Jumpin' Joba!! Hank's Ill-Advised Comments

Yankees starters are off to an ugly start, posting a 7-9 record with a 5.33 ERA. Wang and Pettitte have done well, but the rest have been hit hard (I personally witnessed this Friday and Saturday nights in Baltimore, more on this later). With the Yankees in fourth place, posting a .500 record overall, and out of Wild Card contention it was time to summon the brilliance of Hank Steinbrenner.

"There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."--Hank Steinbrenner

Hank said a few other things, but this statement said it all. Joba is being wasted as a set up guy for Mariano Rivera and would be better suited starting. Hank is correct about a few things that support his argument:

- Joba Chamberlain is a very good pitcher.
- Joba can throw heat upwards of 100 mph, along with a slider, curve and change up.
- Joba was a starter up until he came to the major leagues.
- Joba has shown he can be better than Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy (and 251 game winner Mike Mussina).
- Joba is a draw for Yankees fans (okay he didn't say that, but who wants to pay to see Joba pitch just one inning of work when you could see him for a few more??).

I see what Hank is saying and I don't completely disagree, with the exception that this "you" is being an "idiot"--no one's figured out if this is Girardi or Cashman or the editorial "you". What I do disagree with is several fundamental and practical things on the baseball level. But let's rewind the videotape a bit to give some context to this.

"Joba Rules"
Joba was brought up as an early August call up last year and quickly established himself as a reliable pitcher who could strike a lot of batters out and who had very good control (mechanically and mentally I would argue). But right away, Joe Torre implemented the "Joba Rules". He was limited to a pitch count. He rarely pitched more than one inning and only once did he pitch on back-to-back days.

There was a reason for these rules and it was quite simple: Joba was young and the Yankees didn't want him hurt. Afterall he was in their future plans and would be part of the rebuilding process. Even in the offseason, the "Joba Rules" included him being off limits for trades even when another young pitching phenom, Phil Hughes, was nearly traded for Johan Santana.

Of course we can point to a few players that give some practical examples of young arms that fell apart because the "Joba Rules" did not apply to them. These guys are the infamous: Rich Harden, Mark Prior, and Kerry Wood. There have been others though such as Jason Isringhausen and Pete Wilson (when with the Mets in the early 90s) or even AJ Burnett, Ryan Dempster, and Josh Beckett (formerly of the Marlins) who had their share of injuries early on. In these cases there are examples of high pitch counts, being overworked, not adjusting mechanics, and even random trips to the DL (ala Beckett's blisters '03-'05). Moreso, these early injuries not only cost them time on the DL, but may cost them a long and successful career--even if there were moments of greatness early on. So for Joba, who is just 22 years of age, the "Joba Rules" are there to prevent injury and the risk of putting his arm at risk for the next few years.

These "Joba Rules" continue into 2008. It appeared in the off-season that Joba would start the 1st half or so in the pen and by the 2nd half of the season ease his way into the rotation. Ironically, this is what the Twins did with Johan Santana from 2000 to 2003 (ages 21 to 24) and I don't need to repeat Santa's greatness since then. And I say ironic here, because I suspect that much of Hank's frustration comes from the fact that the Yankees could have had Santana right now and presumably have won a couple more games.

But my point goes without saying--an injuried or frequently injured Joba is the worse case scenario for the Yankees and it will pay to be cautious in the long-run with his arm.

There's No Proof Yet
Joba may have launched his way to the majors last year as a starting pitcher, but that was in the minor leagues. We also have to take into account that Joba has pitched 30.3 innings to date in the major leagues, which doesn't mean a whole lot right now. Take these two things with the fact that starting is a different mentality to switch from being a set up guy and it makes the situation a bit more complex. Right now there is no proof, track record, you name it that Joba would continue to pitch as well or better as a starter than he has as a reliever.

I don't know all the technical pieces about pitching, but I do know that as a starting pitcher you have to build up your arm strength, set the pace of the game, know how to pitch in certain situations, and be able to pitch from the stretch as well as non-stretch (probably not the correct term). I'm not saying Joba doesn't know how to do these things, but they all go into being the complete package of a good pitcher. For example, Joba may have the arm stength and be able to throw lots of 95+ mph fastballs, but he can't think he can strike everyone out when he's in trouble. All these factors need to be in check and balanced with each other so that he gains confidence and can learn from any mistakes he makes.

Is this even a Good Overall Strategy?
Let's say Joba goes into the rotation tomorrow--who gets bumped? Where does that person go? Who becomes the set up man?

There are the three candidates to be bumped based on their early struggles: Mussina, Kennedy, and Hughes. Hughes most likely will not be bumped. Kennedy, who I saw pitch Saturday night, could--he continues to pitch behind in counts. Mussina may be the most likely unless he starts pitching like Jamie Moyer as Hank also pointed out.

One of these guys would go to the bullpen or possibly the minors and then what? Mussina's always been a starter and was once considered one of the smartest pitchers in the game (Stanford helped too). We have no proof he'd make a good middle inning reliever at 38. Kennedy is young and a demotion could effect his confidence. The same with Hughes, mainly because he's one of the "future aces" in the game.

The Yankees will then have to rely on Kyle Farnsworth or LaTroy Hawkins as the set up guys, and you're just playing with gasoline and matches no matter who you pick. The impact could mean blown holds, leads, and no sure path to Rivera.

Word to the Wise and Idiots
Hank's statements are not as clear and dry once you take a lot of other factors into account. Personally, pushing Joba in the rotation so early into the season is not only jumping to conclusions, but puts Joba in a high pressure situation that he may or may not be up for. When Joba becomes a starter it will be under the advisement of the rules set up for him and done in a way that is natural for him to be ready to take the ball physically and mentally.