Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 24, 2010 
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With a week and a half remaining in spring training, the Yankees roster seems to be coming into focus. It’s still unclear who the fifth starter will be, and the Yankees have yet to decide whether Curtis Granderson starts in left or center, but 25 favorites have emerged for the active roster.
Don’t forget, today’s game is a night game against the Nationals. Also, we’ll be giving away Media Guides here on that blog at noon.
If Phil wants to, he could improve it because he seems to pick up pitches rather quickly. I’m not sure how much time he spent working on the cutter last year – it’s not like it was his primary pitch. It seems like something he was toying with and it worked for him. As someone mentioned yesterday, however, Phil had a lot on his plate this spring, starting with developing his change. I would imagine that tinkering with his cutter or curve shouldn’t be too difficult – it’s not like he’s got to start all over. I guess he can do that in side session. The question is : if you guys have noticed this stuff, have Phil and/or the Yankees?
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde....._case.html
Betsy, Do you like Phil?
Hey Chad – night game doesn’t mean much when YES is busy showing the MAGNIFICENT 7-63 NETS….ridiculous…..
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....5JrPW31JGM
I have no idea if Sherman is right or not, but I found this telling:
Thus, Yankee officials were elated Monday despite the poor overall line by how far Hughes’ changeup had advanced, both in its deception and his trust in deploying it.
The homers they saw more as a function of the wind and Hughes’ still gaining arm strength. His fastball was mainly 89-91 mph, and the Yanks anticipate several mph more over the next few weeks. If that comes along with the changeup, the Yanks really may have a No. 3 starter in the No. 5 spot in 2010. But, just as vital, they also may have a No. 3 starter in the No. 3 spot in 2011 should Andy Pettitte retire and Javier Vazquez leave as a free agent.
*****
He’s one of my favorites, yes. What would you like me to post about? We were discussing Phil last night, the discussion about the 5th starter will continue even beyond the day the choice is made. Deal with it.
thanks for the link Betsy
many of us like Phil, which isn’t to say we don’t like Joba as well
Hughes has shown a lot this spring, but I still think it would be idiotic to put Joba in the ‘pen. IMO, in order of best to worst, i’d list the options as follows:
1. Joba in rotation, Hughes in AAA
small gap
2. Hughes in rotation, Joba in AAA
huge gap
3. Joba in rotation, Hughes in pen
Infinitely huge gap
4. Hughes in rotation, Joba to pen
I could see these guys performing at equal levels this year, but I really think if anyone significantly outperforms the other, it will be Joba, just because he had all of 2009 under his belt. I think if Hughes starts all year, his year will look very similar to joba’s ’09 – inconsistent but overall solid until he begins to fatigue towards the end of the year, then a precipitous dropoff. I’d like to see him pitching in AAA, ready to take over if any of AJ/Andy/Joba/CC get hurt (all of which are legitimate possibilities, considering their various risk factors (injury history for AJ, age for Andy, innings jump for joba, innings for CC). The yankees 6th, and probably 7th starter will play a very significant role this year. I’d much rather that guy be Hughes (or Joba, if Hughes does, in fact, beat him out) than Aceves or Mitre.
For all the talk about how good Hughes’s changeup has looked this spring, I really think Joba’s stuff looked better in the last televised outing he had. He’s had a little more velocity (93-94) on the FB, and his slider, at least in that outing against the Phillies, looked the best it’s looked in a loooonng time. Don’t sleep on him.
46fan4evr
March 24th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Hey Chad – night game doesn’t mean much when YES is busy showing the MAGNIFICENT 7-63 NETS….ridiculous…..
*************************
LOL
Betsy: I think it’s hard not to find that outing encouraging – his changeup looked solid and his curve looked to be at it’s ’07 levels at times. But Sherman is a noted B-Jobber, and is ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that Joba’s entire development up to this point was meant to have him ready to go in 2010. I want Hughes in the rotation as well, but unfortunately, I think it will take an injury to someone in the rotation. Which, of course, also unfortunately, is not particularly unlikely. However, he will absolutely be in the rotation in 2011.
