New Sully Baseball Video "Babying Pitchers"

In the latest Sully Baseball Video, I talk a little bit about the insanity of babying pitchers. The practice doesn't make sense and frankly the numbers show a pitcher needs to be worked rather than pampered.

Well, I'll let the video do the talking. As always the video was made with my amazing wife Lisa Zambetti. This one was shot in San Diego last weekend.

To see the previous Sully Baseball Videos, click here.

Tip your cap to the Yankees... you ruined Joba Chamberlain's career

Hey! Where are all of the "Joba is going to be the ace of the Yankee staff as a starter" people now?

I am looking at YOU Chris DeLuca.

There is cause to fire Brian Cashman, the Yankees scouting and coaching department including Joe Girardi.

Why?

Because they were handed a pitcher with tremendous talent and a larger than life personality and was the clear heir apparent for Mariano Rivera. They turned him into a carefully handed middle reliever... then a mediocre starter... then an ineffective mop up man... and now is broken down and maybe be done.

I wonder if he could have been used as bait for Cliff Lee when Lee was traded three times between 2009 and 2010.

Try getting a Cliff BAR for him now.

This isn't hindsight being 20-20.

I've been saying this has been insane since the beginning of the 2008 season.

If George were still alive and he found out that the organization torpedoed the most talented pitcher the organization has developed in a generation, there would be many bodies to dump out.

And Cashman has the nerve to say he doesn't regret the Joba Rules.

He says the rules are common in the organization.

Even MORE reason to start firing people!

Think about it this way...

In 2007 the Yankees had Chein Ming Wang, who in his third year had developed into a 27 year old front line starter, winning 19 games in back to back seasons.

They had the talented Phil Hughes, a 21 year old with great stuff and of course 21 year old Joba Chamberlain who electrified the fan base and gave the bullpen unstoppable depth.

It's now 2011. All three are broken down.

The Red Sox have had young pitchers like Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon and Clay Buchholz who have had lots of injuries. (Lester had freaking CANCER!)

And somehow they were all able to not break down. And none of them are as big and strong as Joba.

Mission Accomplished, Yankees.

The Joba controversy has been solved.

Starter? Reliever?

How about neither.

.500! Being mediocre never felt so good!

It is May 15... halfway through May and for the first time all year the Red Sox are .500.

.500 is by definition mediocrity. Half the games are a loss... half the games are a win.

It's averaging a tie.

Yet MAN after the rotten start, this mediocre record feels awesome, doesn't it?

EVERYTHING seemed to be going wrong for the Red Sox and yet here we are... at break even.

And at whose expense? The Red Sox record against the Yankees is 5-1.
Against the Angels it is 6-2 (ohhhh that extra inning marathon loss!)

Between two teams that I picked to go to the post season, the Red Sox are 11-3. (That means they are 9-17 against the rest of baseball. Go figure.)

In this game Lester dug himself into a hole and Youk and Papi got him out.
And just when it looked like the Yankees were coming back, the Red Sox had the best news imaginable.

"Coming in from the bullpen... Joba Chamberlain!"

Ah yes. He's the gift that keeps giving.

A nice homer to Saltalamacchia (his first) and the win was in.

And the tally needs to be updated.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 10

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 12

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picke doff, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runnerss and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)

-2.

Still in the black in the teeth grinder and dodged bullet columns... but all even in the wins and losses and only 3 back in the loss column for first place.

75% of the season to play.
Let's get to work.

The Yankee Illusion

The Red Sox are 3-1 against the Yankees this year and for some reason those wins seem to mask the fact that in mid May the Red Sox are STILL sub .500!

But man it feels good to win by one run against the Yankees.
Bartolo Colon has 2 losses this year and both were hard luck losses against the Sox.

Meanwhile Joba Chamberlain is the gift that keeps giving... if by giving you mean insurance runs.

Daniel Bard made me scream at the TV as it was clear that Jorge Posada can't catch up to a fastball yet he was throwing him curve balls. And of course Jonathan Papelbon had to make it interesting.

But Mark Teixeira popped up and I get to update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 9

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 12

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picke doff, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runnerss and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)

-3.

