Question I always add to this debate. If it came down to Joba or Phil to pitch in the WS – -Who would you chose. Joba, for me

Thankfully you don’t run the Yankees.

no

All I can say is you are all fools. Here’s why:

No one said that Joba would not make a good starter. He is a good starter now. I cannot call him great because he usually goes 5-6 innings and rarely gives any length. Tonight he faced a minor league lineup and took advantage. If he doesn’t make the most amazing play I’ve ever seen a pitcher make then the Indians likely take the lead in the 5th inning.

That being said, I believe Joba COULD become an ace and believe in player development too. However, not at the expense of championships.

First of all, Phil Hughes is going to be sent down to AAA once Wang is back in the rotation – coming soon. For the clowns who think player development is so important – you should be fighting for Hughes and Joba…not just Joba.

2nd – The Yankees need bullpen help desperately. They have been beating up on sub .500 teams. They are still 0-5 vs. Boston and have a losing record vs. AL East. We have a looong way to go and the bullpen will be key this year.

3rd – To all the clowns who believe in making a trade….I ask you to look back to 2008. What happened. Our pen stunk, Cashman made a trade, in comes Demaso Marte. Out goes our streak of playoff runs. You cannot count on a trade for an 8th inning, trustworthy setup man (or 7th inning too for that matter).

4th – When you bring up guys from minors you can strike lighting in a bottle (2007 Joba) but that doesn’t happen twice in 3 years. Melancon might be great but can you trust him vs. Boston when Youkilis is up as the tying run? NO.

There are plenty of reasons why Joba should stay – I agree. He has the makeup. He might be a future ace. Our ace, this year, however makes $20 million. He goes by the initials CC. You may have seen him around, he’s the biggest guy on the team. He will be starting Game 1 (assuming we get there) of the postseason. Joba will start Game 4 and give you his classic 6 innings 2 runs. What happens next? Coke? Fill int he blank reliever gives up runs. I’d rather have Joba in the pen this year where he can pitch in several playoff games and have a major affect for us.

While I am all for dominant starting pitching, I believe the pen is very important too and it is our biggest weakness, our achilles heal if you will. Joba to the pen solves that problem without hurting our rotation. Remember, Hughes did pitch 8 innings (0 runs) vs. a better lineup than Joba tonight giving up 2 runs (could have been more without “the dive”) vs. a bad lineup.

My argument comes down to 1 question and 1 question only: Would you rather have….
A) Joba in the rotation, Hughes in the minors (not developing), and Pu Pu platter of relievers
or
B) Hughes in the rotation (developing as another potential ACE and actually pitching just as well as Joba), Joba setting up for Mariano

Choice B gives us a dominant pen and keeps the rotation intact. It also means Joba won’t reach an innings limit in September and get shut down for a month.

It’s a no brainer. We have the pieces to win a championship this year but they are not in the right places.

Anyone who disagrees is just not watching.

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....ting-game/