IMO, the 2011 rotation will look like this:
CC
Lee (I think the yanks will go with Lee over Crawford, who will get grossly overpaid by somebody)
Joba
AJ
Hughes
Erin
ESPN had a short fantasy bit this am where Buster and Matt??? compared Robbie and Pedroia, both rated Robbie higher
I would love to have the same conversation as we had last night about Hughes with Joba. I just haven’t seen him pitch enough this spring to comment on it. I could only comment on what I saw last year. I’d like to sit back and listen though.
Erin — makes me nuts…..we don’t get to see hardly any spring training games and yet the Yankees have their own network – yea, I know, they needed something to fill in for the off-season…..but these NETS have had an off-season all season…..lol
upstate kate
March 24th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Erin
ESPN had a short fantasy bit this am where Buster and Matt??? compared Robbie and Pedroia, both rated Robbie higher
************************
Awesome!!! Nice to see those ESPN guys coming around. Thanks kate
Joba out of the pen is a huge weapon for us. I think #5 is either Hughes or Mitre. Mitre has made a strong case for himself too.
I can’t wait until they announce it just so the “Joba needs to go to AAA” posts will end.
Especially since that isn’t going to happen.
Blake-
Re: Joba’s stuff.
I haven’t paid that much attention to his offspeed stuff but I can tell what I saw on other pitches.
The FB looks to have more life,and at this stage of the season with arm strength still building, I would expect him to be above 95 soon. His command and control seems good at this stage as well.
The slider is once again a thing of beauty.
His curve was always a plus pitch.
He, like the others, has been working on his change.
Hope this helps. JMO
Blake,
Last nights conversations can happen every day/night here when substance overtakes gibberish on here.
The popularity of this blog is a good thing in many ways.
One area where it’s not is that it often attracts emotional children who use the blog as their shrink.
The game threads particularly get hampered by this nonsense.
It’s why we have to be vigilant in keeping the nutjobs off here.
It won’t hurt page views. It will actually create MORE page views because more folks will want to participate in the discussions.
Dumbing down the blog only helps the dummies.
It doesn’t help the other 98% of the people who spend time here.
Maybe I spoke too soon: Joel Sherman is reporting that it’s Granderson in center and Gardner in left.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports.....tSxeqvn8eM
Either of these two will be a huge weapon out of the pen for us.
blake: the only recent video of joba is his outing against the Phils, but the highlights from it are available on mlb.com here: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....p?c_id=nyy (march 17).
Unfortunately there were no guns there, but he was touching 94 during his horrible flu outing, and it looks life-y in that video, so you have to figure it’s coming together nicely. And as you can see from that video, his slider was superb, really better than it was all last year, I thought. Much like Hughes’s outing on monday, it was one where the stuff was much more encouraging than the results, but in tiny samples that’s really all you have to go on.
SJ: agreed – I don’t think Joba has anything to gain from AAA, since he’s ready to handle a MLB workload already. Hughes, on the other hand, is not there yet, and while he may be ready (and just as easily may not be – we really haven’t seen enough out of him to really know) to perform at a high level as a starter, he isn’t yet equipped for the innings load. I think his 2010 will look similar to Buccholz’s 2009, where he’s in the minors for most of it because of a lack of space on the MLB roster, rather than his own abilities.
SJ44
March 24th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Blake,
Last nights conversations can happen every day/night here when substance overtakes gibberish on here.
The popularity of this blog is a good thing in many ways.
One area where it’s not is that it often attracts emotional children who use the blog as their shrink.
The game threads particularly get hampered by this nonsense.
It’s why we have to be vigilant in keeping the nutjobs off here.
It won’t hurt page views. It will actually create MORE page views because more folks will want to participate in the discussions.
Dumbing down the blog only helps the dummies.
It doesn’t help the other 98% of the people who spend time here.
———————-
Let me guess, you’re more than willing to appoint yourself as the arbiter of what does and doesn’t constitute a valuable contribution to this blog?
The beauty of sports is that everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether that opinion is based on anything statistics, gut feeling, or tarot cards isn’t your call and whether or not you believe their opinion is valid is moot.
If someone wants to post that Joba should be sent to A ball to reinvent himself the way Roy Halladay did then that is up to them. And an argument could be made that they have the right idea.
Pete, Sherman isn’t exactly enamored of Phil, so maybe it’s a tug of war.
