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The Joba Rules get amended

Peter Abraham
August
30

Brian Cashman stood in the clubhouse after the game and swore that the “Joba Rules” were followed today.

“We haven’t deviated from the plan,” Cashman said. “We have an evolution … we have a plan in place. I don’t want to go into specifics.”

I don’t know the specifics other than Chamberlain will not work on consecutive days and a second inning will be contingent on pitch count and how he feels. I asked Torre if a 21-year-old rookie can be counted on to be honest about not wanting the ball.

“Yes,” he said.

Are the Yankees taking a chance with the best arm in their organization? To some degree, they certainly are. But these are the decisions these guys are paid a lot of money to make and they seem to be working together on this.

Know this much: The Yankees are about winning first. Torre once said he wouldn’t use Mo Rivera in the eighth inning. He has used him in the 8th inning 13 times. Cashman once swore Phil Hughes would develop in Triple-A this season. Hughes was called up in April.

Making the playoffs, just getting in, means millions of dollars for this organization in terms of advertising, television revenue, future ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc. Players come and go. If a guy gets hurt, you go find somebody else. That’s just how it is.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 5:30 pm by Peter Abraham.
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25 Responses to “The Joba Rules get amended”

  1. Kei Igawa

    Let’s not act like they are just throwing guys out their willy-nilly. They are still protective of their young arms. Yes, the ultimate goal is winning but I think they are doing a good job of not burning anyone out.

  2. A.B.K

    So will Chamberlain be available on Saturday when Kennedy pitches?

  3. Joe from Long Island

    You’re right. Brian Cashman et al are trying to walk a fine line between winning and protecting the future. If they’re smart, they won’t let people like us factor into their decisions, instead relying on better baseball minds. It’s a fact of life in professional sports that players come and go all the time. Look at the NFL, for Pete’s sake (not our Pete). At least Joba isn’t being sent out to pitch with a concussion.

  4. Rebecca

    There is a difference between having Joba pitch two days in a row Sept 29 and 30 with the season and the playoffs on the line, and having him go out every every game frtom now till Sept 30.

  5. CATYA

    Ipray no one gets hurt especially”Baby Ruth jr” joba

  6. mel

    Baseball is a perfect example of rules made to be broken. You best young arm can’t be the “Pitcher in the Plastic Bubble”. He’ll never grow. Pitching on consecutive nights will not kill Joba’s career. And I almost wanted to see Joba come in the the 7th when Wang got into that little spot of trouble.

    Besides, Joba could really help reduce the use of Mariano. If the score stayed 2-0, then they would’ve been compelled to use Mo instead of Edwar if Joba got into trouble. 3 nights in a row with more than 3 outs on some. Following the rules like it’s scripture can put stress on the rest of the pen because of it’s inflexibility.

    Someone stole only page 1 of the Joba Rulebook. The rest is locked in a vault in the heart of the financial district. For all we know, there’s a pitching development plan that nobody knows about. Joe shouldn’t be crucified from deviating from the “rules”.

  7. JFud26

    He’s probably on a pitch count. He has been getting through innings with such ease, he hasn’t needed to throw a ton of pitches.

  8. #9

    Wonder if there will be any “Kennedy Rules”?

  9. Tano

    Why do you say the rules were amended?

    As I understood it, he would get two days rest AFTER pitching two innings, or one day after one inning. How was this violated?

  10. #9

    Does this mean he will be off 1.1 day now?

  11. Bob Michaels

    If there is an injury I`m available for one pitch

  12. Neil B.

    @#9:

    LOL. he can pitch on Saturday after 1/3 of the day has elapsed, i.e. after 8:00am.

  13. mel

    You know, Youkilis was pretty cool at the plate. It’s like he took a look a Joba after the 2nd pitch, almost took a step, but didn’t move. I wonder if at any point there was the thought that “I don’t want to take on that beast”. If Joba thinks Ortiz looks big in the box, what must they think of Joba on the mound? Pitchers who are intimidating have a lot of advantage.