Win tomorrow and the Red Sox will have won their first two series with the Yankees.

That would make a hell of a birthday present.

Joba is out of shape? Was he ever IN shape?

The word out of Tampa is that CC Sabathia has dropped weight and looks like he is in terrific shape. That's good news for the Yankees because, when you consider how lousy Phil Hughes' second half was, Sabathia is the only starting pitcher the Yankees have that they can count on.

But evidently there is a constant combined weight for Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain. Whatever weight CC lost, Joba packed on.

And, as shown in the picture above from last season, it isn't like Joba resembled Tim Linecum's waistline last year.

This Tweet should alarm Yankee fans.








Ouch.

This is a make or break year for Joba. As I wrote before, I blame the Yankee management for the derailing of his career. But this is bonkers.

It's not like this is Joba's first year in New York. It's not like he should be surprised that he will be under the microscope (provided they find a Petrie dish big enough for him.) The Yankees are thin in pitching... but not LITERALLY.

Perhaps Joba felt that with Bartolo Colon in camp, there would be no way he would be declared the fattest pitcher.

But the team needs a starting pitcher and relief depth... not a guy who looks like someone signed up for fantasy camp.

Besides, this is his 4th spring training in a row where his role will be in question.
He should know that the New York media loves to pick on a player's weakness. And when your name is ALREADY Joba, maybe you should try to watch your weight a little better.

Plan D for the Yankees... destroy Joba's career some more

Plan A for the Yankees this off season evidently was "Sign Cliff Lee."
Their plan to do that was to assume he would buckle to the amount of money thrown at him. Evidently nobody in the Yankees front office ever spelled "Assume."

Plan B was to alienate as many beloved Yankees as possible. Derek Jeter was told to find a better deal. Jorge Posada was told to turn in his catchers gear. Mariano Rivera was compelled to call the Red Sox. Andy Pettitte said "to hell with THIS!"

Plan C was to pretend it was still 2005. Andruw Jones, Mark Prior, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon et al have all signed on. Now to build that Time Machine.

Now evidently there is Plan D... keep screwing around with Joba Chamberlain's already shaky psyche.

He's no longer a rookie. This is going to be his fifth season. You'd think 4 seasons would be enough to figure out his role. And according to reports he has shown up to camp looking heavy. Never a good sign.

So we enter the 4th annual "What will Joba's Role Be?" Spring Training extravaganza.
I've never understood this debate. He was a dominant reliever who the Yankees turned into a mediocre starter, an ineffective mop up man and in the 2010 postseason, an afterthought.

Good job!

I've been saying this for years. I've compared him the Matthew McConaughey... very good at one specific thing but out of his element when you try to expand him.

I said last spring that the Yankees out of mercy should trade him.

But now the Yankees bizarre off season has thrown his role back into the spotlight. They had a thin rotation last October and now it is even thinner. (Although it is hard to describe anything that added Bartolo Colon as "thinner!")

And because Joba was not allowed to develop into a reliable reliever, the Yankees had to spend for Rafael Soriano.

There are three (and possibly four) holes in the Yankees rotation and the richest and most glamorous franchise in baseball couldn't fill the 4 or 5 spots with a major leaguer.

Of course Brian Cashman said that Joba's role is secure and he is a reliever. Then again he ALSO said that they weren't going to lose their draft pick on any deal other than Cliff Lee... so we all see how much leverage HE has these days.

Don't put MORE weight on Joba. Don't punish him because the Yankees wet the bed this off season.

With Rivera and Soriano in the bullpen, the Yankees have to make a trade. Even if it is for a prospect or a role player. Joba is still young enough to have a decent career but not if he stays in New York.

Either that or just go all the way and never tell Joba what his role is.
Don't even tell him which days he is going to start.

How could that be any worse than how they've handled his career so far?

The Red Sox need to offer Mariano Rivera a three year contract

Wait a second! The Yankees are playing hardball with Mariano Rivera?

Um… wow.
That is the most staggeringly stupid thing I have ever heard in free agent history.
YES, stupider than the Cubs offering Milton Bradley a long term deal.
YES, stupider than the Rangers making Chan Ho Park one of the top paid pitchers in baseball.

