Joba v.2009

With Joba’s role becoming clear for 2009, the critics are out in full force. Joel Sherman (NY Post) believes that the Yankees should throw Joba right into the fire, having him begin the season as our 5th starter, which would allow the Yanks to skip several of his starts along the way. Then we have Jim Baumbach (Newsday), who thinks that Joba should probably just stay in the minors and work on innings there so that he can help the team, as a starter, with no restrictions on his young arm.

Now, I understand the reasoning behind both arguments. With Sherman, the 5th starter idea seems workable. However, Sherman’s idea is contingent upon having a 6th starter, skipping starts (here and there), and so on and so forth. Sherman believes that Joba should be a starter for the entire season so that he may avoid bouncing from the ‘pen to the rotation and concentrate on what he is really meant to do (be an ace). He thinks that the wear and tear of switching roles could truly harm his arm. Nevertheless, since we always hear about pitchers being creatures of habit, the same could be said about skipping starts and not keeping Joba on a steady schedule (as a starter). But, the idea still seems fairly viable, although Sherman notes that he would like to keep Joba’s pitch count down for the first 2 months of the season, as a starter. Why not just do what the Yankees have done this year and let him build up his arm through the bullpen, it’s the same concept, essentially.

Jim Baumbach’s idea is less enticing. He basically says that it’s better for Joba to go through the “buildup process” in the minors, instead of at the major league level. The problem here is that Joba has truly helped the Yankees at the major league level, even when he’s building his arm up (whether it’s in the ‘pen, during the transition stage, or as a starter). Joba has been very dominant, so why not keep him around, even for the buildup process, especially if the Yankees can benefit from it. Also, this has been a great way for him to get used to big time hitters and big time situations. He’s learning a lot at the major league level, while being very effective. The buildup process isn’t a new one, either. Joba is doing what Johan Santana did, what Chad Billingsley did, and what Brandon Morrow is currently doing, so baseball people are confident with this strategy. Baumbach goes on to wonder whether or not the buildup process will take 3 or even 4 years to complete (complete = 200+ innings), calling it “endless”. But, remember, even if it does take 3 or even 4 years to get a full season out of Joba, he’ll only be what, 25 at that time? Look at Paul Maholm, who is having a great season. He’s in his 3rd full year as a starter (4 years total), and the Pirates are still being careful with him as he approaches the 200 inning mark (he’s 26).

There’s really no right or wrong way to do this, as there are varying opinions, but the way the Yankees have done it this year seems like a good fit (the results are there and Joba is, for the most part, healthy outside of the tendinitis issue). If Joba can get to 140 innings in 2009, the 5th starter idea wouldn’t be a bad one since they wouldn’t have to skip him too often. The Yankees could go a totally different route as well, and may choose to sign another starter to bolster their rotation, which would allow Joba to pitch out of the bullpen for the entire year (he’d have to hit 130-140 IP) and then take over for Andy Pettitte (likely) or even Mike Mussina in 2010.

Tamperin’ Hank

Here’s another Hank quotable (a Hankable) that hasn’t really gotten picked up (maybe it’s because Hank’s involvement with the team seems to end with these comments).

From Newsday (August 29th):

A day after promising that the Yankees will be busy in the offseason addressing their needs, Hank Steinbrenner yesterday named two pitchers in whom the Yankees have interest.

“Everybody’s looking at [CC] Sabathia and [A.J.] Burnett, not just us,” Steinbrenner said during yesterday’s game against the Red Sox. “We’ll see. The main concern is, are their arms going to be OK after this season?”

Once again, Steinbrenner predicted a flurry of offseason activity to make improvements to a Yankees team that could miss the postseason for the first time in other than strike years since 1993.

“It’s very frustrating. We haven’t given up on this year, but we’re definitely going to be better next year,” Steinbrenner said. “That I can promise.”

Typical Hank, but what he has done here isn’t exactly helpful–at least, not from the Blue Jay’s perspective. As Jon Heyman notes, Hank is blatantly tampering through this statement. Everyone knows CC Sabathia will get his payday after this season, but AJ Burnett is sort of a different story. Burnett control his own destiny, as he has a players’ option and could choose to stay with the Jays or he could choose to part with the team and pursue a new deal elsewhere. The thing is, Burnett hasn’t made that decision yet, because, you know, the season isn’t actually over. However, in light of Hank’s comments, why wouldn’t he exercise his opt-out and head for free agency (A-Rod style)? Clearly, as Hank said, teams (“not just us”) are interested in his services, so it seems very likely that Burnett will pursue a new paycheck. With tampering, Heyman also notes that it’s basically impossible to enforce, therefore there’s no real “disciplinary” issue for Hank, but that doesn’t mean his statement won’t effect the Yankees.

