Yankees Daily

We’ll see if he has what it takes and see if he’s too good for triple A. If he really is a pro starter, he’ll dominate.

Ian Kennedy will start

Since Joba was sent to the DL the Yankees are forced to start Ian Kennedy tonight. Kennedy’s numbers in his rehabilitation starts were decent in the minors but he’ll be facing the best team in baseball.

Swapping Joba Chamberlain Joba Chamberlain for Ian Kennedy Ian Kennedy is akin to replacing Kate Moss with Hillary Clinton for a fashion shoot – GEORGE A. KING III

• IAN TO MAKE START TONIGHT - GEORGE A. KING III – NY Post

The Youth Movement

Joba Chamberlain was an injury risk in the 2006 draft because of a knee injury and for the violent motion he had when he threw the ball. This is why he fell to the Yankees with the 41st pick. Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain all succumbed to injuries and this could be a crushing blow to the youth movement if they don’t fully recover.

Except now Pettitte and Mussina are more necessary than ever if the Yanks are going to make the playoffs this year. And here is the more shocking item: They are pretty darn important for next season, too.

• CRUSHING BLOW TO YOUTH MOVEMENT - Joel Sherman – NY Post

Andy Pettitte pitched well today and gave up 1 hit in 6 innings of work. Ian Kennedy also pitched well and gave up 4 hits in 5 scoreless innings. Ian Kennedy will pitch Friday and Andy Pettitte will make his first start Saturday.

• Andy Pettitte throws 6 scoreless innings in a minor league game – AP
• Pettitte Very Good in Minor League Start – Greg Cohen – Sliding Into Home

Generation Trey. They are not intimidated, they’re not in awe and they are very competitive players. No three are alike and the thing they have in common is.. patience, maturity, swagger and perspective.

“Ian is never too high and never too low; his demeanor on the field is always the same and so is his personality away from it,” Hughes said. “Joba has an outgoing personality and that fire on the mound, but at the same time, he knows when it’s time to be serious and take care of your business. They’re both well equipped to handle everything that comes with playing here.”

A big factor that could help their success is that there are 3 of them and not one player will be expected to be the savior.

• Young guns confident they’ll make Yankees’ offseason gamble pay off – MARK FEINSAND – NY Daily News
• Eiland Hits Big Time Again With Yankees – LEE DIEKEMPER – Tamp Bay Tribune
• Yankees, Red Sox monopolizing young talent now, too – Scott Miller – Cbs.sportsline

Bill Madden believes that the Yankee organization is putting a heavy burden on their young pitchers Hughes and Kennedy. He believes that they are very inexperienced and young pitchers this inexperienced never lead their team to the World Series and are long shots to make it. He gives stats by Elias Sports Bureau of why he believes this is true.

• Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes face uphill fight against history – Bill Madden – NY Daily News

Mark Feinsand, writer for the New York Daily News and writer of his own blog called, “Blogging the Bombers” is interviewing Ian Kennedy for a Q & A session next week and is taking questions at mfeinsand@nydailynews.com

A Yankee scout doesn’t like the idea of including Kennedy in a package for Johan Santana because he feels Kennedy is as good as Hughes.

• Kennedy = Hughes? – Dave and Aziz Nekoukar – NJ.com