Once again the season hasn't started all that swimmingly for the Yankees. They'd lost three of their last five, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are ailing and the offense has all the punch of unflavored ice cream. There's no reason to push the panic button just yet, especially with a trip to Boston coming up this weekend, but the Yankees are acting like they're starting to feel a bit tight in the collar. The Yankees needed to clear a roster spot for shortstop (and presumably not former attorney general) Alberto Gonzalez before last night's game so they passed along word that infielder Morgan Ensberg would be headed to the 15-day disabled list. That was a bit of a surprise, according to beat man Peter Abraham, since Ensberg never seemed to injure himself. They also announced Ian Kennedy would be scratched from his start because of injury.
Perhaps the new shortstop is, in fact, the former attorney general because it turned out not one word of it was true. Shelley Duncan was sent down to AAA while Ensberg remained on the active roster and Kennedy, while he didn't start, entered the game in relief. The only injury he appeared to be suffering from was mediocre fastballitis, which is more of a chronic ailment. It should keep you from starting professional baseball games but it didn't just crop up Wednesday afternoon.
I've got no idea what all the obfuscation was about. With Jeter ailing, they needed a middle infielder and Duncan was the only player with options. As for Kennedy, it was a monsoon in Kansas City, so just say you didn't want him to start and then have to stop because of a postponement. All of the zig-zagging didn't help them on the field. They got shut out 4-0 and have just two runs to show for their 18 innings at Kauffman Stadium.
Another loss today and who knows what kind of shenanigans we'll get ourselves into. Something that makes the Nixon White House look like an open and friendly place, no doubt.
