Me, as a Yankee fan I’ll just thank heaven–actually, thank the front office, for the Joba rules to protect a young arm from Joe…at best it’s preserving his health, at worst it’s at least keeping Joba effective.

I’d love to see what Kennedy has on the major league level if they don’t think he’s being rushed. This is his first year on the pro level. I think they should probably wait until September call-ups, if anything, and see what he’s got in a spot start. But again, there’s no need to rush him. The difference between Joba and Kennedy is Joba throws 100 mph and compliments it with a slider, so he can fool hitters for a while. I don’t know that Kennedy will necessarily be able to do that right away, but I definitely would not be against seeing him this year. Just wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t.

Would pitching Kennedy for 1 start be any worse than tonight? I’d like to see if he could?

The opportunity to make the playoffs this season is a gift considering this team was so out of it 2 months ago, few thought we’d be this close to a playoff spot at this time. I think the reason is better is that management is taking some risks in bringing up young players and letting them contribute. Along with a trade and releasing low production players.

Mussina could help the team out of the bullpen. Right now, who do we have that is a “long reliever”? I can’t think of anyone. What’s the impact? Torre uses 3-5 pitchers in games and burns out the pen.

Mussina can’t be any worse than Villone. And maybe Kennedy could be another gem and provide another valuable arm. Why not? I believe the Yankees are a much better team now because they have brought up youth and energy to the team. This is the right direction.

Missing Joba tonight was not the reason we lost. We lost because of crappy a Mussina start, Villone’s poor relief and the Angel’s having a hot night with their bats. Of course, the pitching gave up 9 walks. Rarely do you win games allowing 9 walks in 8 innings. Add the other 17 Angel hits, well you get the picture. It could have been worse when the Angels stranded 22 runners on base.

Again, my concern again is the bullpen. Villone is not effective. Henn, although a rookie, has not shown he’s got playoff caliber. That leaves us with 3 “reliable” relief arms: Rivera, Chamberlain and Vizcaino. Farnsworth has a great arm, but he’s got a way to go to prove he can get the job done. We don’t have a pitcher that can “”eat up innings” either. This is another reason we saw 5 pitchers tonight. Moving Mussina to the pen might solve that problem right now. I was surprised Torre took Henn out and pitched Viz.

The starting rotation is not at its best now; Mussina being a mediocre starter and the weakest link, places more pressure on Pettitte, Wang, Clemens and Hughes. I.e., we’re one injury from having big time trouble.

The offense will get the job done with the great bats, but to get into the playoffs and succeed, you need excellent pitching and I’m wondering if we have even that.

No, Phil Hughes is not pitching like an ace after 5 starts in the major leagues and Joba has thrown 7 innings his whole major league career. Their body of work is not enough to judge a career on. Obviously…

But you are telling me that you could tell that Tom Glavine was going to be a 300 game winner after his first nine starts. You can’t. All you can do is look at the potential, listen to the scouts and see for yourself. People who know a lot more than me about baseball project Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain as dominant starters for years. I’ll listen to their opinion a lot closer than someone in an internet chat room.

If the Yankees don’t make the playoff this year, it’s not the end of the world…trust me it’s not. The Yankees should protect the young arms they have because these arms are the foundation of the future success everyone is hoping for.

However, I know Joe Torre and Brian Cashman and they are going to give us all the stats prior to these 2 starts and how he’s come up big for them before and how he’s due to have a great game, etc…

They may have the stones to send Myers and Cairo packing, but I don’t think they have the stones to send Mussina into the pen to figure it out.

What happened earlier this season is all Mussina’s fault and you can’t blame it all on him, however he is not to be trusted on the mound and you are rolling dice right now hoping he shows up with some stuff, doesn’t get ticked at the umps or doesn’t find some other excuse for why the conditions were not perfect for him just to give a quality start.

I wish he would pull a Kevin Brown and punch a wall, but that’s not going to happen. Mussina was a mistake. Another Cashman free agent pitching mistake. For all the good the young guys have done for this season, I still go back and say Cashman walked into this season thinking Pavano, Igawa and Mussina were a solid 3/5′s of his rotation.

This is the reason why we’re in the position we are right now.

If the shoe fits they should wear it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!