Hank has become accustomed to blurting out whatever it is that he thinks in regards to other players (that aren’t on his team) and by confirming not only that you have an interest in a player but that OTHER teams also have a genuine interest in that player, you are effectively sabotaging any form of leverage that you may have had. You’re basically saying, “hey, I want you but other teams also want you, let’s start a bidding war.” Hank is hurting his own wallet with these statements (and those pesky Blue Jays, but who cares about them). I’m sure this sort of thing bothers not only GM Brian Cashman, but also Hank’s reserved brother, Hal, who is the financial brain behind this operation. I guess, the good thing about Hanks’s statement is that it’ll further convince AJ Burnett to head towards free agency, which would then help the Yankees since he could possibly end up in the National League (thanks Hank!).

UPDATE – The Red Sox are also said to be interested in Burnett (which would be terrible for the Yankees), however Larry Luchino has failed to make a public statement…… (Props to RAB & MLBTR who channeled Ken Rosenthal).

Let’s Get Digital

I just saw this over at RAB (posted by Ben), and it’s a digital (3D) seat selector, a tool that the Yankees have installed on their website, as it allows users to click on a seat and see a digital view, from that seat, of the new Yankee Stadium. It’s cool for selecting seats, of course, but if you just want to get a good view at how the stadium will end up looking, I encourage you to check it out. For more information about tickets and prices at the new stadium, check out the the Yankees’ relocation guide.

Joba Impersonator

From The Coaster:

An Asbury Park man has been cited by police for impersonating Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain at several places along the shore. Ryan Ward, 29, was reported to Belmar Police Aug. 1 after telling workers at Belmar Bagels that he was the famed pitcher and accepting free food from girls working at the shop.

According to Captain Thomas Palmisano, Ward showed the girls a picture from a newspaper of Chamberlain and said he was the pitcher.

“The girls asked for his autograph and gave him free food,” Palmisano said.

Ward, pretending he was Chamberlain, told the girls not to tell anybody he was in town.

“He must look close enough because he’s been pulling this off,” Palmisano added, but said police do not have Ward’s picture.

Palmisano said similar stories about Ward have been reported in Spring Lake and other towns, including the Sunrise Deli in Lake Como.

“He’s been thrown out of bars,” he said.

Palmisano said there is an outstanding warrant out of Belmar for Ward for impersonation and theft of services.

“He took the bagels and didn’t pay,” Palmisano said.

If I looked like someone famous, I’d probably do it too. But, having a warrant out for your arrest because you accepted free bagels, among other things, is pretty sad. Hopefully the star struck servers that Ward tricked have also learned their lesson (don’t give free stuff to people who make more money than you) and maybe they learned a thing or two about baseball (why would Joba Chamberlain be in Asbury Park when the season isn’t over yet).

Steinbrenners Want Cashman Back

This isn’t really new information, although it’ll be billed as such. The Steinbrenners (Hank and Hal) have been dropping nuggets like this all year long. Tyler Kepner even wrote about it the other day. It’s pretty clear that the Steinbrenner brothers want Cashman back (his contract expires at season’s end) despite the team’s lackluster performance this year. This relationship is, however, a two-way street. In then end it all comes down to what Cashman wants. If he wants to return, he will and if he wants to head west (Seattle), he’ll do that. I for one, think he’ll stay. His close working relationship with Hal Steinbrenner may be enough to convince him to hang around.

Joba Back To The Pen In 2009?

Well, the 2008 season isn’t over yet, but this has come up recently, so I figured I’d write about it. As it stands today, Joba, as a reliever, definitely sounds like a possibility for next season. In fact, in light of some recent comments made by Brian Cashman regarding Joba’s return from the DL, 8th inning Joba seems like a very real possibility into 2009.

From Bryan Hoch:

Joba Chamberlain was spitting sunflower seeds in his old familiar spot as the Yankees opened their three-game series with the Rays on Tuesday.What’s more, it appears likely that he may be in the bullpen come Opening Day ‘09 as well.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that because of Chamberlain’s transition to the rotation and a bout with right rotator cuff tendinitis that cost him most of August, the right-hander will not approach the club’s projected innings cap for 2008.