I don’t buy the idea that Joba should have an advantage because he was in the rotation last year – nor do I buy the idea that he’s owed another chance because the Yankees have tried to develop him as a starter. They’ve also tried to develop Phil as a starter also – not tried, they have. If he’d gone to AAA last year instead of being put in the pen, the first argument wouldn’t exist because people wouldn’t be so worried about his innings limitation. As it turned out, going to the pen was the right move for the Yankees and very probably for Phil – and since Cash made it clear in the off-season that there would not be severe innings restrictions on Phil, there should be no worries if he wins the job.
Butting Gardner in LF makes the most sense for a couple of reasons:
1. Gardner’s probably not going to play everyday and on the days he sits Winn is best suited for LF, so rather than move Granderson from LF to CF just keep Granderson in CF and keep the disruptions to a minimum.
2. Brett Gardner is not in the long term plans for the team. The Yankees’ top target next winter is going to be Crawford – which means that Granderson will be back in CF next year – why bounce him around?
Kate, you’re welcome!
There are too many people on this board that say stupid things just to get people to reply to them. And it’s very tedious to see so many people take the bait. This blog would be much better if the majority of posters just ignored the fools. They will get tired of being ignored and they will move along to anohter site.
Chip,
the beauty of this blog is it engages in less fanboy and childish diatribes than most Yankee blogs.
That’s why it attracts such a diverse and interesting community.
There are plenty of places to go to engage in mass hysteria over ST losses, calling Yankee players “garbage”, and declaring the season over in April and demanding mass firings.
It’s not about having an opinion. Nobody wants to stifle opinions. It’s about engaging in intelligent and interesting discussions.
Backing up opinions is what makes this place fun. Using it as your shrink because one is either too emotional or too stupid to be able handle the ups and downs of a baseball season makes this place a sewer. Most of us on here don’t want to turn the place into a sewer to enable the emotionally disturbed.
That’s what made this blog popular. Not childish gibberish.
The more gibberish free you keep the place, the more interesting and engaging it is.
It’s not a Constitutional issue. It’s an intelligence issue.
all indications are hughes will be the 5th starter wich i am on board with now
hughes is a pitcher,joba a thrower
joba looks lost as a starter now
maybe give him a shot next year
we will all support whichever of them gets the spot. We are all fans who want this team to succeed, but we all have opintions on who should be there. In the end though, team joba will rally for phil or the other way around.
Tomorrow is supposed to be the day that Phil Hughes is confirmed as the No. 5 starter.
Mitre’s status may depend on whether Girardi wants to take another lefthander north.
Play hard at AAA, Kevin Russo and get some OF and SS time. You could be in the Bronx sooner than later.
Stay ready at AA Mark Melancon.
I still don’t understand this Joba looks lost as a starter crap? He struggled last year once he got to 110 innings. He was slow, he shook off the catcher constantly, and he had his starts pushed back and shortened. This spring he again looks strong. Outside of August and September, when has he looked lost as a starter?
** correction **
Mark Melancon at AAA – not AA.
Alan – Melancon will be in AAA.
Pedroia to see the inside of an MRI (or X-ray) machine this morning with a boo boo on his wrist. Probably nothing, but we have seen many times that even minor wrist injuries can have lasting effects. So far, and I want say this out loud, the Red Sox are having a difficult camp this year. No one is hitting for power and their own pitching is getting hit around some.
Instead of criticizing the two kids, maybe we should just be happy that the Yankees have a tough choice. This is not a case where the winner is going to win by default; both Joba and Phil have had good springs and have made definite progress as starting pitchers. I’m sure the Yankees are very happy with both of them. Either way, we have two special talents on our hands – it’s a good thing.
It’s not a Constitutional issue. It’s an intelligence issue.
Obviously it’s not a constitutional issue. That wasn’t my point.
My point is that just because you might deem someone’s opinion childish doesn’t mean that the person who expressed it has to go elsewhere to do so.
You and I often disagree and in the end if I don’t want to read your posts or you don’t want to read mine, the only recourse we have is to ignore each other’s postings.
Do I agree that Joba should be sent to the minors? No. But do I deem that opinion as childish and worthy of outright dismissal? Nope. Hey, Roy Halladay was sent down to the minors, why not Joba?
Betsy-
” I’m sure the Yankees are very happy with both of them. Either way, we have two special talents on our hands – it’s a good thing.”
