I feel like Yankee fans are going to enjoy Gardner this season. He is a grinder. Something the Yankees have been lacking in the last few years. Plus his speed will unnerve some pitchers. I hope he keeps the hitting up into the season.
Of course. Anybody can go through my post history and see it's full of nothing but arod. Hell, how can anyone not obsess about that performance enhancing man beast. If obsessing about arod is wrong then I don't want to be right.
Surprise, surprise..Joba is the closer if Rivera goes down..and then finally they will stop playing these games. http://www.nypost.com/seven/03182009/sports/yankees/joba_is_plan_b_for_close_call_160145.htm "If Mariano Rivera's health falters and he is unable to close, the likelihood is Joba Chamberlain would be switched into the role, multiple Yankees officials told The Post."
I have to say, while I would rather have ARod than not, he's getting irritating beyond words. Can't he just sit down and shut up for 5 minutes? As far as Joba, unless the Yankees feel certain that Hughes and Kennedy will be full-time starters, Joba will not be the Yankees' closer.
That link quotes multiple Yankee sources saying that. Of course we all know what unnamed sources amount to but who else would they turn to? Not Marte, this isn't Pittsburgh and once he goes back to the pen he won't ever come out of it again. Hughes has looked very good but he mat be another one like Igawa who just can't pitch in NY.
Here's the thing. Chamberlain fits in, long-term, as a starter. That's the "plan." The only way I see that changing is if the entire organization is convinced that both Hughes and Chamberlain are definitely full-time starter material. That would close the holes that would be left by Joba's move to the pen, and Pettitte's retirement. Moving Chamberlain back into the pen, even for a short stint while Mo recovers (because the story isn't that Joba would be the permanent closer, just that if there is an issue with Mo's recovery from surgery) stunts his growth again. At some point, the switching back and forth is going to be an issue. The long-term answer is Mark Melancon. And let's not count out Bruney yet either.
I think it is only the plan if they find another Rivera to replace him. If not then Chamberlain is the guy and I agree, if they move him back again they have to leave him there. You can't keep switching pitchers like that and not expect them to get really injured at some point. As it is, Chamberlain has a history of injuries. He was hurt in college, in the minors with the Yankees and again last year. They can't keep dicking with him. Wang had a good outing. 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 er. Seems he gets longer starts than everybody else. They say Matsui won't play the field until at least inter-league play. That sort of limits the DH spot to just him.
I don't think you have much to worry about. This makes no sense. Plenty of pitchers have gone from starter to reliever and back again without injury. (Dave Righetti comes to mind.) The issue is where you get the most value of out Joba. And his "history of injuries" is not as bad as you make it out to be. In college, he had knee injuries when he was 30 pounds heavier. Last year, he had shoulder tendonitis. And there is no evidence that being a reliever would lessen his chance for injury, so you might as well toss that argument aside. Joba should be a starter unless something tells us he can't be.
Joba should be the closer unless they find somebody better after Rivera retires in two years. Because of that he should be setting up now and yes Righetti made the switch but once he did it was finished. They didn't keep moving him back and forth between the pen and the starting rotation. That is what they are talking about with Chamberlain. Even if they had, pitching was totally different back then. Pitchers actually threw complete games and relievers would pitch every day. They were stronger and it was easier to adjust.
Again, the issue is where you get the most value out of Joba. And - unless he can't start - that should be the only issue. The end. If they do anything else, it's pure lunacy. And Cashman and Girardi are not lunatics. If -- if -- Rivera goes down, we'll see Bruney. Watch. That article is just Sherman doing what he does best... trying to turn a non-story into something controversial.
I just realized I made a mistake when I wrote this. I wrote Chamberlain, but I meant to write Kennedy. The only way Joba goes into the pen is if the organization is firmly convinced that CC, Wang, Burnett, Hughes, Kennedy is the starting rotation for at least the next 5 years. Let's just say I wouldn't bet any money that Joba will be back in the pen any time soon.
A great closer is worth as much as a good starter all the time. If Chamberlain is going to be the closer then he should be setting up now just like Rivera did when he first started out. I am sure the Yankees have planned who is going to replace Rivera. At least they must be talking about it since his surgery.
No. They aren't. It isn't even close. And that's been proven to you more times than should be necessary for you to understand. You simply don't want to understand, but that doesn't make you any more correct. He's not going to be the closer. Let's repeat: He's not going to be the closer. You there in the back, please repeat along with the rest of us: He's not going to be the closer. And Rivera started out as a starter, but wasn't a good one. Mariano Rivera is arguably the best closer to ever play the game, however, he was a poor starter, and the reason he's even had a major league career is because his cut fastball is better than anyone else's. Joba has at least 3 good pitches. It would actually be a stupendous waste of talent for Joba to be the closer. Yes, they have. His name is Mark Melancon, but we've discussed that before as well. And they discussed it long before his surgery. If we wind up needing someone sooner than Melancon is ready, mark my words, that guy will be Brian Bruney.
Sometimes I wonder about what would have happened if the organization never bothered to bring Joba up in 2007 and temporarily convert him to a reliever out of desperation that year. I wonder if it would make room for less obviously retarded debates, where more evenly matched options would offer themselves up for conversation. Then I remember that there are still journalists like Sherman out there. On a slightly different note, I think Bruney is going to impress the ever-lovin' shit out of everyone this year. In fact, I'm surprised how often he gets overlooked, considering that he's been pretty damn good for the Yankees, has been getting in better and better shape, and is still only 26 years old.
I reserve my right to disagree and I do. Of course a great reliever is worth as much as a good starter and that is why they get paid as much but before you go there Chamberlain still has to prove he is more than a 50-50 starter to begin with. If Melancon is the future closer then he better start working at getting major league outs. He has two years to take over.
Do you really think Sherman is the only one who thinks Chamberlain belongs in the bullpen? It's probably 90-10 among the talking heads.
