Pregame notes: Familiar questions
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes, Podcast on Jun 21, 2010 
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Surrounded by reports in the visiting clubhouse here in Phoenix, Phil Hughes was answering all of the questions you’d expect about his innings limit and his turn being skipped. When someone asked whether he knew exactly how many innings he would be allowed to pitch, Joba Chamberlain leaned over the crowd.
“High five,” he said, holding his left hand up to Hughes. “Someone else gets the question. Awesome!”
No, Hughes doesn’t know exactly how many innings he’s allowed to throw this season. He hasn’t asked. The only thing he asked when the Yankees told him his turn was being skipped this week was whether he’d have to miss another start before the all-star break. The Yankees assured him that, for now, it’s only this start that’s being skipped.
“I assume there are going to be some scenarios where something needs to happen in the second half,” Hughes said. “I can’t imagine one start prior to the all-star break being the breaking point of my innings limit. I didn’t ask about the second half because it’s so far off.”
Girardi said the Yankees are hoping to avoid last year’s Joba Chamberlain situation. The early season injury to Chien-Ming Wang kept the Yankees from being able to skip Chamberlain early last season, and they were forced to give him those strange three- and four-inning starts late in the year.
“Obviously you’d love to be able to say in spring training, here’s the plan, here’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Girardi said. “You’re going to average 6.1 innings per game and you’re going to get to your innings limitation on September 30. But the one thing I’m not going to do is I’m not going to jeopardize the game that he’s pitching in because of his innings limitation. If he’s dealing through six and it’s a 2-1 game, I’m not taking him out because of his innings limitation. We’ll worry about (later) and we’ll adjust.”
As for Hughes, he’s obviously disappointed that he won’t be able to pitch in front of his friends and family in Los Angeles, but he seemed to expect something like this would happen sooner or later. Hughes is a big guy and he seems to have a strong arm, but there’s no way of knowing who’s going to need this kind of treatment and who won’t.
“It’s hard for anybody to predict whether they’ll need it or not,” Hughes said. “Some guys obviously didn’t. Nolan Ryan didn’t need an innings limit. But some guys did. It’s impossible for me to say whether I do or not. But, I mean, they’re being on the safe side and I respect that because they obviously have my best interests in mind. Anytime an organization does that, you’re on board with it.”
Here’s Girardi explaining the situation.
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• Chad Moeller was in fact designated for assignment to make room for Colin Curtis, or “Little CC” as Girardi called him. “We felt in these games Colin gives us flexibility with double switches (and as a) left-handed pinch hitter,” Girardi said. “We feel that Jorge, he came through the other day where he didn’t feel it the whole game so we just felt it was worth the risk.”
• Girardi could play Posada two out of three games in each of these National League parks, getting him through the week without having to catch back-to-back games. Girardi said that scenario is possible, but he didn’t necessarily say it’s the plan.
• Curtis played college ball at Arizona State. His house is two blocks from the team hotel. The Yankees haven’t played a regular season game here since 2004, and an Arizona guy happens to be called up the day they return. Crazy.
• Girardi did not check with Alex Rodriguez before putting him in the lineup. The hope is for Rodriguez to play every game this road trip. “Can’t tell you for sure but that’s my hope,” Girardi said. “That was kind of the idea behind DH’ing him Saturday too, so it wouldn’t be six in a row.”
• Similar story with Derek Jeter. Girardi said he noticed Jeter hobbling a little bit on his sore right heel on Sunday, but Girardi is hopeful that he won’t have to take his shortstop out of the lineup out here.
• One other interesting note on adding left-handed hitting Curtis: The Diamondbacks have nothing but right-handers in the bullpen. So why not call up Juan Miranda? Girardi indicated Miranda might not have been called up at all this season had Curtis not been hurt at the end of April. “He was playing extremely well in spring training, he was playing extremely well in Scranton,” Girardi said. “Whether it would have been him or Miranda, I’m not sure at that time, but we just decided to go get him now.”
• What’s been wrong with A.J. Burnett this month? “He just hasn’t been able to get ahead in the count,” Girardi said. “His fastball has gotten too much of the middle of the plate at times. We’ve talked a lot the last few days about the importance of living on the edges.”
DIAMONDBACKS
Kelly Johnson 2B
Stephen Drew SS
Justin Upton RF
Miguel Montero C
Chris Young CF
Adam LaRoche 1B
Mark Reynolds 3B
Gerardo Parra LF
Rodriguez Lopez RHP
Associated Press photos of Hughes, and of Girardi with Diamondbacks A.J. Hinch before tonight’s game.
Wow Chad. Way to break up a good Dolly Parton discussion withh baseball talk!
good to see our old O’s friend tonight.
Sorry, the audio was busted for a few minutes there but I think I have it fixed.