If there is ever a lynch pin to the success of the Yankees since 1996, it has been the dazzling career of Mariano Rivera.

There are some people who think Rivera is overrated and there are some people who poo poo the importance of relievers. “They throw less than 100 innings a year. How much value do they have?”

People who say that about Mariano Rivera are idiots.
That’s not my opinion. I can PROVE they are idiots in a court of law.

Yes, many relievers are overrated. I have argued that Trevor Hoffman, while a terrific pitcher who has had a nice career, is overrated. He has compiled a lot of saves but also has come up short in an alarming number of big games.

The fact that there could be a statistical system that would put Armando Benitez in any form of elite reliever category is almost as mind boggling as that piece of crap Crash winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

But Rivera is different. Year in and year out he is automatic. Year in and year out he snuffs out rallies. Year in and year out he shortens close games to 8 innings.

AND he gives the Yankee line up the confidence knowing that if they just beat up the other team’s middle relief and hand the lead to Rivera, they’ll have a win.

Plus the starting pitchers know that they don’t have to go 9, and their win loss record will look good by the end of the year.

And in the unrelenting pressure cooker that is New York, Yankee fans haven’t REALLY had to worry about the 9th inning for nearly 15 years.

Seriously, right now what reliever would you rather have as your regular closer now?
Brian Wilson? Neftali Feliz? Brad Lidge? Jonathan Papelbon?

Put the stats away for a second (even though Rivera’s 2010 numbers are, as usual, awesome.)

Who puts the opposition on their heels more?
Who makes the other team think “If we don’t at least tie the game in the 8th, we’re DEAD” more than Rivera?

And let’s get down to brass tacks here.
Which Yankee star will be the hardest to replace?

You can find another solid shortstop.
You can find another slugger… you can find another starting pitcher.

But where else is there an immovable object on the mound for the ninth?
Who is going to fill in for him?

Whoever it is, he won’t be as good as Rivera.
And when he proves he isn’t as good as Rivera, EVERYONE in New York will remind him.

Think New York doesn’t eat young players up alive? Talk to Joba Chamberlain. He was supposed to be Joba’s heir apparent in 2007. Now it is 2010 and he’s already a mess and Rivera is still at the top of his game.

And the Yankees want to play hard ball?



I say let them.
But why can’t other teams make a run at him?

Seriously, why should other teams play some B.S. honor code about not bidding on Yankee superstars? It’s not like the Yankees ever say “Hey, we can’t bid on that player! He would never be identified as a Yankee. Let’s not even call his agent.”

NO! They try to gobble up the big players… as is their right.
But guess what? OTHER teams can make a bid on Rivera.

If the Yankees are only offering him a 1 year contract, another team should offer him 2.

And I think the Red Sox should offer him 3 years.

First of all it will give the Red Sox a bullpen going into 2011 of Bard, Papelbon and Rivera.

Are you kidding me? Games would be over in the 6th!

Secondly it will give the Red Sox some flexibility when Papelbon’s free agency comes about after the 2011 season.

And yeah, I think in three years Rivera will still be an elite reliever. Has he shown ANY signs of slowing down?

But most importantly not only will it improve the Red Sox, but it will put the Yankees in unfamiliar territory.

Can you imagine the Yankees moving ahead with a shaky closer? Or even a pretty good closer?

Yankee fans haven’t experienced having a subpar closer since before the 1994 strike… you know the era when they couldn’t make the post season.

Giardi already has suspect bullpen handling skills… let’s see how he does without the no brainer in the ninth!

Decimating the Yankees bullpen while the Rays are dismantling their division winner could make the Red Sox the favorite in the A.L. East.

It’s a great chance to give the Red Sox an all time bullpen to go with a rotation headed by Lester and Buchholz and give the Yankees an gut punch?

Isn’t it worth making the call?
Make the offer.

There’s no way it will happen if they DON’T make the offer.

And maybe it will bring other teams into the bidding. Seeing Rivera on another team can only help the Red Sox win the East.

Will it happen?

