All hail Helen!!

All hail Helen!!
Helen Carmona and your humble blogger

Friday, April 4, 2008

Here come the Rays

There will be more than enough mainstream media query about how the Yankees will handle the new "rivalry" with the Rays, so let's let the hype-obsessors deal with that. Suffice it to say, there will be tension, especially if there's anything cheeky going on on the field. But for now, let's stick to baseball.

On the hill

Tampa Bay: Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine doesn't have much big league history (6-10, including an 8-game losing streak, and a 5.85 ERA in 22 starts during his rookie season in 2007), but he does have some history with the Yankees.

Sonnanstine went 1-1 against the Yankees last season, posting a 3.14 ERA. He was downright masterful on August 31, throwing eight innings of two-hit ball while striking out five and allowing one run in a 9-1 Tampa victory. In fact, Sonnanstine went 4-0 over his final five starts of the season, with 29 strikeouts and only five walks allowed. The kid appears to have a future.

Yankees: Will it be Ian-steven for the Yanks tonight? Will Kennedy match the great outing of his mound mate Phil Hughes?

Like Sonnanstine, Kennedy has scant major league experience, but he does have a win -- his only big league decision, in fact -- against Tampa. Last September 1, Kennedy threw seven innings of five-hit ball against the (Devil) Rays, allowing three runs (one earned), striking out six and walking two in a 9-6 Yankee victory.

At the plate

Yankees: It isn't much of a sample, quantitatively, but here it is: Melky Cabrera, Robbie Cano, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, and Alex Rodriguez are a combined 3-for-30 against Sonnanstine. Look for those numbers to change dramatically.

Bobby Abreu is only 1-for-6 against the Tampa hurler, but with a home run. Derek Jeter has had the most success, going 3-for-7 a year ago with a double and a home run to go along with two strikeouts. Hideki Matsui has also had some good at bats against Sonnanstine, going 2-for-6 and, like Jeter, swatting a double and a home run against a pair of strikeouts.

(*Kennedy's limited sample vs. Tampa hitters doesn't warrant mention)

Pre-game Notes

Joba Chamberlain is now 37-for-56 in his career, striking out hitters after getting to a two-strike count... Johnny Damon has struck out at least once in each of the first three games... Derek Jeter's o-for-2 night Thursday snapped a 17-game hitting streak stretching from the final 15 games of 2007... The Yankees are 111-55 all-time against Tampa Bay, including a Yankee Stadium record of 59-23.

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