Rasner balancing the rotation
-
- May
- 10
The postgame buzz today was about Darrell Rasner. He’s 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
“You know who he reminds me of a little bit? Jon Lieber,” Derek Jeter said. “He works quick, he throws strikes; he’s fun to play behind. He doesn’t take too much time between pitches, he has a plan and he goes right after guys.”
It doesn’t sound like advanced physics, but it’s what Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy weren’t doing. The Yankees badly need some balance in their rotation and perhaps Rasner can provide it.
We’ve seen it before. Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon, etc. Pitchers sometimes just suddenly emerge.
Detroit is 11-21 against right-handed starters. It’s amazing how sluggish they look against them. They’re 5-1 and hitting .295 against lefties, which isn’t good news for Andy Pettitte.
But Pettitte is no Kei Igawa.
Big rain in the forecast tomorrow, unfortunately. They already have the tarp on the field and assorted trucks and carts parked on it to hold it down. But we will be at the ballpark bright and early to let you know what’s going on.
Thanks for reading today.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 8:57 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Thanks for writing today!
It is very cool to keep up to the minute with the Yanks thanks to Pete!!!
Big surprise. Yanks playing in Detroit and there will be a rain delay.
Rasner has had his ups and downs… he’s 27 and realizes it’s no or never.
Let me just say - this is an AWESOME blog - I feel privileged getting this up-to-the-minute news…….
I’m glad the offense is starting to roll
Good game today, and some great updates, Pete. Keep ‘em coming! It’s amazing to see the timestamp say that there’s an update just minutes after the previous one!
Are they going back there again? If not, I hope that MLB’s mandate to get the games in seemingly no matter what doesn’t cause any more injuries. It’s been disgusting how they’ve been willing to risk player injury in order to avoid calling games.
The forecast for Toledo:
Tomorrow: Windy with rain showers early, becoming steady later in the day. A few rumbles of thunder possible. High near 55F. Winds ESE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Make other plans, people.
Peter, as this will be the last game in Detroit for the Yankees, are they going to have to squeeze it in or else have to look for a common day off? How long will they wait?
Interesting comparison for Jeter to come up with.
If memory serves me right, Lieber and Girardi are extremely close friends and Girardi used to say what a great pitcher Lieber was. Wonder if Rasner reminds Girardi of Lieber.
Thanks for the updates Pete.
Hey, if it gets rained out tomorrow, why dont you take that ride and cross the river to the Windsor side and try your hand at the casino. I have had many a drunken times at that place.
Its defiantly a good time.
All Right! LET’S GO RAZZY!
The problem with those pitchers you mention: You can’t win a world series with them.
ok, Rasner looks like the 4th starter–who will be the 5th?
“Wonder if Rasner reminds Girardi of Lieber.”
Not sure but I’m sure Girardi appreciates a guy that attacks the zone and is not afraid to go after the hitters.
IPK take note.
Paplebaum meltdown, Part 35335? A Twin just hit one off a speaker on the roof to threaten in the 9th.
Jetes come back to us, Rasner is no Jon Lieber no way can he remind you of Lieber, Lieber was a predominantly groundball pitcher and a GIDP waiting to happen, I agree w/ Pete Rasner works quick and is more of a Shawn Chacon to me more than he is a Lieber. Chacon use to hit his spots and challenged hitters to put it in play, he also minimized extra basehits by the bunches in 2006. I’d say Rasner = Chacon. Amazing how ever since Rafael Chaves (SWB’s pitching coach) taught him the cutter he has been almost reborned
Nevermind. He finished it with a strikeout. Even still, he looked shaken up at the end. Varitek had to console him.
LOL
Can someone explain why willie brought his closer in when his team is down by 3?
IDK why Jenn. that’s just adding fuel to the overnight
should be a fun listen.