Now your talkin’. Seconded.
Why run one down at the expense of the other ?
I am GBU.
Roy Halladay completely reworked his mechanics. Changed the grips on his fastball, added a cutter, changed his arm angle, and his delivery.
The two are not analogous. Joba doesn’t need to be rebuilt as a pitcher.
These are not the discussions I am talking about. It’s the nonsense that often fills this place if not policed.
You can tell the difference between that and legitimate topics.
Chip,
You are missing his point. We don’t care what your opinion is, as long as you back it up with data or some kind of reasoning. The things SJ44 dislikes (and so do the majority of the people on this blog) are people that come in and say off the wall things with nothing backing them up.
For example, “A-rod is trash, he can’t hit in the clutch and he likes mannish women!”
That’s a crap comment.
On the other hand if someone comes in and says,
“I’m not too happy with A-rod right now, he is batting .240/.330/.400 over the last month. He really needs to start hitting. Oh and look at this picture of his latest girlfriend, those hands could have belonged to Johnny Bench!”
See at least that comment has some logical thought put into it.
Guys…if you take out the first two starts in ’08 when Joba was getting stretched out, and the truncated starts from last year, Joba has a career ERA of 3.62 in 184.1 innings (or a full season) in the AL East at ages 23 and 24. Hughes has never even approached that level of sustained success at the major league level. I want Joba in the 2010 rotation because I think he’s a better starting pitcher. The innings thing just makes it a much easier decision.
SJ, totally agree. I love to talk baseball. That’s why I came to this blog in the first place, because there are actually people here I can have intelligent conversations with and actually learn things.
MTU, Pete…thanks. I have seemed to either be at work or the game wasn’t televised every time Joba has thrown.
CN: well said. people need to think a little deeper into their analyses.
joba has not pitched well in a very long time
this spring he did not look good either
he rested this winter & still doesn’t look good
he just looks like he is not mixing pitches well
when has joba looked good in any outing this spring?
Chamberlain was roughed up in each of his first two games this spring, his odds of landing the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation have fallen significantly
When camp opened, he was considered to be the co-favorite for the spot with Phil Hughes, but after giving up 11 runs in 3-2/3 innings before his last start, he’s fallen behind Hughes
that is looking strong?
Betsy -
I’m willing to be patient with them, but I think the issue many people have with Joba and Hughes is that they aren’t Derek Jeter.
They didn’t burst on the scene to instant success.
Additionally, in the internet world we’ve been able to follow them since they were drafted. They were both dominant in the minors and both have been covered in hype that they have yet to live up to. There are fans who worry that they are pitching’s version of Ricky Ledee and Ruben Rivera.
We ignore the fact that they’re both still very young (Andy Pettitte broke into the majors at age 23 – Hughes is just now 23) and wonder why neither of them are up there with King Felix and Tim Lincecum.
We forget that Greinke, Lee, and countless other pitchers have struggled early only to go on to have outstanding careers — we want it all and we want it now.
That said, I stand behind what I said yesterday – if the plan is to stash Joba in the pen until Mo retires, then I would rather see him traded while he still has value as an upside starter.
Phil has hardly had chance to start. His August 2007 is a throw out; he pitched very well in September. In 2008, he was injured and missed the whole year. He was so bad early that year that I wholeheartedly believe that Phil was injured before he was diagnosed; that would account for his terrible FB command. It’s sort of hard to pitch with a fractured rib. Phil showed plenty of ability last year as a starter; how quickly we forget the Texas and Detroit games. He also had a fantastic K to BB ratio. If he had stayed in the rotation all year, he would have been good to very good by the end of the year.
Patrick
March 24th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Chip,
You are missing his point. We don’t care what your opinion is, as long as you back it up with data or some kind of reasoning. The things SJ44 dislikes (and so do the majority of the people on this blog) are people that come in and say off the wall things with nothing backing them up.
For example, “A-rod is trash, he can’t hit in the clutch and he likes mannish women!”
That’s a crap comment.
On the other hand if someone comes in and says,
“I’m not too happy with A-rod right now, he is batting .240/.330/.400 over the last month. He really needs to start hitting. Oh and look at this picture of his latest girlfriend, those hands could have belonged to Johnny Bench!”