Also, sorry these are a little later than usual. These West Coast games mean I have to write a full early story plus a notebook for the newspaper before the game even starts. Writing a 1,100 words before the first pitch is thrown doesn’t leave a lot of time for blog notes, but I’ll get them up ASAP while the team’s out here.
That Joba/Hughes story is too cute
Looks like the Yankees are about to trip up Phil like they did Joba with the RULES.
BOSTON just finished an 8-1 homestand watch out Yankees they are after you, too.
Fran -
Congratulations!
And I fixed the standings.
For anyone who is interested, I have updated the GTLU standings and blog entry listing today’s winners, lineup and participants.
Blake -
My family went to Dollywood! We had a great time there.
house party at Curtis’s !
Chad Jennings June 21st, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Sorry, the audio was busted for a few minutes there but I think I have it fixed.
Also, sorry these are a little later than usual. These West Coast games mean I have to write a full early story plus a notebook for the newspaper before the game even starts. Writing a 1,100 words before the first pitch is thrown doesn’t leave a lot of time for blog notes, but I’ll get them up ASAP while the team’s out here.
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So basically you write about batting practice???
I think Joba’s comment may indicate that he feels a little frustration over the way he has been handled.
Fran-
What happened to playing Pena?!?!
Rich in NJ June 21st, 2010 at 9:22 pm
I think Joba’s comment may indicate that he feels a little frustration over the way he has been handled.
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Wouldn’t you be?
The guy had two years of questions about pitch counts and innings limits
And I still say the Yankees did him a huge disservice last season by having him start games he knew he would never go more than 4 or 5 innings in
Hopefully tonight Cano gets his 100th hit and increases his MLB leading Avg..
Happy for Colin Curtis. As GB7 can attest, I’ve been interested in him for some time now. Glad to see him get the call and I wish him well! Very interesting how things turn out in life, isn’t it? I’m sure he’ll have a ton of family in the stands these three games.
I hope the Yankees get to hang onto Moeller. He’s a good back up.
Love the Joba/Phil interplay!
Erica
Absolutely. As I recently posted, the Yankees have done a lot of things right in recent years, but their handling of Joba isn’t one of them.
Look at that picture of Joe’s arems, do the Yankees have the most in shape manager in Mlb or what. The guy is fit!
Just read Gammons’ latest Sawx article. He really loves Butholez…..Oh wait, that could be taken the wrong way….
yeah Girardi definitely gets his swell on :0
The Philly Phitins June 21st, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Looks like the Yankees are about to trip up Phil like they did Joba with the RULES.
BOSTON just finished an 8-1 homestand watch out Yankees they are after you, too.
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I’d be more concerned about your team staying above .500 at this point.
meant,arms
Rich in NJ/Erica -
Wang’s injury really impacted the treatment of Joba, though.
However, I hadn’t really looked at it the way you presented it, Erica. It must have been very frustrating for Joba knowing that he had 4 or 5 innings tops.
With Joba, it almost feels like last year, everything that could go wrong did go wrong, with the exception of a few really excellent starts.
And I still say the Yankees did him a huge disservice last season by having him start games he knew he would never go more than 4 or 5 innings in
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I think it was stupid for the yankees to do that, but at the same time if they tell you “Alright man, empty the tank you got 4 innings” Joba should have emptied the goddamn tank! He nibbled his way through those outings.
He knew he could let loose but he chose not to. We didnt see any 4 IP 6-8 K performances.
BJK
Didn’t you hear, Rollins is being activated, a real leadoff guy! That’s a foreign thought for a Yankees.
Doreen
“Wang’s injury really impacted the treatment of Joba, though.”
That’s a reason, not an excuse.
IMO, the Yankees should never have called up Joba to be in the pen in 2007, and I said so at the time.
Doreen
“Wang’s injury really impacted the treatment of Joba, though.”
That’s a reason, not an excuse.
IMO, the Yankees should never have called up Joba to be in the pen in 2007, and I said so at the time.
What’s with this site? It filters innocuous stuff yet allows double posts that one doesn’t intend.
Enjoy the game folks. May not see you for a few days.
MTU – where you going?
Doreen/Jerkface
I just think mentally, it probably screwed him up. Its like you are running a 9K, but your coach tells you “Its a 9K but we only want you to run 4K of it”. Are you really going to give it your all knowing you have no chance of finishing it
The Philly Phitins June 21st, 2010 at 9:33 pm
BJK
Didn’t you hear, Rollins is being activated, a real leadoff guy! That’s a foreign thought for a Yankees.
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Didn’t you hear? Rollins had a .296 OBP last year.
If that’s your idea of a “real” leadoff guy, more power to you.
Hopefully he helps your “vaunted” offense. You know, the one that’s scored the 18th most runs in baseball.
Less than the Royals for those keeping track.
Doreen,
Thanks
What happened to playing Pena?!?!
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Erica,
LOL. Maybe tomorrow
Rich in NJ
Maybe so. But they did. And he was unbelievable.
And up until his injury in 2008 he was also unbelievable.