7-1 Reds, why use your closer in this situation. Bets on him crying about being used here?
oh Willie why you do this , you know it’s not good
Knicks screw up and Willie Randolph subject in the overnight, don’t bother calling fellow Yankees fan
good listen
http://www.wfan.com/pages/940991.php?channelIndex=0&mediaIndex=0.
Wagner did not look like a happy camper
Arroyo with 8 shutout innings… Francessa will be sure to remind us of that on Monday.
I dont mean to be negative on Rasner but,…
Again the offense scored runs for him for the 2nd time, something Hughes and Kennedy didnt really have. Dont get me wrong he pitched a great game and its niceto see him get 2 wins but, I want to see how he does with out the offense
Will he remind us of the 50 plus hits in 30 innings?
against a weak Mets offense, really I watched 2/3 of this game a different team rocks Arroyo tonight but the Mets were borderline pathetic, FATBOY will no doubt get Jorge Tabata and McCutchen’s name on the block watch as he hints Horne and the CF in AA too
54 hits in 40 plus innings. YEP that is great! Trade the farm for him.
Brandon— your thoughts on D’Antoni?
Tomorrow Perez is pitching for the Mets? Oh joy.
Get ready for the crazy Mets fans on Monday proclaiming Willie should be fired.
I wonder what new ideas Steve the looney Mets fan will call into WFAN with..
Dr.J —->
HIeLmAn fOr HuGhEs
If the game gets rained out tomorrow… it looks like it will be Igawa/Pettitte/Wang vs. Perez/Figueroa/Maine next weekend.
Jennifer, I watched that podcast. That guy makes the point I’ve been making: People need to get a grip about Joba celebrating, and those same people (including us) have to get a grip about Manny. I hate the Sox for a thousand reasons, but Manny’s admiring his own homeruns is not one of them.
What ticks me off about this, is they are only talking about Joba’s celebration, not any of the other pitchers who do it. I was getting concerned that this would get into Joba’s head (all the criticism). But when I saw him joking with Joe and walks away and pumps his fist, I knew he is okay.
Yeah Manny star gazing at his homers with his arms extended above his head kinda like Nixon returns from China isn’t hotdogging either.
Yeah, Joba will be fine. I think it’s healthy that he’s in his own world, playing by his own rules. I hate to say it but the rest of the team needs to loosen up, too. I always wished we had a player like Manny to loosen up the clubhouse. Now we do!
“I always wished we had a player like Manny to loosen up the clubhouse. Now we do!”
You want a player that, more seasons than not, demands to be traded? Shows up to spring training late?
Gosh, I’d love to have a player with that kind of attitude problem. As long as he produces, you can deal with it, but you don’t WANT a guy to behave like that. Especially not a rookie.
“HIeLmAn fOr HuGhEs”
Who the hell posited that? More Francesa idiocy?
I meant I’d take a player who enjoys the game like Manny does. Joba is that guy. He’s not afraid to let his emotions show and smile during the game. Is that a crime? It’s just a game.
whozat that is Steve the kOoKy mEtS fan
he always calls WFAN w/ crazy trades
Gotcha.
Whozat - weren’t you moving to the West Coast? I seem to recall reading that and I just remembered it. How did the move go? Feeling settled in?
“They are 5-1 against lefties and hitting .295. It further underscores the point that the Yankees were flat crazy to start Kei Igawa last night.
Beyond, you know, that he stinks.”
I know its from the prior post, but I just got home from the bar, and I found this to be the funniest 32 words of the weekend.
Great stuff today Pete.
Amazing. Another night where I go to sleep wishing I had your professional life. What a job you have (and do remarkably well at!)…
Great stuff (by you and Rasner today!)…
i hate you kei igawa
blame Pags or Jene Afterman for bringing him here.
“HIeLmAn fOr HuGhEs :lol:”
May you have nightmares.
