What Confidence Problem?

From Ian Kennedy on Chad Jenning's SWB Blog -

“I’m trying to say it humbly, but it doesn’t matter what I say, it’s going to come out cocky. You just know. I woke up today and told my wife, ‘I just have a feeling I’m going to make these guys look stupid.’ ”

He did.

Finally, Ikky was truly Ikky last night for SWB. A no-no thru 5.2 and a final line of 1 hit, 8ks and 0 walks in 7.1 ip is nasty.

“It felt like it was getting better and better the last two outings, and then I got called into the office and told I was coming here,” Kennedy said. “I knew it was time, one of these times it was going to come out and I was going to have an outing like this, because I know it’s in me.”

“I just felt like I could do no wrong,” Kennedy said. “Whether it was 2-0, I didn’t care, I could place a fastball away. I’ve been working on it every start, getting my mind set in the big leagues. I felt like I was getting better and better every time. It just led up to this. It was inevitable for me to do well. It was just a matter of time.”

Jennings asked if the performance, and the obvious swagger that came with it, was mearly a result of Kennedy coming to a level where he knew he could dominate:

“It’s not so much here, it’s that I know what I can do," he said. "That was the main thing I was battling with (in New York). It goes back to trying to be too perfect. You’re giving them too much credit in the big leagues. These guys in Triple-A aren’t much different. They could be big leaguers tomorrow, and some of them have played in the big leagues. It’s not so much the hitters, it’s myself.”

Amen.

Brian Cashman had this to say after Kennedy's start:

“He was terrific, and he was going in the right direction his last start especially, against the Tigers. To mentally regroup, come down here and take care of his business like he knows he can, and like he has the ability to do, was also a great sign. He knows he’s got to work through it and we’re going to wait for him in New York. He’s going to have to get the job done to get there, but we’re waiting on that. We know what he’s capable of doing. It’s just a matter of getting all his pitches going in the right direction and pounding the zone with them, and letting the rest take care of itself. And he did that tonight.”

1 more start like that in AAA and we'll see Kennedy back in the Yankee rotation.