At least Pettitte went six innings.
The bats fell into hibernation after a two-run first, Placido Polanco belted two dingers and Marcus Thames homered and drove in two as the
Tigers tamed the Yanks 6-2 at The Stadium. Andy Pettitte pitched well until he gave up a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings and the offense allowed Jeremy Bonderman to find a groove after a rocky beginning as the Yankees wrapped up the first month of the season a game under .500.
The Good:Melky Cabrera. The Melk-Man delivered a key RBI-single in the first to give the Yanks a short-lived 2-0 lead. I say "key" because the Bombers were in danger of scoring just one run after loading the bases with no outs. In the end in didn't matter, but Cabrera is showing Joe Girardi that his name should be penciled in the lineup everyday. Let's hope G.I. Joe gets the message. Melky finished 2 for 4 with a run batted in.
The Bad:Andy Pettitte. The old sage was on his way to another gritty performance until the fifth. Then former Yank Marcus Thames (ever notice how many former Bombers are floating around the league?) stepped up and ripped a two-run homer to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. The home run bug bit Pettitte again in the sixth when Placido Polanco led off the frame with the first of his two blasts on the night. This was the second straight start where Pettitte lost it in the fifth. I'm not sure what that means, but it ain't good. Pettitte fell to 3-3 with this: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.
Robinson Cano. Another day, another hitless night for Robbie. I think I've beaten this dead horse into pudding, but Cano has to start hitting if the Yanks have any chance of scoring runs. There is no way Canu should be hitting .151 on the final day of April. He's not even batting
my weight. The Yankees are already down their best hitter and their second-best hitter from a year ago. Guys are going to have to step up and that means you Robbie. Cano finished 0 for 3.
The Ugly:It happens in three's. The whispers about Phil Hughes' spot in the rotation didn't have a chance to turn into a roar. The Yankees placed the struggling 21-year-old on the disabled list during Wednesday's game with a
strained right oblique. Conspiracy nuts will have a field day with the timing of placing Hughes on the DL and I really couldn't argue with them. Honestly, I hope his poor performance is due to a nagging injury, but in my heart of hearts I believe the Yanks are trying to take the pressure off Hughes without undressing him and sending him down to Scranton. The Yankees didn't say who would take the kid's spot, but I would be shocked if it wasn't Darrell Rasner. Rasner is 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA and was named the International League's pitcher of the week for the period of April 21-27.
In other roster news, the Yanks brought catcher
Chad Moeller back to the Bronx. Moeller passed through waivers and became a free agent for about five minutes when he rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A before re-signing with the Yankees. It doesn't sound like a big move, but Chris Stewart was a disaster in his debut in pinstripes Tuesday night. Stewart was sent packing on Wednesday. With Jorge Posada on the shelf and Jose Molina not used to carrying the load, Moeller becomes an important component. How sad is that? To be fair, Moeller has played well so far this season: .350, 1 HR and 3 RBI. Welcome back, Chad.
Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.53) will try and help the Yankees avoid the sweep on Thursday. The Tigers will go with lefty hurler Nate Robertson (0-3, 6.91 ERA). Robertson has been smacked around so far this season, giving up 35 hits and 22 runs in 28 2/3 innings. Lefties in particular are hitting a sizzling .419 against him. Kennedy had a rough second inning in his last start in Cleveland, but managed to last five innings in a no decision. If Kennedy wants to break into the win column, he's got to stop walking hitters. He's allowed 17 free passes in 19 innings this year.
The calendar will read May when the Yanks take the field Thursday.
Maybe the change will do them some good.
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