The Bronx Daily

Joba Excited for First Start

Joba Chamberlain got to fly home early to get some extra rest before his first start tonight at Yankees Stadium. Joba is excited to be starting and had plenty to say on the subject. "It was something that I've always done, and I wanted to give it a shot. I wanted to accept that challenge of being dominant for seven innings and not only one.

"As hard as I've been pitching my whole life, it's another one I'm excited about, and while I hate to leave the bullpen -- I hate to leave my guys in there -- I know when I give the ball to them, I'm going to be fine."

Joba understands that being a starter is much harder than a set up man and that he will have times where he is not successful. I think he has the makeup to learn from tough times and become a better pitcher from them. My prediction? 8-6 and an ERA around 4.0.

Another excited fan is anxiously awaiting Joba's start in Tampa, Florida. Hank Steinbrenner, who has wanted Chamberlain in the rotation, also had a few comments about tonight. "It's the first start in what could be a 15-year career. With him, we're all looking not just for the rest of this year, we're looking even right now a few years ahead already. That's what counts to us." No pressure!!

At least now the controversy is over (or is it) and Joba can put all his efforts into becoming a quality major league starter.

Wang Update

I spoke to soon. Mike Mussina told the Daily News that he would be pitching on short rest on Saturday in place of Chien-Ming Wang. Wang will probably get the ball on Sunday. Stay tuned for any more updates or feel free to comment on what you may have heard!

Action or Reaction: Joba to Start

The New York Yankees will begin to give Joba Chamberlain more pitches in his outings to prepare him to move to the starting rotation. Chamberlain has been dominant as a reliever and it has been and continues to be the opinion of The Bronx Daily that Joba should stay in the bullpen. A post written several months ago is included at the bottom of this post documenting this.

Yes the Yankees need help in their starting rotation. There is no question there. But Joba gives the Yankees the option of shortening 4 or more games per week. If the Yankees have a lead in the 7th inning, you can be pretty assured that Joba and Mariano Rivera are going to close the door and get the Yankees the win. If Joba does well in the rotation, and that is an if, he can only help the team once every 5 games or a total of 33 or 34 games per season. He could help 80 plus games a year in the back end of the bullpen and get prepared to someday take over as the closer learning from the best closer this team has ever had.

What if he does poorly in the rotation? What if he loses his confidence? The Yankees could lose a pitcher that could have had a monster career for them. The move just does not seem to make sense.

Here is a post written in March on the subject.

March 27, 2008

The Future of Joba

Is Joba Chamberlain a starter or reliever? Will the Yankees move him to the rotation or is a bullpen guy in 2008? What should the team do?

Joba Chamberlain is a great talent that came onto the scene last year and was lights out in the bullpen. Yes he is a starter, and yes he could be an effective starter at the big league level, but the Yankees should keep him in the pen.

He has had great success in the pen, how many players have great success at the big league level in any role? Very few. He could become a starter, get hit around, lose his confidence, and ruin his career. Even if that is not the case, will he be as dominating as a starter as he is a reliever? That would be hard to believe.

The bullpen is weaker that the starting rotation right now. Yes there are concerns with Andy Pettitte's health and Chien-Ming Wang's Spring performance, but these guys will in all likelihood be fine as will Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes.

Joba could also know his role and get comfortable with being one of the pen men. Mariano Rivera is not getting any younger and Joba could learn from Rivera and be groomed to be the teams next closer. Imagine what a career he could have in front of him as a closer for the Yankees.

The Bronx Bombers need to leave Joba Chamberlain where he is in the bullpen. It makes sense for the team. It makes sense for Joba.

Is Joba Chamberlain a starter or reliever? Will the Yankees move him to the rotation or is a bullpen guy in 2008? What should the team do?

Joba Chamberlain is a great talent that came onto the scene last year and was lights out in the bullpen. Yes he is a starter, and yes he could be an effective starter at the big league level, but the Yankees should keep him in the pen.

