All Things Bubba

It's open season on Yankees' rookie pitchers. Last month, Jeff Karstens got hit by a comebacker after the first pitch he threw. It broke his leg.

Tonight, a similar fate befell Darrell Rasner. In the first inning, he was hit in the hand by a comebacker. He tried to throw some warmup pitches afterwards, and visibly winced. He didn't need to be told; he immediately ran off the mound and into the clubhouse.

Turns out he has a broken finger. He will need surgery, and will miss at least three months. What rotten luck. He made a good impression early last year, but ended up missing most of the season with shoulder tendinitis. Now this.

Add Phil Hughes' severe hamstring strain, and it seems like the Yanks' rookie pitchers are cursed.

The Yanks ended up losing to the Mets. They put up a decent fight, but it wasn't enough. Peter Abraham reports that the players were quiet and seemed stunned after the game.

Things went better for the Reds; they beat the Indians. Josh Hamilton didn't play; he was rushed to the hospital at 5am this morning. The diagnosis was gastroenteritis. Rotoworld is skeptical; they it might be drugs. Natural, I guess, given his history. And the fact that most people don't call an ambulance at 5am for stomach flu. But hey, baseball players are different.

The Bats beat Columbus like a red-headed stepchild, 13-3. Dewayne Wise homered twice. I couldn't follow the game, though, except on Gameday. There was no video, and the audio link was screwed up. It was airing Nascar instead of baseball.