Because of that, the Yankees are not inclined to approve the type of 2009 workload that would allow Chamberlain to open the season in New York’s rotation, which would likely approach at least 180 innings.

“We haven’t talked about it,” Cashman said. “It’s kind of premature for me to talk about now. I just know that he had an innings limit this year that he didn’t meet. Could he exceed that innings limit next year? You wouldn’t want to do that.”

Chamberlain was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday having thrown 89 innings this season, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the right-hander’s final total would probably be close to 100 innings, allowing service through September as the club’s primary eighth-inning reliever.

“I think it’s like riding a bike,” Chamberlain said. “You’ve got to get back on the horse. It’s really no different than pitching in general. It’s just the situation that goes along with it. You’ve still got to go get outs, no matter what inning it is.”

Unless something changes drastically, Chamberlain will report to Spring Training eyeing much the same situation that he saw this year, when he prepared as a starter during the Grapefruit League before being assigned to relief work to open the season.

This is something Tyler Kepner touched on yesterday as well. It clearly makes sense in terms of the practicality. Joba needed to log innings this year, in order to log more innings next year, however he won’t meet the limit they were hoping for in 2008. Therefore, 2009 is subsequently effected (and probably even 2010). Last year, Joba threw a grand total of 112.1 innings (between the minors and the majors). Assuming the rule of 30, the Yankees probably hoped to get Joba to 130 or maybe even 140 innings this year until his injury derailed that hope. So, in 2009, he’ll likely have to go through this year’s transition process (reliever to starter) all over again. Also, I think the Yankees wouldn’t hesitate (much) to push Joba over 100 innings a bit (maybe up to 110), to finish up this season.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, as Phil Hughes is going through a similar ordeal (he was injured for a good part of the year so he’ll make up innings in the Arizona Fall League, which will likely effect his status for next year). Joba’s role as a reliever in 2009 (at least initially) will probably force Cashman to bolster his rotation, meaning that Pettitte and Mussina will likely return for another season. CC Sabathia will be heavily courted and Wang will return, so that’ll leave one more rotation spot open for the taking. Cashman can choose to go after a Burnett-type, but with Joba waiting in the winds, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles that hole (that is, if he returns as the GM).

Well Played

The Yankees played a great game today, beating out the first-place Rays with some efficient baseball (moving runners around, Giambi’s SF, etc.) and the occasional power surge (Nady, A-Rod). Mike Mussina was a lot of fun to watch as he earned his 17th victory on the season, striking out 8 in 6 innings of work. Hopefully Moose will get his 20th win this season, but it’ll likely come down to the wire. The most he’s ever had with the Yankees was an 18-win campaign back in 2002, and, amazingly, this could actually end up being his best season with the club.

Even though Moose was pitching well, things got a bit hairy in the 7th, but Damaso Marte was summoned upon to get some outs and was impressive, striking out 2 (I was watching MLBTV and the Rays’ radar gun had him hit 99 mph, which is probably inaccurate, but still very impressive since it was probably off by only 2 mph or so). The 7th inning wasn’t all Marte though, as Joba Chamberlain returned and did his thing for an inning and 1/3. He wasn’t particularly polished, but he’s been on the DL for about a month, so as long as he got the outs and was hitting the upper-90’s with his fastball, that’s all that really matters. Dan Giese came in for the final inning and also looked good upon his return (1 IP, 1 K). Giese has been an integral cog in the Yankees pitching corps this year, so although he’s generally an unheralded player, he’s really done a nice job when presented with some opportunities.

Finally, before I wrap up, I’d also like to point out that A-Rod, who tied Mike Schmidt today with his 548th career homer (12 on the all-time list with Reggie Jackson in his sights), looked good at the plate. He was being patient, he was taking close pitches, he wasn’t diving towards the outer edge, and he looked very comfortable up there. That wasn’t exactly the case a few days ago, though it looks like he’s turned the calender page rather quickly. In August A-Rod was hitting .243 with 16 RBI. Two days into September (the season is flying by), he’s 5-for-9 with 5 runs and 5 RBI. It’s looking like he could have a huge month, as he’ll try to continue his torrid pace with Edwin Jackson on the bump for tomorrow’s game (A-Rod hits .333 with a 1.042 OPS against him).