This morning in my weekly recap of baseball action, I joked that the Yankees missing the playoffs might bring about Armageddon. When I finished it (around three o'clock this morning), I had assumed it was a joke. Now, I'm not so sure. Word out of New York today is that the Yankees need a starter next Saturday and that the top candidate for the start is one Carl Anthony Pavano.
Today in his blog, Peter Abraham notes that Pavano's rehab assignment is over and the Yankees have to either call him up or make an excuse to extend his rehab. Given Pavano's decent work on his rehab assignment and Philip Hughes struggling on his own rehab trail, putting Pavano in the rotation might actually be the best option for the Yankees. That's not a typo or a joke. The team with the $209 million payroll might have no recourse but to lean on Carl Pavano, he of 19 major league starts since 2004, in crunch time.
Of course, this is all predicated on Pavano not injuring himself between now and Saturday. He might stub his toe in the airport, fall in the shower, or try to throw a baseball and have his elbow explode. But if he does make it, he'll join the bottom end of a Yankees rotation that already includes Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner. That five-game deficit in the Wild Card race might as well be a million.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Chicago White Sox (11-9) vs. New York Yankees (12-10) - 8:11PM Est.
Any minute now, Hank Steinbrenner is going to be on a New York radio station demanding that Brian Cashman trade Alex Rodriguez as soon as possible, because "that overpaid bastard has been holding us back! Anybody that would keep him on their team is an idiot! Joba Chamberlain should be playing third! Now bow down before me and kiss the rings, bitches."
Then when Brian Cashman says that Alex is a great player, and that there's no way the Yankees will trade him, Hank will have him shot in Times Square while hundreds of teenagers who were just there hoping to catch a glimpse of Miley Cyrus in the TRL studios or something will scream in horror. It's going to be pretty awesome.
The reason for all this? Well, the Yankees are looking to complete their first three-game sweep of the season, and they've won the first two games of their series against the White Sox without Alex Rodriguez in the lineup. He won't be back today either.
Young pitchers are the hottest commodity in baseball these days, with more and more teams hitching their wagons to their prospect stars every season. The Yankees are one such team, even going so far as to put two of their youngsters off-limits when it came to trying (half-heartedly, if you ask me, but that's a whole 'nother post) to acquire Santana. Philip Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain are the three golden boys the Yanks were planning on having shoulder a hefty portion of the burden this year, and unfortunately, two thirds of that Golden Boy Brigade hasn't come out of the gates running at top speed.
The aforementioned struggling duo of Yankee Youngsters is Hughsie and I-Ken, whose combined age is younger than Julio Franco. Hughes has had four starts now and Kennedy three, and their pitching lines ain't pretty:
Now, before we get our collective knickers in a nasty bunch at the sight of those frightening numbers, let's remember that it's still April and three or four games is a very small sample size. Both Hughsie and IPK displayed superior talent last year and their poor performances thus far this year shouldn't negate the talent we all saw. Only time will tell, b ut I think it's far too early to be panicking. These two will be just fine.
The Sox were all over Hughes from the very first inning, smacking six hits and scoring seven runs, but the Yanks put on a decent display themselves, scoring four off a shaky Daisuke Matsuzaka. They scored another in the eighth inning off Timlin thanks to a solo shot by Giambi -- the second homer Timlin served up to Giambi in this series -- to put the score at 7-5 with a win just two runs out of sight for the Yanks.
No such luck, though. Farnsworthless came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and let the Sox tack on another run and the Yanks would up losing the game 8-5 and the series 2-1.
"But Yankees Chick," you say, "Farny only gave up one run. How could you blame him for the Yanks failures tonight? What about A-Rod? He was 0-5 tonight!"
I'll tell you why, my silly friends: Because everything Farnsworth touches turns to FAIL.
I really, really don't like him.
The Yanks and Sox are facing off again in just a few more days, so as long as Farny stays away they have a chance to take back the lead in the season series (and the standings, of course).
Most everyone from fans to teams concur that Spring Training doesn't "mean" anything, but I am of the mindset that it means different things for different players. In the case of veterans, the most important thing is to just get a good workout and stay un-injured (eeeeeasy does it, Painvano). On the other side of the spectrum, Spring Training is a very important time for the young fellows. These games serve as a great rehearsal for the kids with limited experience and allows the coaches/managers to get a feel for how (or if) they can use their youngsters in the coming season.
In the olden days when the Yankees were essentially a group of expensive elderly gentlemen Spring Training was not much more than a month-long batting practice session. Nowadays, much to the collective satisfaction of us Yankees fans, New York is home to three of the top young pitchers in the league. I am, of course, referring to Philip Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and the illustrious Joba Chamberlain. At this point in the spring they've each pitched enough innings for us to take a gander at their performances, evaluate, and make some guesses about how they're going to perform in the coming season. Join me as I do just that!
Check out their vital stats and my truly vital opinions of them after the jump!
Anytime a player the caliber of Miguel Cabrera is put on the trading block, there are going to be multiple teams interested in his services. After all, there aren't many 24 year olds out there with 138 home runs and 523 RBI under their belts. Let alone with a lifetime .313 batting average.
''We will not act spontaneously because we have all sat around and discussed our targets for months and months. In some cases, some guys have been on our target lists for years. So if the right proposal comes our way, yeah, we're ready for it. But we're not going to act without rhyme or reason.''
One of those guys the Sox have long kept their eye on is Cabrera. He's been a favorite of Ozzie Guillen ever since Guillen was the third base coach on the Marlins World Series champion team of 2003. Both are native Venezuelans, and have a close relationship.
The Sox also do have plenty of young pitching prospects, which the Marlins consider a start to any negotiations. Be it Gio Gonzalez, or Lance Broadway, Kenny Williams has never been afraid to deal prospects.
