In case you haven’t heard yet, Ron Villone has been added to the roster in place of Roger Clemens. This means Clemens won’t be available until the World Series at the earliest, and it likely signals the end of his career. We’ll put something together for the Rocket over the off-season. No, we won’t be going to get him down in Texas.
Got a few e-mails from friends lambasting the decision to bring in Villone over IPK. Guys. We don’t work for the team. We don’t know everything they know. IPK just got married on Saturday; perhaps he’s simply not ready to go on a moment’s notice. Maybe they’d like to have him work some more in the bullpen to confirm that his back is in pitching shape. But whatever it is, no one said “Ron Villone is better than Ian Kennedy.” So chill, please.
No complaints about tonight’s lineup. After watching Giambi’s two at bats last night, it’s tough to argue against leaving him on the bench. Yeah, you’d like to get him into a groove, but the team has painted itself into a corner in that regard. Turning back now would be counterproductive. Plus, as has been said many times, with Wang on the mound you want Minky at first. Couple that with Hideki looking solid at the plate last night (not just the results, but his swing was looking markedly better), and you have Giambi as the odd man out. He can always pinch-hit for Minky later in the game.
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Hideki Matsui, DH
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
And on the mound, No. 40, Chien-Ming Wang.
We’re at about quarter to 5 right now, and game time is 7:30. If Eric Wedge is going to end up going with C.C., we’ll probably hear it within 45 minutes. It still wouldn’t surprise me.
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