Probably not… but remember, when the Yankees played hardball with Andy Pettitte after the 2003 World Series, the Red Sox actually made the highest bid before he signed with Houston.

And 2004 ended up to be a good year for the Sox.

Rivera wants to be loyal to the Yankees?
Have him prove it.

How bad are Joba Chamberlain and Javy Vazquez?

I know Joba and Javy have been pinatas for me all year... but let's face it, they've earned every single whack the way they've pitched.

Don't believe me? Just look at last night... a game where their supposed 8th inning stud and supposed new rotation workhorse were used in their playoff roles: Mop up men.

Actually Joba was given the role to get out of a 6th inning bases loaded jam and keep the game close at 4-3.

How did he do? Well not only did he let all three inherited runners to score but let up another run charged to himself. A close playoff feel game turned into a blow out where by the end I think Joe Girardi was asking Guiliani's son if he wanted an at bat.

But the actuality of Joba's futility could only be overshadowed by the disrespect the umpires gave to Javier Vazquez.

Keep in mind the scenario... the Yankees and Rays are neck and neck... they might meet up in the post season with the AL Pennant on the line... this is their LAST regular season meeting... the games, save for last night, were rife with emotion and posturing...

And with the Rays blowing the Yankees out of their own building and former supposed Cy Young candidate turned "use only in blow outs" mop up man Javier Vazquez hit Desmond Jennings.

No warning issued.

Then he hit Willy Aybar... no warning issued.

Then he hit Kelly Shoppach... THREE STRAIGHT HIT BATSMEN...
Nope. Nothing.

Even the umpires knew "He's not trying to hit them... it's Javy Vazquez. He sucks."

I like to think Javy WAS trying to hit them, just to show his teammates his toughness and to show them how much a team guy he really is.

Plunk.
PLUNK!
PLUNK!!!!

And the ump saying "Sorry Javy... I'm not buying that you are doing that intentionally!"

For those of you who think I am too tough on Javy Vazquez, take it up with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

He agrees with me.

It's to the point where the Yankees almost have to say "We can NOT put either Joba nor Javy on the post season roster."

The Yankees lose in an unusual way but with the usual pitchers

I mentioned last weekend that the Yankees hadn't lost game that they were leading in the 8th inning or later since July 10th... before the All Star Break.

Well now you can change July 10 to September 10 as the Yankees coughed up an early 4-1 lead, an 8th inning lead and an extra inning loss.

While the result was surprising, you can hardly say the culprits were.

The Yankees took a 4-1 lead after 3 innings. They handed that lead to starter Javier Vazquez... one of my reader's favorite pitchers.

Now I admit, he is more talented than me. But he is also making $11 million more than me a year to pitch. He's not pitching 11 million times better than me.

This big game horse couldn't get an out in the 6th inning and turned it over to the bullpen for at least 4 innings. (Remember... he EATS UP innings!)

FYI, if your average start is 4 runs in 5 innings, you would have a 7.20 ERA.
Vazquez's season ERA is only 5.09... which is still inexcusable.

Now the middle relief did a solid job keeping Texas off the board and keeping the lead for the Yankees.

Guess which reliever coughed it up.

YUP! Joba... the guy who the Yankees turned from a stud into a basket case lets up a game tying shot, once again showing that they can not use him in a big moment in an important game.

Now I give Joe Girardi some credit. He used struggling Phil Hughes out of the pen in the 9th, knowing that if he got them into the 10th the Yankees would have the heart of their order up and Rivera able to preserve the lead.

A sneaky way to get Hughes a confidence boosting win #17 and put him back on track to join the 20 win club.

It didn't work out, but it was clever.

Finally Chad Gaudin, who offers nothing and will only pitch in a mop up scenario, ended the game.

Now the Yankees remain the best team in baseball and they are still the champs and the team to beat.

But going into the playoffs they can rely on Sabathia, Rivera and remind me who else?

Burnett goes tomorrow. You either get an ace or a disaster from him.
Vazquez is a bust even though he's better than me.
Hughes needs confidence boosts as he has been a dumpster fire since the All Star break.
And Pettitte is having his pitches counted in Trenton.
And the middle relief is up and down and they don't have an 8th inning guy... and on nights Sabathia doesn't pitch, they need a 6th, 7th AND 8th inning guy.