See at least that comment has some logical thought put into it.
—————————————–
Patrick,
I know what he’s getting at – but I think we know that the people who make those comments are likely Met or Red Sox fans who just pop on here for the hell of it. Ignore them.
news flash
joba has not had a good spring
i am not bashing anybody just telling the facts
11 runs in 3 2/3 innings before his last start in wich he got hit also is not good
hughes before his last start had a 2.08 era in 3 outings
at some point results matter like now
SJ and Patrick –
My point is that there are a lot of posts on here that hold no interest for one person or another.
For example, yesterday I think “Kate” and “GreenBeret” were talking about some birthday or vacation or something – I couldn’t imagine caring less about the topic, does it bother me that they used this as a forum to post it? No, just skip it and move on.
Same thing with the people who say “Yankees stink” because they lost a spring training game.
Chip,
Not necessarily.
There are a lot of Yankee fans that come in here and scream bloody murder about how bad the Yankees are. Or just people that jump to idiotic conclusions with nothing to back them up. For example, from this thread,
“all indications are hughes will be the 5th starter wich i am on board with now
hughes is a pitcher,joba a thrower
joba looks lost as a starter now
maybe give him a shot next year ”
What does that even mean? Joba is a thrower. Oh ok. That convinced me! He’s lost? Uhh his last two starts have looked pretty good.
Chip, I can’t speak as to Joba, but Phil’s career as a starting pitcher in the big leagues has been one consisting of stops and starts, injuries and rehabs. Fans that gave up on him after August of 2007, or who thought that was the best we’d get from him, simply don’t know much about baseball. Of course, scouts and pundits agreed with them, so what does that say? Heaven knows I was frustrated at Joba last year, but he’s still a baby. It really stinks that fans have these ridiculous expectations that great pitchers never go through growing pains; it almost seems like Phil and Joba have to pitch like polished vets at the ripe old ages of 23 and 24. They are still learning to be pitchers…..it’s very hard job.
“Oh and look at this picture of his latest girlfriend, those hands could have belonged to Johnny Bench!””
El Oh El
Where’s Rodney King when we need him?
Chip made one significant point — ignore posters that annoy you. It’s kinda like reaching for the remote the moment Glenn Beck appears on screen. Some may turn up the volume, some hit “mute”. To each their own.
It does, however demonstrate a significant lack of understanding and knowledge to keep re-visiting Joba or Phil back the minors. It was never going to happen. Once Vasquez was re-acquired one of the two young guns was destined for the bullpen.
The Halladay comparisons are just ignorant. He was sent back to the minors in 2001 because he was a complete mess. In 2000 his MLB ERA was 10.64 and his AAA ERA was 5.50. It’s in no way similar to Joba/Phil.
Roughed up in his first 2 starts this spring when he had the flu, his last two outings he has been very good.
You are right Bru, he was not very good in August and September. He looked good in July of last year. When he reached his previous innings total, he began to wear. It was his first full season starting in the AL East at the age of 23 and 24 with very little minor league innings.
“It really stinks that fans have these ridiculous expectations that great pitchers never go through growing pains; it almost seems like Phil and Joba have to pitch like polished vets at the ripe old ages of 23 and 24″
Victims of ridiculous hype and the varying levels of success enjoyed by some at or around their age.
Chip,
I thought you brought up a good point about Gardy in LF – the whole platoon issue.
I always thought Grandy would be in CF but your point solidifies that.
I enjoyed the conversation last night although I read it this morning. I will add that Koufax was the most dominant pitcher I have ever seen. Second, is Pedro during his best years.
If Sherman is right that Granderson will be in center, I think that is the proper move.
Is it sad that one of the first things I do when I awaken is to check the weather in Tampa?
Patrick
that is just my opinion
i might be wrong but baseball people have been saying it several times since last year so it is not just me
i also wouldn’t mind if they gave joba the 5th spot
sometimes opinions can’t be backed up by facts
sj44 even said that a lot of people believe that joba belongs in the pen
new post
Bru: Joba’s had 4 outings this spring. His first two (including one when he had the flu) were awful, though his velocity looked good. His 2nd two were a 4 inning, 2 ER, 5K performance against the Phillies in which his slider was about as good as I’ve ever seen it, and a 5 inning, 2ER, 4K performance in the intrasquad game (in which hitters got 5-8 ABs each, which obviously gives the hitter an advantage).
