Written by Greg Fertel
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14 August 2007
I'm sure that you all know by now that Phil Rizzuto passed away. He was a little bit before my generation, but I was still always a fan of his. Yankee legends can't live forever, but he'll go down in the history books next to DiMaggio, Mantle, Ruth, Berra, Jeter, and Rivera as the one of the most revered Yankee players ever.
Ian Kennedy isn't ready for the majors, yet. He's going to be a very good player, but a finesse pitcher like Kennedy can't be rushed too quickly. His walk rate has elevated higher than it should; since the promotion to AA, he's been hovering around 3.1, and lasting about 5 1/2 innings every start. The two are connected. Kennedy isn't going after batters as aggressively as he could, because he hasn't settled in to his level yet. I have no doubt in my mind that he will settle in, but the time is not now. I'm glad that the New York Yankees decided to start Jeff Karstens instead of Kennedy today.
I have been appointed MVN's Director of Minor League Baseball. What does this mean? Well, I'll be heading up the efforts to make MVN the internet's leader in Minor League coverage. What does this mean for you guys? Not a lot. I'll still be writing here as much as ever. Eric and Hiroyo did a fantastic job this summer, and I hope that they will stay on with MVP and Pending Pinstripes and continue that work.
