Written by Greg Fertel
|
21 May 2007
I got back just in time to watch Clippard pitch last night. I'm glad that I did. Clippard looked fantastic, especially later in the game. He was throwing very consistently at 90 mph, right on location. You could see that batters were having trouble picking up the ball off his hand, especially the changeup.
What does this mean? Well, let's take a look at what Rasner's injury does to the Yankee rotation.
- Thursday @ Chicago: Matt DeSalvo (Clippard in Scranton)
- Friday @ Mets: Pettitte
- Saturday @ Mets: Rasner (Wright in Scranton)
- Sunday @ Mets: Clippard
- Monday vs Boston: Wang
- Tuesday vs Boston: Mussina
- Wednesday vs Boston: Pettitte
- Thursday: Off (Wright in Scranton)
- Friday vs Angels: Clippard or DeSalvo
- Saturday vs Angels: Wang
- Sunday vs Angels: Mussina
- Monday @ Toronto: Roger Clemens!
- Tuesday @ Toronto: Pettitte
- Wednesday @ Toronto: Clippard or DeSalvo
- Thursday: Off
- Friday @ Boston: Wang
- Saturday @ Boston: Mussina
- Sunday @ Boston: Clemens
- Monday @ Chicago: Pettitte
- Tuesday @ Chicago: Phil Hughes?
It makes a lot more sense for the Yankees to keep Clippard in the majors than DeSalvo. DeSalvo would pitch on regular rest tomorrow in Scranton, who needs a starter, and Clippard continues on his regular schedule in the majors. If Clemens needs an extra rehab start before making the majors, Chase Wright can be called up on regular rest to pitch on Tuesday against the Blue Jays, with Pettitte moving up to Clemens' spot on his normal rest.
I've
always been a fan of Clippard. I'd have preferred to let him work AAA for another month before a call up, but I'm pretty confident that he can hold down a rotation spot until Hughes returns, and I'm also confident that the Angels and Blue Jays will be easier opponents than the New York Mets.
The Yankees have a decision to make in the next few weeks. If the Yankees lose 4 of 6 to Boston and find themselves 12-13 games out by mid-June, they may want to go into sell mode. If the Yankees win 4 of 6 or better against Boston and find themselves 7 games out by mid-June, it's time to buy. The New York Yankees have been showcasing a lot of valuable trading commodities in their starting rotation lately. Miguel Cabrera, Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, Rocco Baldelli and Mark Teixeira? They aren't going to come cheap at all. Wang-Pettitte-Clemens-Mussina-Hughes may be a damn good rotation, but we're going to need our overpowering offense again to back it up and get back in this race.