This has to be the funniest quote of the day. From Feinsand’s blog of what Giambi said about running through the stop sign
“When I put my head down to see the bag, Big G can’t slow down,” Giambi said. “Once the train gets going, there’s no brakes.”
so Big G doesn’t know how to stop
Rasner’s not Aaron Small or Shawn Chacon, though. He’s a guy who’s always looked the part, in limited action, who seems to finally have been given the stage and good fortune to show what he’s made of.
Jason referring to himself in the 3rd person as Big G is a little odd.
“Big G” sounds a little like “Timmay!” on South Park.
So this graduation thing.
I gone done it.
Jorge S,
I agree with you about why the Small and Chacon analogies don’t fit. I mean I’m happy that people think Rasner will be successful (and I think he will) like the Small and Chacon seasons but remember those guys were in their thirties and the success was deserved but seemed a little “lucky”. Rasner is 27 years old not in his thirties. Rasner was a second round draft pick who was highly regarded,not a late rounder or FA. Bowden of the Nationals is a moron - take a look at their rotation and see if they could use Rasner. Although he is 27, he lost significant time over the last two years due to injury. (The shoulder in 06 and the pitching index finger in 07). Essentially Rasner is equivalent to a 25 year old and most of his time over the last three years has been in the majors or on the DL. He’s essentially just coming into his own. He’s legit and if the Yankees don’t mess with him, not only will he have a productive season he will have a productive several seasons
I didn’t know BIg G can actually Go.Thats why he can’t stop.
congrats Rebecca!!
Funny how they compared Hughes to Clemens, and Kennedy to Mussina…
And between the two of ‘em they couldn’t buy a win this season…
Rasner gets compared to Lieber and he’s got 2 wins in 2 starts!
I could see Rasner becoming a fixture in the rotation…
GO YANKS!
Rebecca,
Congratulations! Good for you!
Rasner reminds me of Wang of 2005 when he drew little attention and nobody expected him to be any good when he first came up and then he kept winning. Rasner might have a chance to be Wang 2.0.
“Rasner reminds me of Wang of 2005 when he drew little attention and nobody expected him to be any good when he first came up and then he kept winning. Rasner might have a chance to be Wang 2.0.”
No way. Wang has great stuff, Rasner doesn’t.
At the moment this weeks pitching matchup between the Yankees and Mets will probably be:
Pettitte vs. Oliver Perez.
Wang vs. Nelson Figueroa.
Mussina vs. John Maine.
(Johan Santana pitched Today (Saturday) so he’ll pitch again on Thursday against the Nationals).
At the moment this weeks pitching matchup between the Yankees and Mets will probably be:
Pettitte vs. Oliver Perez.
Wang vs. Nelson Figueroa.
Mussina vs. John Maine.
(Johan Santana pitched today (Saturday) so he’ll probably pitch again on Thursday against the Nationals.
I’ll tell you who should get the start on wednesday instead of Igawa.
Not Jeff Marquez
Not Steven White
Not Chase Wright
Not McCutcheon
Not Igawa
The man’s name is Dan Giese and no one is talking about him. That’s because he’s 30 years old and pitching in AAA. But look at his numbers this year. He is by far the most deserving of Wednesday’s start.
Kei was called a “head case” in today’s Boston Globe by writer, Nick Carfardo:
“The Yankees are so decimated they had to start Japanese head case Kei Igawa, who in his first start, last night in Detroit, allowed 11 hits and six runs in three innings of a 6-5 loss.”
Pretty accurate description, I’d say.
“But Pettitte is no Kei Igawa.”
And Pettitte doesn’t have to play with Wilson Betemit behind him.
Pete, they should pay you triple for having the best yankee blog out there, or atleast give you a bonus for being so dedicated.
This quote from Feinsand is the first time that I have seen someone go “3rd Person” in a likable way:
“When I put my head down to see the bag, Big G can’t slow down,” Giambi said. “Once the train gets going, there’s no brakes.”