He has had great success in the pen, how many players have great success at the big league level in any role? Very few. He could become a starter, get hit around, lose his confidence, and ruin his career. Even if that is not the case, will he be as dominating as a starter as he is a reliever? That would be hard to believe.

The bullpen is weaker that the starting rotation right now. Yes there are concerns with Andy Pettitte's health and Chien-Ming Wang's Spring performance, but these guys will in all likelihood be fine as will Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes.

Joba could also know his role and get comfortable with being one of the pen men. Mariano Rivera is not getting any younger and Joba could learn from Rivera and be groomed to be the teams next closer. Imagine what a career he could have in front of him as a closer for the Yankees.

The Bronx Bombers need to leave Joba Chamberlain where he is in the bullpen. It makes sense for the team. It makes sense for Joba.

Rainout Makes for Intriguing Match Up

The baseball gods wanted to see a better pitching match up so they sent the rain to postpone tonight's game. With that, the Yankees will skip Darrell Rasner and send Andy Pettitte to the mound to face Johan Santana tomorrow.

Rasner will spend the weekend in the bullpen while the game may be made up us a day night, two stadium double header in June. The good news for the Yankees is that the game will be made up when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are back from their injuries.

Right now the Yankees will take any break they can get.

Rain Out Gives Yankees Pitching Options

With the Yankees Tigers game being rained out on Sunday, the Bombers have the luxury of being able to shuffle their starting rotation. Either everyone could move back a day which will happen with Pettitte, Wang, and Mussina, or the Yankees could keep Rasner on schedule and skip Kei Igawa.

With the way Rasner has pitched, it makes sense to keep him on schedule and buy some time before deciding whether to give Igawa another start or recall Ian Kennedy or another minor league option. Recalling Kennedy so soon is not a good idea. He needs to spend some time in the minors, be successful, and regain his confidence. Either way, skipping Igawa sounds like the right move to me on Thursday.

Kennedy Unhappy About Demotion

Ian Kennedy was surprised and unhappy about being demoted to triple A before todays game against the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees want Kennedy to restore his confidence and command while in the minors and gave him no timetable for a return to the bigs. Brian Cashman said it could be after 2 starts or 15 depending on whether "if he gets his game in order."

Kennedy sounded bitter saying, "I was kind of surprised, because I feel like I've been throwing well but if you don't do well and get drastic changes and drastic improvements, this is what happens. They made it sound like they wanted me here, but they'd rather have me improve in Scranton and get my confidence back up. I feel like the last two times, I've been doing better. It's not going to be easier because it's in Scranton. It's still baseball, it's still a game."

After Kennedy's last start I thought he was pitching better. The results looked worse then they were because of fielding mistakes by Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu. I thought he earned another start but Yankees brass did not agree.

What will this do to the young pitcher confidence? Sending him down now may really hurt the young pitcher and when he returns he may feel extra pressure causing him to struggle more. With Phil Hughes out, the Yankees could have afforded to keep him as the number 5 pitcher, keep him on a short leash so the games do not get out of hand, and let him develop at the big league level. I think this move was a mistake. Your thoughts?

Kei Igawa, a southpaw, will probably be recalled to take over as the number 5 pitcher in the rotation. Igawa, who is signed to a five-year contract in November 2006, was 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA in 14 games with the Yankees last year. He spent most of the season in the Minors.

Pettitte Scratched with Back Pain

Andy Pettitte was scratched from his start today with back spasms. This is the second game he has missed because of back issues although he feels he will be ready to make his first regular season start on April 2nd against the Blue Jays.

Pettitte's health is a concern as he will be expected to be a veteran presence with Mike Mussina on a young pitching staff. The 35-year-old felt tightness while driving home from Legends Field on Thursday and received treatment for about five hours on Friday.

"It's pretty sad when you get to the age when you make a sudden move and stuff happens," Pettitte said. "It's kind of frustrating."

Pettitte is scheduled to make his final Grapefruit League start on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team believes he will be able to make close to 100 pitches when he starts the season.