The Yankees could very well repeat this year and they will be as tough a team as there is in the AL. But their feet are made of clay... and I am not talking KEN Clay.

Yes Joba... it's gone

Another day for Joba Chamberlain, another bomb let up.

Remember how he could have fetched the Yankees an ace? Now he is the biggest reason for why the Yankees might not repeat as World Champs.

Their two biggest weaknesses now? Lack of rotation depth and the unstable bridge to Rivera. (Don't believe the weak lineup now. When the leaves will turn brown, so will the shorts of opposing pitchers.)

Joba was supposed to fill one of those roles. Instead his ERA is now at 5.02 and he turned a 2 run game into the 9th into a 3 run game into the 9th. Just what you want from your middle relievers.

Of course Javy Vazquez didn't make the night much better.

While he LOWERED his ERA to 4.89, he threw 107 pitches in 4 innings. I didn't think that was possible.

This coupled with Pettitte's slow recovery makes for a very interesting last few months of the season as the Rays and Yankees jockey for position.

I wonder if Girardi will put Joba or Vazquez in a big game again...

I wonder if he has a choice.

Come on, Yankees. Just trade Joba

Joba Chamberlain is still a Yankee... and sometimes you have to wonder why!

Seriously... the Yankees could have used him to acquire Johan Santana.
I bet he could have fetched Cliff Lee... twice.
Or Roy Halladay.

They kept him instead of getting Dan Haren.

Why?

Seriously! Why hold on to this pitcher who is clearly regressing? Why hold on to him so he can be shifted back and forth from the pen to the rotation to where now he is actually no longer good at either?

He was a mediocre starter last year... and this year the Yankees can only hope he can RISE to the level of mediocrity as a reliever.

He coughed up a homer to Scott Podsednik which is hard to do.

Near the beginning of July he LOWERED his ERA to an inexcusable for a reliever 4.95.

In less than 2 weeks, it climbed back up to 5.95... which is "Can we send him back to AAA?" territory.

Have you noticed that the Yankees are pursuing either a #4 starter or a set up man? Wasn't Joba supposed to fill ONE of those roles?

Back in March I suggested the Yankees trade Chamberlain just out of mercy.

About a month ago, I suggested the Yankees swap him for another underachiever, Franklin Morales.

But now I am saying "Yankees... keeping Joba instead of trading him for an established star pitcher is insane."

He's been with the team over the past 4 seasons and is regressing.

Yeah, he's only 24 years old, but shouldn't he be showing signs of being even an adequate big league pitcher at this point?

Next time someone offers you an ace caliber pitcher and Joba is the centerpiece of the puzzle... take the trade.

Or keep him. Most pennant contenders would rather have a mop up man with an unsightly ERA to a #1 starter.

There seems to be a lot of pictures like this of Joba Chamberlain

Another day, another run let up late in the game for Joba Chamberlain.

His ERA is now a robust 5.40 and yesterday blew a lead that could have been a huge morale builder for A. J. Burnett.

I hate to say this as a Red Sox fan, but as a human being I feel bad for him.

Just trade him already... it will help all sides out!

Should the Yankees trade Joba Chamberlain for Franklin Morales?

I think it is a trade worth considering.

Now Yankee fans reading this who think this is an awful deal, remember I am not talking about the Joba Chamberlain that everyone projected he would be.

I am talking about what Joba actually IS.

The debate over Joba has died down... there are no longer people saying he is an ace pitcher who should be in the rotation. And the people saying "He's a dominating closer and Mariano's heir apparent."

There's no Cy Young talk for Joba.
There's no shut down 8th inning talk for Joba.

The Yankees needed a #4 starter last post season and were going to turn to Chad Gaudin because Joba couldn't cut it as a starter.

This year when the Yankees needs are listed, bullpen depth is always at the forefront. Joba isn't even a mediocre reliever this year. His ERA is a big fat 5.29 and he can't be trusted in big games.