Gotta love him. Especially now that he’s hitting again. Another good game: 1-for-3, double, RBI, walk. His average is up to .183 and climbing, and 12 of his 16 hits this year have been for extra bases (seven homers, five doubles). ”
Welcome back to the land of the living Big G - just be glad this blog doesn’t run the roster or you would be in the south pole by now.
miggs - Giese won’t get the call up for Wed. start because he just pitched last night. But you are right, he has pitched well for SWB.
As far as who pitches on Wednesday night I will take anybody who is not named Igawa. I will actively recruit volunteers to go down to Tampa themselves to pitch if needed.
Heyman says the Yanks routinely give a pitcher two chances when he’s brought up.
PLEASE let me suspend their own rule in re to Igawa. Otherwise, they’re simply giving away another game.
I’ll tell you who should get the start on wednesday instead of Igawa.,,,,,,ANYONE !
Heyman says the Yanks routinely give a pitcher two chances when he’s brought up. …..and at what ERA does the pitcher deserve to not be “routine” ?….so 18.00 is not high enough ??? if you let 12 runs score in 3 innning ??….don’t be stupid, New York, you made a mistake with the Igawa slug,,,admit it and move on. It’s not fair to all of the other players to put someone out on the field that EVERYONE knows stinks…..if that is the case, give me the start…I stink and it will cost you NOTHING to see how many runs I can give up….quickly !
“Whozat - weren’t you moving to the West Coast? I seem to recall reading that and I just remembered it. How did the move go? Feeling settled in?”
Hasn’t happened yet. I have to defend my dissertation first, which is set for 6/25.
Which is very, very soon. I am worried.
“The man’s name is Dan Giese and no one is talking about him. That’s because he’s 30 years old and pitching in AAA. But look at his numbers this year. He is by far the most deserving of Wednesday’s start.”
Geise’s basically a two-pitch pitcher. I really can’t see him getting through an MLB lineup more than twice. I think he’d be a good swingman, though.
Rebecca -
Congratulations! Best wishes for much success as you go forward. Enjoy your summer, too!
I loved that quote by “Big G” when I read it in this morning’s paper. I had to go out yesterday afternoon, with the game nowhere in sight or hearing range, so when I finally got into my car, I threw on the radio in time to hear Suzyn Waldman a bit and was able to surmise that the Yankees had won, Rasner got the win and Jeter had his first homerun (and a lot of razzing for it). I was all, “wow, I can’t wait to watch the replay!” Then I got home and my husband reminded me it was on Fox, so, no replay.
Anyway, I’m glad it was a good game.
I am becoming used to the idea that Igawa may still get a second start on Wednesday. Not what most of us would want, but he could surprise everyone and throw a decent game; he has done it before. He has shown brief flashes of “getting it.” So, if he’s going to get the start, we may as well get behind him and hope for the best, right?
As for today, I’m hoping IPK has another good start at SWB. It doesn’t have to be the gem he pitched the other day, but it does have to be indicative of his having turned a corner in his approach. I hope he’s watched Rasner’s two starts - that should give him a lot of confidence that he can do the same.
In the meantime, I do think it’s a fair argument to say that Rasner’s age (27) and experience (not a whole of easy successes) have a lot to do with where he’s at right now, his attitude about being in the bigs. IPK and Hughes, they have the stuff, but it is understandable, having had mostly success, that they would be a little thrown by their first taste of, dare I say, failure. Here’s hoping they’ll both be well-served by their setbacks. Plus, it’s got to be somewhat easier if you’re not under a microscope, if you can escape any hype. IPK and Hughes (and Chamberlain) have just that extra bit of pressure (which fans contributed to simply by being so excited by them) from the attention, the acccolades, the Three Amigo/Generation Trey pre-season interview blitz. Now, they’ve shown they’re human. Can’t wait to see what they can do.
BTW, saw that the Padres claimed Sean Henn off waivers.
It’s good to see Papsmear being used at the drop of a dime by Francoma.