Still, I'd say the Yankees have the edge on Chicago because they do have Joba Chamberlain, Philip Hughes, and Ian Kennedy. If the Yankees hold firm on not dealing either of the three, then the White Sox chances to get Cabrera will improve dramatically.
The Sox could then help the Yankees out with their hole at third base by sending Joe Crede to the Bronx in a deal for Johnny Damon. A move that's been talked about the last few days in Orlando.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Los Angeles Angels (72-51) vs. New York Yankees (70-54)-ESPN2 10:05PM Est.
The one knock against the Yankees during their recent surge up the standings was their competition. They were playing teams like Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Chicago. The question was could they beat a good team? Well, they just took three of four from the Tigers, and whether or not you would qualify the Tigers as a good team at the moment, they still have a winning record. Now the real test comes as the Yankees head to the left coast to face the AL West leading Angels. Philip Hughes will have the task of stopping one of the American Leagues better offenses, but luckily he's on the road. In his two road starts as a Yankee, Hughes is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA. The Angels meanwhile are starting a stretch in which they'll play 17 of their next 20 games within the comforts of home. Dustin Moseley gets the start for the Angels tonight, and afterwards he'll be sent back to the bullpen. Moseley hasn't pitched bad since stepping into the rotation, but the Angels are 1-3 in his four starts. A win tonight from Moseley would be a boost for the Angels, because much like the Yankees are sneaking up on Boston, the Mariners are creeping ever closer to the Angels.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Boston Red Sox (72-47) vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (45-75)-1:05PM Est.
The Red Sox are looking for another dominant pitching performance to complete a three-game sweep of the Devil Rays and keep the Yankees at bay. In the first two games of the series Boston's starters have allowed only 4 hits in 15 innings of work, and today Daisuke Matsuzaka looks to continue the dominance. Dice-K has been very impressive over his last four starts, going 2-1 with a 1.65 ERA. He's struck out 28 batters in 27.1 innings of work over those four starts, but his only loss in that span came against the Devil Rays. The good news is that he only allowed two runs in that start and the Rays' 2-through-5 hitters are only batting .125 against Matsuzaka. No wonder that autograph is so expensive. Even better for the Red Sox, Tampa is starting Andy Sonnanstine this afternoon. Sonnanstine has lost eight straight decisions in his last 11 starts, and opponents are hitting .301 against him. The Red Sox have won seven of the eight games these two teams have played this season, and I'd expect that trend to continue today.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Philadelphia Phillies (60-54) vs. Atlanta Braves (61-54)-7:35PM Est.
Both of these teams are fighting to catch the New York Mets in the NL East, but this weekend they'll have to get through each other first. Currently the Braves trail New York by 3.5 games, and the Phillies trail by 4 games. There's also the wild card well within each team's reach, so this series is rather important. Life as been good in Atlanta since they added Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel, as the Braves have won seven of their last ten games. Tonight Chuck James starts for Hotlanta, and he's never lost to the Phillies. He's made four starts in his career against the Phils and is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Cole Hamels starts for the Phillies, and Philly has won six of his last seven starts at Citizens Bank. So you should really take some time out of your busy Friday night schedule of not getting any and tune into this game. You never know, maybe Chipper Jones will say Ryan Howard is on steroids too.
The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Milwaukee Brewers (18-9) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-14)-8:05PM Est.
A lot of people, including myself, picked the Brewers to win the NL Central this season. I don't think any of us thought they'd have the best record in baseball on May 3rd, but whaddya know, they do. Whether or not they're for real or not, I'm not sure yet. I've only seen them play two games, and they lost both. That's why I'm going to make a special point to watch them over the next week or so starting tonight.
Texas Rangers (10-16) vs. New York Yankees (10-14)-8:05PM Est.
You think Philip Hughes learned how to strain his hamstring on his own? Are you kidding? He's only 20-years old, he doesn't know the first thing about pulling a hamstring. Somebody had to teach him about the finer subtleties of injuring oneself. A veteran. Aha! It was Mike Mussina! Mussina returns to the Yankees rotation tonight in the second game of a double header. It's The Moose's first start since April 11th when he, you guessed it, strained his left hamstring against the Minnesota Twins.
San Francisco Giants (14-12) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (12-15)-10:15PM Est.
Barry Bonds did it again last night. He hit home run #743 of his career in a Giants victory over the Rockies. Of course, that's just because the Rockies were dumb enough to pitch to him. Whether the Phillies decide to or not will have a direct effect on their climb towards .500. It's Matt Cain and his 1.54 ERA going for the Giants against Adam Eaton's 7.71 ERA.
This morning in my weekly recap of baseball action, I joked that the Yankees missing the playoffs might bring about Armageddon. When I finished it (around three o'clock this morning), I had assumed it was a joke. Now, I'm not so sure. Word out of New York today is that the Yankees need a starter next Saturday and that the top candidate for the start is one Carl Anthony Pavano. 
Young pitchers are the hottest commodity in baseball these days, with more and more teams hitching their wagons to their prospect stars every season. The Yankees are one such team, even going so far as to put two of their youngsters off-limits when it came to trying (half-heartedly, if you ask me, but that's a whole 'nother post) to acquire Santana. 
Most everyone from fans to teams concur that Spring Training doesn't "mean" anything, but I am of the mindset that it means different things for different players. In the case of veterans, the most important thing is to just get a good workout and stay un-injured (eeeeeasy does it, Painvano). On the other side of the spectrum, Spring Training is a very important time for the young fellows. These games serve as a great rehearsal for the kids with limited experience and allows the coaches/managers to get a feel for how (or if) they can use their youngsters in the coming season.
Anytime a player the caliber of 