The last time he looked good in the majors was this past July, when he went on a dominant run after the AS break. He has only looked terrible in his first two meaningless ST outings, and his truncated, post-previous-high outings last year in August and September.
He’s been utterly dominant as recently as ’08.
And he’s still under 25.
So could Joba potentially never regain what he had in ’08 as a starter, and in fact be better suited for the bullpen? Sure. Will we know that for sure before 2011 or 2012? no. Certainly we don’t know now. Last season joba was good for a young starter, especially in the AL-East, until his outings started getting tampered with. Why is this so hard to comprehend?
five iron
I watched a little of the red sox/twins game last night. Bucky didn’t have good control (maybe he was working on something). It seemed they were really selling the idea that the red sox are focusing on defense and pitching this year…hmmm…I guess we will see how that strategy works out…or if sox nation buys into that notion
bru: find me one quote in which brian cashman or Joe girardi directly say or imply that Hughes is the favorite. The only people who have been saying that are the notorious B-Jobbers like Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.
Chris Nightingale
March 24th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Roughed up in his first 2 starts this spring when he had the flu, his last two outings he has been very good.
You are right Bru, he was not very good in August and September. He looked good in July of last year. When he reached his previous innings total, he began to wear. It was his first full season starting in the AL East at the age of 23 and 24 with very little minor league innings.
———————————————————
you are doing what patrick & most other on this blog do wich is twist things & misunderstand
i am a yankee fan & i even probably now wan’t joba to be given more time as a starter but he has not looked good when you said he did
many baseball people & scouts from what i read said he throws the ball instead of being a pitcher
i happen to agree but i might be wrong
the reality is at some point results matter & many think hughes just won the 5th spot including me
so what if i am wrong i have been a yankee fan since 1977 & wan’t them to win
i also wan’t joba & hughes to be aces since i have been following them since they were drafted
sorry patrick i don’t have facts to back up my opinions that a lot of baseball people share but a decision will be made soon
After Chamberlain was roughed up in each of his first two games this spring, his odds of landing the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation have fallen significantly.
When camp opened, he was considered to be the co-favorite for the spot with Phil Hughes, but after giving up 11 runs in 3-2/3 innings, he’s fallen behind Hughes, Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre, making today’s outing a pivotal one for the 24-year-old.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....z0j6YlgAj1
this was copied & pasted from mark feinsand patrick so go rip him i can care less
Bru: joba’s last 9 innings mean a hell of a lot more than his first 3, wouldn’t you say? especially considering the fact that he was battling the flu?
He dominated the phillies for four innings, and pitched very well in the intrasquad game on monday. Your facts (that joba was terrible in the beginning of ST) were irrelevant even when they were current. Now their irrelevance has been proven by Joba’s being excellent his last two outings.
pete
it is you that does not understand
all i am saying is that joba has looked terrible in st
don’t really know what that means
girrardi & cash have a tough decision & hughes has been better this spring
that is all i am saying
why is this so hard to comprehend?
i am not saying hughes is a better choice
only time will tell
not me,you or anyone else including the experts
a choice has to be made & i along with many baseball people think hughes has it wrapped up
we will see
But Bru you’re completely ignoring the fact that Joba HASN’T looked terrible in his last two (much more significant) outings – in fact he has looked excellent. He looked terrific on St. Patrick’s day, and he got good results (no video though) from his intrasquad outing. Why does it matter if he sucked two weeks ago when he pitched with the flu? Or in his very first spring outing? Shouldn’t how he is pitching now be more relevant than how he pitched in the very beginning of spring, especially considering the fact that he had the flu for one of them?
Please, tell me what was so horrible about his game against the phillies, or his intrasquad game. Please. I’m just not seeing it. He’s looked better than Phil to me lately.
i can never make up my mind regarding if Hughes or Joba gives the Yankees a better chance to win as the 5th starter/set up man for Mo.
one day i am in favor of Joba and the next day I can convince myself that Hughes is better.
no matter who wins the job coming out of ST, the 5th starter still has to produce or else he could get demoted and the set-up man for Mo has to produce in order to help the Yankees win games.