Some have detected a drop in his arm angle indicating a possibility of shoulder problems.
Carfado is correct, I believe, that Igawa is a headcase. So then the question becomes, can you ever fix a headcase? While the answer seems to be yes (witness Kyle Farnsworth), it is apparently a case-by-case situation. That’s what makes having a headcase on the roster so damned difficult.
I can totally sympathize with all of you who don’t want to see Igawa on the mound again. I felt the same way when David Cone went into his final implosion with the Yankees. (I am not comparing the pitchers, just the feeling.)
That said, it is possible you need to gear up for this upcoming Wednesday. While something may be simmering behind the scenes, I would bet more on seeing Igawa pitch on Wednesday. As long as Girardi believes in Igawa’s ability to pitch - and it certainly seems he does - Igawa likely gets at least one more start.
I’d say at this point Igawa is his own worst enemey because he doesn’t seem to understand that he isn’t pitching the way we need him to pitch.
“In the meantime, I do think it’s a fair argument to say that Rasner’s age (27) and experience (not a whole of easy successes) have a lot to do with where he’s at right now, his attitude about being in the bigs”
doreen-
i couldn’t agree more. rasner is much more seasoned than hughes and kennedy. it’s commonplace on the the blog for people to say hughes has nothing more to learn in the minors because he had done so well. it doesn’t work that way.
it’s hard to argue against the success hughes had in the minors, but i had no doubt and have no doubt that he was and is being rushed. no pitcher at hughes age just cruises into the big leagues. i know this is a controversial thing to say,but i’d like to see hughes stay in the minors until the very end of the year.
pitching depends on all the parts of the body being in sync and hughes has had three serious injuries in less than a year. that alone says he needs to back off. something is not right with his body. i think it’s just reacting to too much too soon.
the time at triple a could be used for developing a third pitch. it could also be used for learning the game sink into him the way it has with rasner. maybe hughes has had it too easy. nothing is that easy as he’s finding out.
hughes could be ruined if he’s rushed. it happens. taking time never hurts anyone. that’s the smart way to go. if hughes would have been traded to the twins, he would not have been thrown right into the rotation at the beginning of this year.
he would have been at rochester for a while to be brought up later in the season when he had a good base of innings under him or he would have been pitching in relief to get his feet wet. they bring up pitchers in a much different way than the yankees do. i think it’s a better way more grounded in the way young pitchers develop.
on the other hand, the yankees have done a good job with rasner and deserve credit for bringing him along. the irony is they do better when they don’t think a pitcher is special. the less they care the better they seem to do.
whozat-
before you rip my opinion about hughes just remember that every minute you spend doing that it is a minute that you aren’t preparing to defend your dissertation. good luck with it by the way. that’s quite and achievement. i look forward to calling you dr. whozat.
randy
I agree with you about Hughes.
Kennedy is another matter. He seems to be overawed by MLB and will never be effective unless he gets over it. In other words the problem is all inside his head
randy l -
I can’t believe I am typing this, but I agree with you regarding Hughes. He’s, what? 21? 22? To finish the year in SWB, really perfecting his craft and making those 3rd and 4th pitches into really effective pitches, would not only not be the end of the world, but would more than likely end up being in his and the Yankees long-term best interests. Disappointing? Sure. But if it means that next year is better than this? Absolutely.
I also agree he was rushed. It was initially borne of necessity, but once he showed he could pitch at the major league level, it became a fait acoompli that he would start the season with the Yankees in NY. At least it seemed that way.
Trisha -
I just wanted to tell you that much of the time I do agree with your opinions, and that I think that you and I are more alike than different in being positively supportive of the Yankees rather than negatively so.
Well, it’s off to spend Mother’s Day “on the road.” Enjoy the game all, if it doesn’t rain, that is.
doreen-
hughes could still be an ace up the yankee’s sleeve if he came up say august 31 just in time to qualify for the playoffs .
… and have a happy mother’s day.