starring

Joba Chamberlain as the 5th starter…”I’ve got ‘ya 200 bullets right here Skip! Just turn me loose!!!!

Phil “Phranchise” Hughes as the stopper!…”it matter when you call me Joe…they ain’t gettin’ no more on us! I got this!!!

Ace Aceves the Silent Assassin….” I been waitin so long to get in Capitaine que no me importa, I’ll give you whatever you need! Meteme!

Chad “Soulja” Gaudin the Longman….” I’ve got 60 pitches good pitches in me General Joe and I plan to go hard or go home, sir!yes sir!”

Dave DRob Robertson the Sharpshooter…”strike one, strike two, I’m knocking ‘em out!”

Mark “Ice” Melancon the Young Gun….”I’m not going to say too much,soon,everybody gonna be talkin ’bout me!

Damaso “Lefty” Marte the Specialist….”my LH kung fu is better than your LH karate,Lefty!”

Mo Hierro Rivera El Jefe….nuff said!

As a starter, you have to plan for longevity. You don’t go out there and “throw hard” every game or you wind up in one place… the DL. You have to go out there and throw what comes out easy, and learn to pitch around that. Joba just has to learn how to pitch now that he can’t rely on blasting the ball past people for 7-8innings per game. Most if not all of his struggles last year were due to this, add that on to the inconsistency of his workload at the end of the season and it was just about the worst possible scenario for him. Once he learns to pitch within himself for the length of a season, then you may see some of that velocity return as he gets stronger and more durable.

The only time you see them come over the top is when they are making plays in the hole.

Ray,

Even if he hits in ST, what does that mean really? Fans place more stock into hitting in ST (and pitching for that matter) than teams do.

ST is about getting ready for the season. All hitting is not created equal.

Does he hit major league pitching as they are getting ready for the season or minor league arms?

He would have to show an awful lot to jump the other guys.

I just don’t see that happening.

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LOL The sip of water I just took is now all over my desk. Thanks a lot

How many teams in baseball have a utility infielder(not one of their starters that YOU consider a backup for us) that can hit better than .230? If they could hit, they would be starting for someone… and no longer qualify.

I think Phil has been given as many opportunities as Joba, both have failed as starters thus far.

To me, if you want to maximize your pitching staff you stick Joba as the fifth starter simply because he’s (theoretically) capable of throwing 200 innings. I don’t think Phil can do that yet.

I still see them both as starters going forward but I don’t think the Yanks will ever chance having two unknowns in the rotation after 2008. Joba’s higher innings limit gives him an edge this year, I think.

That tells me they see him as a platoon/bench player.

LF is Gardner’s job to lose with Winn as the backup plan if he can’t hack it.

Only way I see him sticking is if the Yanks break camp with 11 pitchers.