Via Anthony McCarron:
The roster move to get Darrell Rasner active for Sunday’s start was … Ian Kennedy. Yep, the Yanks are asking Kennedy to get himself straightened out at Triple-A Scranton. As Joe Girardi said, it’s up to Kennedy how fast he returns to the majors.
Apparently, he told Kennedy, it could be a couple of starts or 15 starts, depending on how he does. As Kennedy put it, “If you want to pout or moan, that’s what will happen. A couple starts, I’d rather have that happen.”
The Yankees are concerned with Kennedy’s confidence, though he said he had plenty. At the same time, he admitted that he doesn’t have as much confidence as he did last September or during his meteoric rise through the minors. He also seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea that each of his starts here are magnified and “under a microscope.”
Right now, to be candid, there’s a part of me that thinks Kennedy could go Randy Keisler on us now and we never see him in a Yankees uniform again. O.K., it’s not a high percentage possibility. But, it’s within the realm of possibilities for him now.
In retrospect, the Yankees rushed him. Nine Double-A and six Triple-A starts were just not enough for him.
Well, it’s up to Ian now. He needs to pitch well in Triple-A, hope for a call-up, and then make the best of it when he gets that chance – just like every other failed prospect who finds himself back in the minors.
14 Responses to “Generation Tres…Dos…Uno”
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May 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Just a housekeeping note: I’ll have an entry posted on today’s game…later this evening.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Just like a true Yankee fan. From complete man crush to total lack of confidence is one month. Impressive!
May 4th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Hey, personally, I still like the guy. And, of course, I’m rooting for him. But, at the same time, hearing what I’m hearing and seeing what I’m seeing, I have to be real…and ponder that he not be what I hoped he can be…
May 4th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I think if Steve were to re-read this, he’d be a little less pessimistic.. I mean, it’s a little bit of harsh medicine to call a guy a failed prospect nine appearances into his big league career.
Look at the first nine starts of just about any pitcher and you’ll see so cover-your-eyes bad numbers. Go to Scranton, get right and come back smarter.
Makes me think about Nuke’s good bye in Bull Durham: “Look, Nuke, these big league hitters are going to light you up like a pinball machine for awhile. Don’t worry about it. You be cocky and arrogant even when you’re getting beat. That’s the secret. You gotta play this game with fear and arrogance.”
May 4th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Hey, Kennedy, at the start of this season, was a prospect. The Yankees gave him some starts, and, he failed. Now, he’s back in the minors.
So, what did I say that’s not true?
May 4th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Brien Taylor = failed prospect.
CJ Henry = failed prospect (maybe).
Yarnall = failed prospect.
Ian Kennedy != failed prospect.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Taylor is sui generis given that he sustained a career ending injury in a fight.
CJ was traded for Abreu and has returned, although I’m not sure where he currently is in the system.
Yarnall wasn’t drafted by the Yankees.
To call IPK a failed prospect at this point is idiotic.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Rich, I meant in general, prospects who never amounted to anything, whether drafted by the Yankees or not. Those were just the guys who popped into my mind at the moment.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Rich – how would you classify Kennedy’s status at this moment?
May 4th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Rich – how would you classify Kennedy’s status at this moment?
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I would say that he has regressed, but how can it reasonably said that he is a failed prospect after one month of a bad performance this April and one good month of a good performance last September?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
re·gress (verb)
1. To go back; move backward.
2. To return to a previous, usually worse or less developed state.
3. To have a tendency to approach or go back to a statistical mean.
Sounds like failure to me, no?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Steve, being a failure implies lack of a future, that you have already come and gone and are done. Caput. One month in the big leagues doesn’t exactly make you a failure. Was Halladay a failure? Is Verlander a failure right now? What about Bernie Williams? Mariano Rivera? Hell, what about Darrell Rasner?
Kennedy is a failure because you want to take the most negative stance possible because that’s “your thing.” That’s cool. Doesn’t mean its true though…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Sounds like failure to me, no?
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If you would concede that the word in that form has a temporal quality, then perhaps, but remember that I responded to someone who used the word “failed,” which is the past tense that removes any temporalness.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Me? I don’t think you can assume the future. At this moment in time, he’s failed. Is that never to change? Maybe. But, no one knows, for sure, now. And, that was the point of my post.
He might be back…then again, he could Keisler too. And, until we know which way he goes…he remains, failed.