I wrote last March that the Yankees should deal Joba out of mercy to get him out of the circus.

But now I am thinking it is in the Yankees interest as well. Yeah, he's only 24... but this is year #3 of "Waiting for Joba."

The Yankees had a talented pitcher and because of the Joba rules, spectacular indecision, media scrutiny and incompetence, created a formula for failure that would be the envy of Bialystock and Bloom.

Next year he'll be 25... and if he is still a lousy reliever and an ineffective starter then he might have little to no trade value.

A few years ago, he could have fetched Johan Santana. If he keeps this up, he couldn't get Carlos Santana.

At this point in a less stressful environment might have him flourish. But a few more years of being neither a good starter nor reliever and I might have to include him on my "Can't Miss Aces Who Missed" list.

Which brings us to Morales.

Franklin Morales' tenure with the Colorado Rockies can best be summed up in his grotesque 5th inning of Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.

With the Rockies already down 5-1, Morales came into the 5th inning to replace starter Jeff Francis. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver began gushing about how talented he was and that he was a budding ace.

And in 2/3 of an inning, he let up 6 hits, gave up a walk, and committed a balk. All 7 base runners came home for earned runs and the Rockies were sunk.

He was listed as one of Baseball America's top 10 prospects in all of baseball before the 2008 season. But his record as a starter has been awful and the Rockies attempt to make him the closer have back fired as well.

Like Joba he came into baseball in 2007. Like Joba he has playoff and World Series experience that isn't pretty. Like Joba he's been shifted back and forth from the rotation to the pen.

Like Joba he is 24 years old but running out of chances with his home team.

Joba is a big right hander who has been shriveling in the glare of the spotlight in New York.
Morales is a slight left hander who could benefit of getting out of Coors and pitching with some run support and a steady closer behind him.

Maybe they should switch places.

Maybe a lower key baseball environment like Denver could be the perfect place for the big kid from Nebraska with the Star Wars first name.

Maybe being among superstars and having a fresh start is just what the left hander from Venezuela needs.

Each fan base was expecting stardom from these arms and both have come up short.

Why not swap places and see what happens?
How can it be worse than driving their careers into the ground?

Looking good, Joba

4 runs in a 1/3 of an inning.

3 losses already.

At the approximate 1/3 point of the season with a 5.82 ERA.

I had people write to me, saying I was too harsh in my "trade Joba" post. It won't be cruel when his trade value is less than for the sequel rights to The Love Guru.

Hey Yankees… just trade Joba Chamberlain

Seriously, it is the only merciful thing to do at this point.

Joba burst onto the scene in 2007 as the next dynamic pitcher in the Bronx.

And every single year since, people have been wringing their hands debating about whether he should start or relieve.

And now 3 seasons later… he’s been transformed into a potential #5 starter after having a rough post season as a reliever.

As I wrote when I compared him to Matthew McConaughey, his stats show he puts up great numbers as a reliever and mediocre numbers as a starter. If, after 2 and a half seasons, Joba was even decent in the rotation, he’d be at least a #4 starter at this point.

Instead we have more hand wringing.

Remember when people were saying Joba was an ace in the making?
Remember when the “keep Joba in the rotation” crowd kept saying how the bullpen was wasting his talent?

People were saying he could win a Cy Young.

Now I’m not even sure he could win a Dennis DeYoung!

This blogger wrote the wonderful sentence “The only people who want Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen are the people who have very little knowledge of baseball.”

I fancy myself having a little knowledge of baseball. And I think that using 90 innings at his full potential is better than 200 innings of mediocre pitching.

It is clear as 1990s Pepsi that he should be the bullpen closer in waiting… like Steve Young waiting to take over for Joe Montana.

But alas, the Yankees are doing everything short of hiring Jeff Gillooly to destroy Joba’s career and put him back in the rotation.

He’s 24 now… and he could have a break out season… or he could be yanked back and forth again and the debate (and moronic Joba rules) could rage while he is 25… then 26…


He’s won a ring in New York and had a few big highlights in the Bronx. But if they are going to ruin his career, they might as well deal him to another team.

The Phillies could use a closer… Hell a good closer could clinch the NL Pennant for them!

