Greetings from Gate A-20
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- August
- 31
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Here we are at the Brad Van Pelt International Airport in Newark waiting for a brief flight to Baltimore.
Terminal A in Newark is sort of the land that time forgot in terms of facilities. I learned my lesson the last time and picked up a bagel outside of security because once you get inside, your options are limited to granola bars at Hudson News or a Pizzeria Uno breakfast, whatever they might be.
Checked out the papers today. Most of the stories were centered on Joba Chamberlain. A headline in one of the tabloids said, “Joba rules in brief stint.”
Joba ruled? He allowed two runs on four hits in three innings and struck out one. Joba was not very good, which has been the case for a while now. He has allowed 21 earned runs on 31 hits in his last 23 innings. I understand and support what the Yankees are doing in terms of limiting his innings. That’s a smart thing to do.
But the bigger issue is that he’s their No. 4 starter in the playoffs and has a month left to figure out how to pitch well again. Joba’s 4.38 ERA is a much more significant number than his innings count at this point.
Not much else to report at this point. I’ll check in from Baltimore later on.
This entry was posted
on Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 8:00 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
He’s the fourth stater in the second round of the playoffs. He has time to fix himself.
I don’t really understand how he got “broken.”
The treatment of Joba is like “don’t sit on the new couch” Maybe fi he had more than 75 minor league innings he’d be in better position to help the team. These limits are a joke
This is a tough situation. The kid obviously knows how to pitch. He showed it in the bullpen as well as showing flashes of brilliance this year.
It’s almost as if the situation would have been easier to manage and handle if he did not have those 4 superb starts after the All-Star Break.
I have not lost faith and still believe he is going to be a phenomenal pitcher. But at the same time I understand the concern.
so because halladay had a bad start, which he’s been having a few of lately since ya know, maybe he isn’t 100% healthy, he’s been laying down?
Ozzie’s game plan was to smack a bunch a runs in early on Joba.If you notice once he was out,they were rendered helpless,against Ace.
Joba started the season,giving up runs in the 1st inning,and yesterday started off being that kind of day.
It seems that he and Posada aren’t a good pairing.Posada has worked with a host of pitchers,why it’s not working with Joba is a mystery.
Will you be landing at Al Bumbry International in Baltimore? Or will you come into the Bert Jones wing of the airport?
“so because halladay had a bad start, which he’s been having a few of lately since ya know, maybe he isn’t 100% healthy, he’s been laying down?”
I think the Halladay non-trade is looking better and better right now. I don’t think he is laying down, maybe his command is just off by a little bit. That is all it takes if you don’t throw 94+. With his string of mediocre to bad starts, amazingly, his ERA is still at 3.13.
Going this deep in the season,and AJ,Joba,Phil Coke,seemingly having problems is a bit scary.Aj will self correct,MY concern is where is Joba’s head.
I wish Joba were the one in the pen and Hughes the starter. Who knows if the results would be better but Joba is a reliever.
He is a mediocre starter at best. What a shame.
I would hafta agree with Pete, the bigger concern is his pitching than his limits. Right now he’s ineffective and getting pounded by the opposing offense. 96 or 91, he’s getting hit. I’m hoping he gets some humility and seeks counsel from veteran pitchers, catchers and coaches and tries to learn to pitch than throw hard…
As the Red Sox continue to win the Yankees do to. With some very tough games in September vs. Boston, LA Angels, and Tampa Joba better get his act together and the Yanks better recognize that anyone who starts needs to give 5 innings minimum. Blowing out the bullpen down the stretch is a bad idea and we cannot assume Mitre is going to pitch as well as he did on Saturday. If Mitre gives 5 strong I’ll be satisfied.
And just because rosters expand…..you don’t want to see Claggett and Albaladejo in meaningful innings. The race for home field advantage and even the division is not over.
Is it too late to try stretching out Hughes so he could start in the playoffs? I guess at this point they’re better off helping Joba get himself straightened out, especially since a 4th starter is usually not needed in the post season for more than 2 starts or so. But it sure is frustrating considering how dominating Joba could be.
The problem with Joba is they never allow him to catch a beating. He should have been down in Scranton working out his issues. Instead he’s rewarded by staying in the bigs for his below average performance. Hughes went down last year and it helped his focus this year. Joba is treated like a baby who’s arm is about to fall off and it’s a joke.
