26GoingOn27

The winner of the first 26 Going on 27 Minky Award goes to (drum roll please)...LaTroy "Head for the Exits" Hawkins. What really makes Hawkins amazing is that Ian Kennedy was atrocious, the defense has been less than stellar, Johnny Damon is playing with a giant fork sticking out of his back, and the offense is non-existent, and yet this pick was a no-brainer. To understand just how awful Hawkins has been take a look at what Mr. Head for the Exits has done in his 2 appearances: he's pitched 2 innings, given up 8 hits, 7 earned runs, 1 HR, has struck no one out, and is sporting a 31.50 ERA. The only positive is that Hawkins hasn't walked anyone, although that is probably because hitters can't wait to swing at his pitches.

On a serious note, the combined awfulness of Hawkins and Farnsworth stands to be Joe Girardi's first test. So far, Girardi has not used either in a high-leverage situation. Girardi's reluctance to use either when the game is on the line is a good sign considering that Mo and Joba have been lights out, while Brian Bruney and Russ Ohlendorf, and Jonathan Albaladejo have all been effective. It will be interesting to see if Girardi has the courage to use the younger, cheaper guys who are pitching well, over the higher paid, longer in the tooth, and sure to give up a home run duo of Hawkins and Farnsworth. Unfortunately, Albaladejo was sent down to make room for Pettitte, when the wiser move would have been to eat the money and cut Hawkins. If Joe Torre were here, we know that he'd go to Farnsworth and Hawkins because of their names, let's see if Girardi has the balls to use guys who less people have heard of, but get far better results.