Written by Greg Fertel | 30 August 2007

It's going to be another short one tonight. I'm packing up for Rhode Island right now. To begin, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus is at least consistent:

Kennedy is pretty much the poster child for the kind of player who can put up ridiculous numbers in the minor leagues, but when it comes to the majors, he’s not as good. This is not a rip job on Kennedy by any means whatsoever. He’s a very good prospect, profiling as a solid number three or four starter in the big leagues for a long time. Those players are remarkably valuable (just look at last winter’s free agent market for evidence). But unlike Chamberlain, Yankees fans shouldn’t be expecting greatness from him, either now or in the future.

In other words, "5th starter at best". My stance has always been "5th starter at least, Mike Mussina at best". I'm wondering when people are going to stop underestimating Ian Kennedy. Yeah, he starts to use words like "#3 or #4" starter, but it's the same old line: "He doesn't throw hard, he's not good". I really wish that people would define terms like "#3 or 4 starter" instead of covering their ass with ambiguity. On to the games... Scranton beats Syracuse, 6 to 3 - Ben K got the start, striking out 6 and not walking anyone in 5 one-run innings of work. Ross Ohlendorf gave up a run in an inning plus, striking out two, and T.J. Beam finished Ohlendorf's inning for the save. Brett Gardner managed to steal 3 bases despite going 1 for 5, Eric Duncan was 1 for 4 with a double, Doug Minky was 2 for 3 with a double and a home run, and Andy Cannizaro was 0 for 2 with two walks. Scranton clinched their divisional title. Portland beats Trenton, 7 to 6 - Chase Wright got hammered, allowing 5 ER in 5 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 3, 1 intentional, to go along with two HBP and one wild pitch. Dave Robertson made his AA debut, pitching two shutout innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Kevin Whelan lost the game, allowing one run while getting just 4 outs. Colin Curtis was 3 for 4 with a home run. Juan Miranda was 1 for 4 with a double. Tampa beats Lakeland 4 to 3 - Phil Coke was solid, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and 1 earned run. Josh Schmidt and Eric Wordekemper combined for 2 2/3 shutout innings. Austin Jackson was 2 for 3 with a walk and a double. Marcos Vechionacci was 1 for 2 with a walk and a HBP, and Eddy Nunez was 1 for 5 with a home run. Charleston beats Columbus 4 to 3 - Paul Patterson pitched 6 shutout innings, striking out 6 and walking 3. He left without allowing a hit. Jon Hovis showed a rare crack in his armor, allowing two runs and raising his ERA to 1.74. Mitch Hilligoss was 4 for 5 with a double. Seth Fortenberry was 0 for 3 with 2 walks. Staten Island beats Hudson Valley, 8 to 3 - Adam O. was effective, pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs. He struck out 2 and walked three. Justin Snyder was 0 for 4 with a walk, Taylor Holliday was 3 for 4 with a walk, Damon Sublett was 2 for 5 with a double, and Austin Krum was 3 for 4. The GCL Yankees lost to the Dodgers, 5 to 0 - Dick Marquez did his job, allowing just 2 earned runs before exciting in the 6th inning. He struck out 5 and walked none. Saunders and Shafer allowed three more runs. Cuello Zoilo Almonte, and Gerardo were all hitless. Abe Almonte and Walter Ibarra had one hit. The Yankees and Dodgers will play one winner-take-all game tomorrow for the championship.

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