Pete,
I’m surprised that you are not driving to Baltimore..
will try to make it to outing next year even though scranton is more than an hour from me..
Could it be that Joba has just hit his wall for the year? He’s still a year younger than Hughes and Hughes just figured it out this year. I think people are exasperated with Joba mostly because of the media saturation. He’s having a pretty normal progression for a pitcher his age – showing some flashes of brilliance followed by head slapping inconsistency.
I cannot understand how Joba is not transitioning to the ‘pen while Hughes transitions to the rotation. You’d kind of kill 2 birds with one stone.
Plus, right now, I think Joba stinks as a starter.
Irabu’s Son, the current setup has given them the best record in baseball. If Girardi takes Hughes out of the pen and they start losing games in the late innings he’ll be second guessed for the rest of his life. This is just one of the odd arrangements you deal with when things are going well. You just don’t mess with a good thing no matter how bad it looks on paper.
For the love of God Joba just sucks lately and his attitude that he is doing well ticks me off even more.
Will we have Hughes rules next year?
Yea, 4 innings, 2 ER on 4 hits is not spectacular. He had only threw 35 pitches at that point though, and I think we have all seen this year that he takes a bit to really get going. Lets just say, in theory he was on more of a 90 pitch count instead of inning limit. If he threw 2 or 3 more innings, gave up a hit, got a couple strike outs and maybe gave up a walk, then we would be saying he looked brilliant. I don’t think it is fair to judge his performance yesterday, considering how little he actually threw.
Then his numbers might look like 7.0, 2ER, 5H, 5K or something similar. Which is a pretty decent line if you ask me.
The Ghost
August 31st, 2009 at 9:44 am
Irabu’s Son, the current setup has given them the best record in baseball. If Girardi takes Hughes out of the pen and they start losing games in the late innings he’ll be second guessed for the rest of his life. This is just one of the odd arrangements you deal with when things are going well. You just don’t mess with a good thing no matter how bad it looks on paper.
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And it actually looks pretty good on paper.
We’re 17-8 in games started by Joba, or is it 18-8 after yesterday?
I sat pretty close to Joba and really like his change. It’s a good one – got swinging strikes on it’s diving action. If Hughes’ change was of that caliber, he’d be starting already. Next season BOTH these fine young arms will be in our rotation – people need to learn to let these kids breathe.
I agree with you Ghost, it’s pretty normal and people’s noses are out of joint because they can’t get past the glitz of the lasers he was hurling in short relief two years ago.
For two innings yesterday, he was attacking the hitters. The triple in the first inning was a choppy thing down the line and was helped by HInske’s misplay of it in the corner.
With a change like Joba has, and a slider that will be helped as his legs get stronger and by extension, his cofidence in his 4 seamer, these issues will begin to fade.
He worked off the FB yesterday, and although it wasn’t a plus-plus pitch for him, he was willing to throw it to try and get ahead. The velocity will come with the stamina.
This really is ST for Joba – he never was built up in real ST because of concern about his shoulder. The Yankees are correcting that error in judgment now, and we all just need to be patient.
Whoever said Joba belongs in the bullpen, you are still on some drug high from 2007. That was merely his introduction to the majors. You need to open your eyes.
You don’t take a pitcher with a change/slider/curve/FB combination – he can throw all for strikes – who has shown signs of brilliance to come, and waste his career in short relief.
Peggy
August 31st, 2009 at 10:22 am
For the love of God Joba just sucks lately and his attitude that he is doing well ticks me off even more.
Will we have Hughes rules next year?
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OK, I’m pretty tired of this.
What ‘attitude’ are you referring to? Do you even have a tangible basis for that comment? The last game he pitched, he flagellated himself for killing the team. When they offered him an out because we nearly came back, he did not take the bait.
So, what attitude, I ask?
I don’t think it is fair to judge his performance yesterday, considering how little he actually threw.
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Billy,
I think there’s a clear divide on this board.
THose who are actually interested in Chamberlain’s progress, and those who are interested in making rash judgments based on nothing more than their own emotional whims.
