No need to apologize at all. Its confusing with their names and it took me until your second post to figure out what was going on.

If you haven’t seen Justin play make a point to do so. Again, I have no idea what he’s going to do because he’s so young – but he’s a startling talent. Just amazing.

I think the Diamondbacks messed around with his position too much (and shouldn’t of let Stephen Drew stand in the way of really trying him at short) but other than that he’s as good a young baseball player as we’ve seen in a while.

Let’s say, that’s a bit excessive on his part.

For a scout to say that, it tells me he is in the discussion when it comes to having the best stuff in the game.

Now, go through ALL of the 8th inning guys in the game and tell me how many of them will be in that catagory.

You don’t waste a guy with Joba’s talent in the 8th inning. He fills in that role for now until he is ready to start. Its really not that complicated.

Can you imagine the nights in the second half of the year the Yankees may skip a Hughes or Kennedy start to save their innings and have Joba replace them in the rotation? That’s scary!

I think fans understand the development curve the Yankees are undergoing right now. I think very, very few members of the media can grasp the concept. I really believe that.

All we hear is, “Hank won’t put up with it”. Well, they didn’t do the Santana deal did they? Hank wanted to do it, didn’t he?

Tells me, he is either “putting up with it”, or its not his sole call as to the direction of the organization.

JMO but, this is the year for teams to make hay on the Yankees.

Next year at this time, you are going to have Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy solidly in the rotation. Alan Horne and Daniel McCutcheon knocking on the door. Mark Melancon and (IMO) Humberto Sanchez in the Yankee bullpen and Andrew Brackman beginning to get ready to make his mark in the organization.

Who knows, you may even have CC Sabathia replacing Pettitte or Mussina in the rotation.

In other words, the Yankees are building it back up again. All the while, still fielding a team very capable of winning a World Series this year.

And I saw that Randy Johnson made his spring debut today, giving up three runs in an inning and 1/3. I’m still thankful that he is no longer a Yankee. Sigh of relief!!

But they really need to lay off.

Any of you guys like Kellerman and Kenney?

From time to time we all get heated, but thats are very humanness and I totally am okay with getting heated as long as we come back down to earth.

Mel, I like how you put it. I know a lot of significant others that are female and enjoy watching baseball just as much as their make counterparts.

In fact I am totally gender neutral. My 2 1/2 year old daughter already throws left-handed and can nail a baseball off a tee. You’d be surprised! That ole saying, “You throw like a girl” that I grew up with in the neighborhood would have become “You throw like you have all thumbs” or something..

I won’t forget to mention that she also almost has the whole lineup down and when Arod comes up she yells, “Arod Home Run!” and if he grounds the ball she yells at him to hit it “higher” and “louder”, but louder I think she means farther!

Got an extra tissue?

SJ44:

I hear ya, that is all well and good that we have awesome potential with three Aces. Sadly, I don’t think that is enough to carry us this year. Our rotation and BP have just too many question marks. However, it doesn’t mean we won’t be as surprised as we were with what Chacon and Small did for us so unexpectedly.

I’d be happy if one of the three became a true ace. I think that one will probably be “The Phizz” even of Joba. If Joba didn’t have inning limitations, by all means make him a starter.. but with that in mind, I’d be more than happy to keep him in the BP this year and have him train to be a starter to open the new stadium.

Its one of the more accurate nicknames he has ever come up with re: his former co-workers.

SJ,

I know. I didn’t even want to get into that because that issue seems the most difficult to get across to people who think joba has to stay in the pen.

He threw 113 innings last year. (damn those stupid hamstring pulls…).

If he throws 80 innings this year he will be regressing in terms of his arms strenght – not developing.

So next year you are stuck with the same innings cap – only worse because in 2008 he will be coming off throwing fewer innings than he did in 2007.

What sense does that make in terms of the development of a guy with #1 stuff.

It’s just beyond comprehension. Then at the same time they went on and on and on about how the yankees had to trade hughes and kennedy to get Santana because the team doesn’t have an ace!

It makes no sense – at all.

Have the yankees had a better pitching prospect than Joba – ever? And you want to put him in the pen?