Karstens has definitely given the Yankees something to think about.

Are you a Man or a Moose?

It's only spring training, but I for one was relieved to see Mike Mussina throw 5 scoreless innings against the Pirates on Sunday. Moose's lack of command until then had to be at least somewhat of a concern. In addition to having trouble locating his pitches, he had gotten smacked around for 5 earned runs, 11 hits, and allowed 3 home runs in 8 innings.

Taiwan On

Chien-Ming Wang's spring has been just the opposite of Moose's. A model of consistency, The Wanger has excelled in March, to the tune of a 2.57 ERA. He's allowed just 12 hits and 1 walk in 14 innings IP. He's also struck out 7.

You CAN go home again

Andy Pettitte's return to New York could become even more special if he is giving the opening day assignment. Joe Torre has yet to announced the starter, but sentimentality would say that Pettitte will get the ball. Pettitte has certainly pleased everyone thus far, tossing 10 shutout innings, while allowing only 5 hits, and embracing a leadership role.

The Usual Suspects

Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor. Those 3 names are etched in stone for the Yankees bullpen, but its difficult to tell who will make up those final 4 slots. Luis Vizcaino is the closest thing to a given. Ron Villone would seem to have an inside track based on comments made Torre a couple of weeks back. His versatility certainly is a plus.

Lefty specialist Mike Myers will probably clog up another roster spot...again. As much as I don't trust Sean Henn, I would almost rather see him on the squad than Myers.

That leaves 1 spot open. Brian Bruney is behind the others due to his early spring training back troubles, but he could still make the squad based on last year. If Karstens doesn't make it north as a starter he'd probably be sent to Scranton to pitch every 5th day. But Darrell Rasner has been effective this spring, and did a good job filling in last year, and could be a swingman out of the pen. Chris Britton hurt his chances yesterday with an awful outing against the Jays. He faced 6 hitters, only retiring one. Greg Zaun finished him off with a grand slam.