    In fact, I’m sure Youkilis didn’t think it was intentional. Either that or he took his meds today. It was a really mild response. Last series someone made Youk hit the deck and he went off.

  14. Pauly One

    Great qoute from Francona.
    “Middle of the game you’ve got the fashion police. This is incredible.” — Terry Francona, on being called out of the dugout Wednesday so an MLB security official could make sure he was wearing his uniform top under his usual Boston pullover jacket.
    – ESPN.com news services

  15. #9

    Imagine if Phil Rizzutto was alive today and broadcasting and trying to explain the “Joba Rules”:

    Bill White: “Well Scooter… here’s young Joba Chamberlain… you are aware of the rules that apply to him?”

    Scooter: “What rules, White?”

    White: “He can’t pitch a day after one inning and 2 days after 2 innings…”

    Scooter: “What kind of wacky religion does he belong to White? I never heard of that sort of thing… these kids today – what a huckleberry!”

  16. Kill-Schill(ing)

    Joba Chambelain had no business being in a 5-0 game after having pitched one inning already.

    The Joba Rules are the best protection the organization can devise against Torre wanton overuse of his bullpen.

  17. swo

    Mel, I can’t wait for Andrew Brackman to be in a similar situation. Honestly, would anyone in the MLB even be willing to take just a step in that guy’s direction?

    But honestly, if given the chance, wouldn’t all of us throw over the head of Youkilis? Honestly? You’re lying if you say no……

  18. swo

    But seriously, Joba should not have been in there. That was a perfect time to give Edwar, Bruney, or Britton some work. That he went with Joba……which would have limited him to the last game against Tampa and then just one game against Seattle……is beyond me. Hopefully he pitches in the 2nd game against Tampa.

  19. swo

    *should not have been in there in the 9th inning*, I should have said. His pitching the 8th was perfectly fine.

  20. Master Shake

    I don’t want the rules to be ammended. If Joe has the option to use Joba every day, he will, and probably for more than one inning.

  21. Jimmy the Saint

    #9:
    The Scooter saw guys like Feller pitch 300 innings in their mid 20’s. I bet he probably wondered what happened to pitchers today. Why guys as recent as Steve Carlton would throw 300 innings and would rarely(in his prime) throw less than 250. How many pitchers today throw 225 with any regularity?

  22. #9

    @Jimmy the Saint

    That was the point I was trying to make – only in todays game do you see such stuff…

    This new generation of pitchers will be 6-7 inning guys at most – no more Jack Morris’ or Carltons…

  23. Cross777

    What a surprise Clueless Joe wants to change the rules.

    Yankee fans should rise up and get this clown fired now. No way should you mess with something that WORKS. Get Farns to pitch better and leave the kid alone. Stupid idea, typical Yankee bull$hit, giving in to Torre.

    Players come and go. If a guy gets hurt, you go find somebody else. That’s just how it is. – We used to do that remember the 80s????????????

  24. saucy

    i’m confused, what amendment was made?

  25. VTYankeeFan

    The rules were amended to allow the decision on how long to use him to be based on number of pitches he has thrown, not strictly the number of innings. Previously, the rules stated that he need 2 days off BEFORE pitching 2 innings, as well as 2 days off AFTER. He pitched Tuesday, so the rules have changed. They claim he will still not pitch back-to-back games, so he is unavailable tonight.

    Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. Over the course of a full season, if the rules were applied, he would pitch in close to 80 games. How much more would we want him to pitch? We saw how effective Scott Proctor was with overuse, why would we want to repeat that?

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About the authors
Chad JenningsChad Jennings joined the The Journal News in October 2009, having spent the better part of seven years covering baseball in Scranton, PA. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and an award-winning beat reporter and features writer. E-mail me at cjennings@lohud.com
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Sam BordenSam Borden is an award-winning journalist who joined The Journal News and LoHud.com in January 2008. He covered the Yankees for the New York Daily News from 2004-06, and has also worked as a columnist for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. E-mail me at sborden@lohud.com
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