This was uncharted territory (or is it unchartered?). And things got a bit screwed up along the way on BOTH sides of the equation: Yankees AND Joba himself.
And I really don’t know what you mean by “that’s a reason, not an excuse.”
Fran (the original) and OPPC member June 21st, 2010 at 9:41 pm
What happened to playing Pena?!?!
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Erica,
LOL. Maybe tomorrow
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Don’t mind me. I am just mad at myself because I thought Girardi would fall for the small sample size and put Granderson in #2 especially against a righty
by Kevin Goldstein
Andrew Brackman, RHP, Yankees (High-A Tampa): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 11 K
If you were ready to write off Brackman when his ERA sat at a lofty 8.31 after six starts in the Florida State League, that would have been a mistake, as things are starting to really click. He’s been throwing an almost shocking number of strikes all season (7 BB in 55 IP), but his stuff is getting better and better, as the Yankees have put considerable work into nearly every aspect of his game and the results are finally showing up. With a fastball suddenly getting up to 96 mph, two distinct breaking balls and a changeup, Brackman has allowed six runs over 29 innings in his last five starts while whiffing 34, and he’s back on the prospect map.
man – the Royals suck … 11 hits and 1 run? are you kidding me?
Did I stumble into a phillies blog by accident. Who the he!! Is this guy posting about the phillies. Don’t they have their own sites on the interwebs.
Doreen,
That would be great. I am sorry I didn’t get back to you, but I just received gruesome news about a friend (acquaintance). So sad.
Fran -
You’re welcome.
Erica -
I guess it would depend on the personality of the particular person. But 4 (or sometimes even 5 innings doesn’t even put you in line for a win, so it must have a different “feel” to the start. More like “getting your work in,” than an actual start. A person would have to really psych themselves, perhaps, into pretending it was a regular start?
So sorry, SAS.
Fingers crossed that I’ve had enough of a caffeine fix to make it through the game but still be able to sleep tonight.
Here is my problem with Joba in shortened outings:
Lowest amount of runs allowed 1 ER in 4 IP. Most? 7 ER in 3 IP
Total: 16 IP in 5 Starts 23 H 15 R 6 BB 10 K 3 HR 7.88 ERA hitters: .333 .390 .551 .940
Terrible. I think if you were a boxer, and you are trained to sustain offense for 9 rounds, but your coach told you ‘kill that guy in 2 rounds’, that guy would go nuts. Joba did not go nuts.
Erica,
I thought the same thing about Granderson and Swisher. If you see my GTLU before you post, you would be better off doing anything that is different including putting 9 pitchers in before following what I do.
Doreen
“Maybe so. But they did. And he was unbelievable.”
As I expected he would be, but it has skewed perceptions about him ever since.
“And I really don’t know what you mean by ‘that’s a reason, not an excuse.’”
My point is that yes, there were other factors that impacted how they handled him, but the had a duty to do what was in the kid’s best interests, and I don’t think they did that, irrespective of any of those other factors.
Rollins will be back on the dl before his first game back is over,trust.
This is the worst 3-game slate ever… Royals/Mats? Reds/As?
And why is ESPN televising a 10 PM game?
Fran-
I will never gain on you if I merely copy your line ups!!!! LOL
I purposely try to submit before I see yours so I am not tempted
Rich in NJ -
Fair enough.
It’s fairly obvious that the “plan” was flawed, and we’re still “waiting for Joba.”
10pm starts =
I am tired already!
Joba just wasn’t cut out to be a starter and the final 2 months of last year proved it.
7+ ERA in the last 2 months of the season. I don’t think he even recorded a quality start in that time. Maybe 1.
Next 2 nights, the game starts at 9:40
The Dodgers start times suck too– 10 PM, 7 PM on a Saturday, and the 8 PM Sunday game.
YZ 24 June 21st, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Joba just wasn’t cut out to be a starter and the final 2 months of last year proved it.
7+ ERA in the last 2 months of the season. I don’t think he even recorded a quality start in that time. Maybe 1.
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That explains why he had such terrible numbers in the minors as a starter.
Oh wait. No he didn’t.
Josh June 21st, 2010 at 9:53 pm
And why is ESPN televising a 10 PM game?
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Some of us on the west coast like watching the Yankees too.
I don’t buy that about joba not cut out to be a starter.
Imo we showed him an easier way out by relieving & he took it.
Lets go Yankees!!!
it would be nice if the Yankees can take an early lead so I can get some sleep
BJK,
Do you get the local feed or MLB commentators? I am curious because I will be in AZ at the end of the season.
They interviewed mo about hughes,his cutter,why he is doing so well & mo said hughes is where he is because of his will & his desire.
That is the difference i have seen this year,hughes has it,joba does not.
Shulman, Boone, Singleton doing the game on ESPN
For some reason, it is not blacked out in NY, so we get a one-day reprieve from Kay thankfully.