You are right – such a stint just doesn’t stand up to yay or nay scrutiny. He had a nice changeup, a FB that was hittable, but that was throwing anyway to get ahead – that’s a
good thing – a change that was nasty, and relied less on his slider, which he used more judiciously. Didn’t throw his CB much.
Joba understands that his breaking stuff won’t stand up on it’s own – he must use his FB to make those other pitches work for him. I believe he threw with that in mind yesterday, despite the fact that his FB isn’t where it will eventually be, and where we’ve all seen it live.
This Joba stuff has gotten old. He is not the savior. Someone explain to me why is velocity is down. Out of pen I remember seeing him hit 100mph, now he averages 91. If he is only going 3 innings why was his velocity still so low. If he cant throw mid 90’s, his days are numbered. Batters don’t bite on the slider in early mid inings like they do late in a game. Yanks have turned him into a prima donna. He will be at best a 4 or 5 man. I would trade him for a couple of good prospects at the earliest. He is painful to watch.
I had read that Joba’s mechanics were changed to avoid the stress that led to his shoulder injury. Because of the change in his mechanics he won’t be topping 94-95, but hopefully won’t hurt himself either. Some pitchers come up and know how to pitch right away and some take years before it comes together. Joba is worth waiting for. Don’t forget, when he first came up he was just fastball/slider. Now he’s really learning two pitches from scratch at the major league level, how many guys have had to do that?
Why is Chamberlain a starting pitcher in the majors at this point in his professional career?
I understand the team’s sense of urgency in 2007 to bring him up into the pen… I’ll even buy into the team’s sense of desperation to bring him into the rotation in 2008.
But the organization went into the 2009 season with the mindset that he would be on the opening day roster as a starting pitcher. Were other options considered? Did the team believe that sending him back down to AAA would be detrimental to his development or psyche?
I’m going through the Yankees roster and trying to compare him to other players his age, and looking at the stats in both the majors and minors, obviously the glaring difference is the innings pitched in the minors.
By skipping Chamberlain past those hundreds of innings pitched, the hours on the mound, the sessions in the pen, and the time spent with the coaches – who are there to instruct developing pitchers (as opposed to MLB coaches who, one would argue, are in place to guide already skilled players), they’ve done the player, and, ultimately, the organization, a huge disservice.
It seems that the kid is being set up for mediocrity and an unsatisfying career. One might argue that he might flourish more on a squad such as the Rays, which is loaded with youth, and, presumably, a coaching staff which is equipped with the skills to direct and instruct him, as opposed to just guiding and fine-tuning.
I wish Chamberlain nothing but the best, and I’ll continue rooting for both his and the team’s success, but I just question the team’s handling of him.
Of course, as many readers will be quick to point out, I’m sitting on a couch in my living room… so what do I know.
Eiland was a minor league pitching coach for a while, probably Joba’s at one point, so I don’t think coaching or support at the MLB level is the issue.
Bodh has a good perspective on the course that the Yankees are trying to set for Chamberlain and I thank him for sharing that. It is frustrating to those who do not believe in Joba’s pitching expertise to see him not perform up to “expectation”. And that is your right.
On the other side, it is frustrating and maddening to hear all the anti-Joba remarks.
1) stubborn – and just how many professional athletes are not stubborn. How do you think they got to this level. By being nice?
2) not bright – do you personally know him to make such a remark? Do you know his SAT scores, college GPA or his IQ?
3) comparing him to Hughes – prior to this year it was no doubt that Joba was the better pitcher. Hughes has been in the Yankee system longer, starting after high school. He came up in 2007 and for whatever reason was not successful and was sent down. He was also injured (not forthcoming about it) so he did spend more time in the minors. He is having an excellent year this in the bullpen. Good for him.
4) Don’t make this issue Joba v. Phil. Yankee fans should be ecstatic that there are two home grown – repeat – home grown pitchers who will head up the rotation in future years. What bragging rights when other fans say the Yankees buy their players.
5) I am in agreement that Joba’s pitching style was changed and that accounts for some of his miserable outings. When he has those excellent outings – is he the old Joba or the new one. There must be a compromise somewhere.
6) I also agree we have the luxury of the Joba Rules because the team is WINNING and in first place. The team is trying to build up his strength and IP for the post season.
7. Please have patience and understanding with Joba, and with Phil next year as he goes through the same growing pains.