The Angels, the Marlins, the Cubs or the Giants could all use an upgrade in the closer position.

The Brewers have the only pitcher in history with more saves than Mariano Rivera in Trevor Hoffman… Joba could be groomed to be the next Trevor.

And those teams might pay through the nose to get him. The Yankees could get the next corner outfielder, solid infielder or pitcher to groom in exchange for Joba.

Joba could get some peace of mind with a fresh start, a steady role and oh yeah… a media that doesn’t put the race for the #5 starter on the backpage of the newspaper!

And oh yeah, when Joba has developed into a tremendous closer and Mariano Rivera ultimately retires… the Yankees can just sign Joba as a free agent.

See? It’s the circle of life.

And in honor of Dennis DeYoung, enjoy this…

Pondering Gaudin and the Joba effect

When Brad Lidge coughed up the 9th inning last night giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the series, I shot an e mail to a Yankee friend of mine.

I said "The Yankees should start Gaudin in Game 5."

The thought process was simple. The Yankees are in command, not the Phillies.

There's no reason to pitch starters on short rest when you have a 3-1 lead. If Chad Gaudin wins, then that's the series.

If Gaudin loses, the Yankees would have a rested and ready Burnett for Game 6 and if necessary, start Sabathia on short rest for Game 7 but have a rested and ready Pettitte to go if needed.

But now Girardi pitched and wasted Burnett on short rest. He managed tonight like it was the seventh and not the fifth game.

Anyone watching this game would have thought the Phillies were up 3-1.

Now the Phillies have Pedro on full rest and a rested relief corps with the off day tomorrow and only 2 innings out of the pen tonight.

Of course there is an elephant in the room.

This is the ripple effect of Joba Chamberlain not developing as a starter.
If he was the ace that he was supposed to be according to all the people who said he was being wasted in the bullpen, then the Yankees would have a 4 man rotation.

Chamberlain would have been able to go in Game 5 and they'd have rested and ready pitchers in the Bronx.

I still think the Yankees are winning this thing... but I am beginning to understand those who want Girardi out.

Didn't this guy used to be Joba Chamberlain?

For three seasons the Yankees have handled Joba Chamberlain with kid gloves.

There were Joba rules for Torre in 2007. Basically he was supposed to handle him like a delicate Ming Vase... unless he was covered by midges in a crucial playoff game.

Then there was the grotesque farce that was 2008 where he was a set up man... then a carefully monitored reliever (ironically a reliever who needed relief) and then a starter who was only allowed 3 innings a game (ergo treating the regular season like his own spring training) then a starter... WHO GOT HURT!

Now the foot is down, he's a starter, let's not even talk about it, the controversy is over... until the most important games of the year and he's the 7th inning set up man.

And he has a WHIP of 5.00. That means he would AVERAGE 5 base runners an inning. His ERA is 9.00... yup, a run an inning. And I am not sure of his batting average against, but I have a feeling it would be one that would make a batting champion or two.

If the Angels get to Andy Pettitte in Game 6, would any Yankee fan feel confident seeing Joba come in at this point?

Maybe by year 4 he will be worth something.

I'll say it here. The best thing to ever happen to Joba Chamberlain would be if the Yankees trade him.

Then all of this nonsense would end.

Well MY night has been made easier

When Hunter Jones is pitching in the third inning for the Red Sox, it is time to turn the radio off and spend time with the family.

No need to watch the Yankees blow out the Red Sox.

Besides, in about a week and a half, the playoffs start. I had better store up as much good will as possible before parking my butt in front of the TV and get hooked on a Dodgers/Phillies game.

OF COURSE Joba is lights out the same week I compared him to Matthew McConaughey!

Joba Chamberlain = Matthew McConaughey

Bear with me, the analogy is sound.

Matthew McConaughey is great at what he does. He’s a super handsome very likable good old boy who is smoking the best weed that anyone in the history of man kind has ever smoked.

And when he plays to his strengths, he is a good solid likable leading man and a funny interview.

He gave one of the great stoner performances of all time as Wooderson in Dazed and Confused.

And then he appeared in that dreadful Time to Kill movie… you know the one where evidently it is OK to kill someone with an AK 47 in broad daylight provided you know you are right!

Well it was supposedly a Sandra Bullock/Kevin Spacey/Samuel L. Jackson movie… but they cleaned up McConaughey, put him in a suit and the tongue of every single woman (and quite a few men) started wagging.

He became a big movie star and suddenly some big name directors thought he could act in big high profile dramas.

So Robert Zemeckis put him in Contact as a new age thinking religious guru opposite heavyweights like Jodie Foster, James Woods and Angela Bassett.

Then no less than Steven Spielberg cast him as a lawyer in Amistad and put him in scenes with the likes of Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins.

And in those movies he clearly was a toddler thrown into the deep end. Not only couldn’t he carry the scenes but had more people whispering “What is he doing with this group?” since Dan Aykroyd sang in We Are The World.

Well the dramatic roles dried up… but then he started playing the lovable lug card… and he turned out to be good at it.

There’s no shame in playing to your strengths. Not every guy who made his name playing stoners turns out to be a great actor.

Maybe he isn’t a young Pacino, but he is good at what he does.

Which brings us to Joba.

Joba came up as a dominating reliever.

The kind of reliever that makes a difference in the game. The kind of reliever that shortens games.

And he had a bad ass demeanor that a stud closer needs…
He even had the great name that conjures up images of Return of the Jedi.

Heck, they could play the Cantina music from Star Wars when he comes in to pitch!

He could set up for Rivera and then be his heir apparent.

That was 2007.

And then the thought was to turn him into a starter. People kept saying he was an ace in the making. People kept saying “You don’t have a potential Cy Young winner in the bullpen!”

And in 2008 the Yankees engaged in the most moronic pitching program known to mankind when they made sure that Joba could not pitch in either the rotation or the bullpen.

Now in his third big league season, Joba has been only a starter… and the results have been overwhelmingly underwhelming.

He has an 8-6 record in 29 starts with the best lineup in baseball behind him. His ERA is not exactly earth shattering at 4.72.

And since August he is 1-4 with a 7.75 ERA over 36 innings.
And he is winless since August 6th.

With the playoffs looming for the Yankees, the thought of Joba starting a playoff game is not a pleasant one as he isn’t meriting being called a #4 starter, let alone a #3.

Cy Young?
Try ANTHONY Young!

And all the while they continue to limit his innings and monitor him as if he was Castro on his death bed.

Meanwhile the Lincecums, the Lesters, the Buchholz’s and the Porcello’s of the world can all pitch and throw complete games if necessary… but not Joba!

And because of this brilliant strategy the Yankees have turned a reliever with a 1.53 ERA who struck out 78 batters in 59 innings and has nearly a 4 K to BB ratio and a 1.00 WHIP… and transformed him into a starter with an ERA over 4, lets up more than a hit an inning and less than a strikeout an inning… whose K to BB ratio is nearly cut in half…

And most importantly can’t be counted on in the playoffs.


GREAT JOB!

The Yankees had something great and they made him mediocre.

They had a player who was special at his job and made him do something where he is nothing special.

And no doubt this craziness will continue into next year as he turns 24… all because the Yankees wanted him to be something that he wasn’t.

But when someone is great at one thing and eh at something else… shouldn’t he continue doing the GREAT thing?

Sure there are good relievers to transform into good starters. Adam Wainwright is the latest example of that.

But back to McConaughey, there are also some great actors who started off playing lovable stoners.

Sean Penn started as Spicoli… but let’s face it… he’s the exeception.

I don't want to speak too soon but...

Am I the only one to notice the Yankees pitching hasn't exactly been remarkable recently?

Last night was the third time in four games that the pitching staff let up double digit runs.

Joba has been the definition of mediocre.

Since August A. J. Burnett has had two very good starts, one mediocre start and two disasters.

Before everyone starts making parade preparations, keep in mind Sabathia is a rotten post season pitcher and Andy Pettite is 78 years old.

At this point I still think the Yankees are the team to beat... but couldn't this pitching staff make them beatable?

I'm just saying.