Even though it’s been a debate for the past couple of months, the future of the Yankees’ young flame throwing pitcher Joba Chamberlain has become a real hot topic in the past few days. The debate now is over where Joba should start the 2008 season, in the starting rotation or in the bullpen. Throughout the entire duration of the 2007 season, Brian Cashman stated that Chamberlain would be in the starting rotation for the 2008 season. Contrary to that, Buster Olney reported a few days ago that Chamberlain would start the 2008 season in the bullpen, under the Joba Rules, for around the first two months of the season to keep his innings down. However, those reports are now being disputed, so as of now it appears the plan is for Joba to be a starting pitcher all throughout 2008. With so much indecisiveness amongst the Yankees’ hierarchy and the media, it begs the question of which situation is the best for Joba and for the Yankees? First, the case for the starting rotation. Common sense would tell one that 160-180 innings of Joba would be more valuable then 70 or so. The old adage goes that starting pitching wins championships. Joba has been groomed as a starting pitcher for the entire duration of his career, sans the last few weeks of last season. If the Yankees do decide to keep Joba in the bullpen for awhile longer, it may then be too late to move him back into the starting rotation. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to build his stamina back up to the level of a starting pitcher. Additional bullpen arms are easier to find then starting pitchers, maybe not of Joba’s caliber but at least reliable ones. Humberto Sanchez, JB Cox, and Kevin Whelan are just a few of the young bullpen arms the Yankees could have on the way in the not so distant future. In a way, Joba is also more proven as a starter then a reliever. Not at the major league level, but all of the incredible stats he put up in the minor leagues was as a starter not a reliever. For those worried about Joba holding up as a starter because of his weight, ask C.C. Sabathia how he’s doing as a starter at a similar weight.
As for the bullpen side, it has its definite advantages for the 2008 season. To put it bluntly, the Yankees bullpen as of now sucks. They are completely devoid of a truly dominant set up man, as Joba was at the end of the 2007 season, and in the current state of baseball it is difficult to win without dominant set up men. For example, he Red Sox had Hideki Okajima, the Indians had the Rafael’s (Betancourt and Perez), the Diamondbacks had Tony Pena (not the Yankees’ first base coach), and the Rockies had Brian Fuentes. That’s all four of the teams from both league championships, so it helps prove how much a dominant set up man helps a team. The Yankees’ current options as set up men, Kyle Farnsworth and Latroy Hawkins, do not exactly measure up to those other names. The Yankees’ are much thinner in the bullpen then in the starting rotation at the moment. With Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Kei Igawa around, Joba is expendable in the rotation. Joba is not ready to pitch a full season’s worth of innings as a starter, so this bull pen situation for part of the year may be the best way to keep his innings down, as long as it is handled properly when he is moved back into the rotation. The Dodgers had a similar situation last season with Chad Billingsley and went about it the right way. Billingsley spent about the first two months or so in the bullpen, and then the Dodgers gradually conditioned him back to a starter by limiting his pitch count in his first couple of starts. A similar approach with Joba could work. However, if Joba pitches like he did last season out of the pen and the rest of the bull pen struggles; it may be hard to move him out of the role he has already conquered. Still, it is a somewhat nice problem to have to have a dominant arm who can help in more then one role, so really neither decision the Yankees could make would be all that bad.
As for the bullpen side, it has its definite advantages for the 2008 season. To put it bluntly, the Yankees bullpen as of now sucks. They are completely devoid of a truly dominant set up man, as Joba was at the end of the 2007 season, and in the current state of baseball it is difficult to win without dominant set up men. For example, he Red Sox had Hideki Okajima, the Indians had the Rafael’s (Betancourt and Perez), the Diamondbacks had Tony Pena (not the Yankees’ first base coach), and the Rockies had Brian Fuentes. That’s all four of the teams from both league championships, so it helps prove how much a dominant set up man helps a team. The Yankees’ current options as set up men, Kyle Farnsworth and Latroy Hawkins, do not exactly measure up to those other names. The Yankees’ are much thinner in the bullpen then in the starting rotation at the moment. With Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Kei Igawa around, Joba is expendable in the rotation. Joba is not ready to pitch a full season’s worth of innings as a starter, so this bull pen situation for part of the year may be the best way to keep his innings down, as long as it is handled properly when he is moved back into the rotation. The Dodgers had a similar situation last season with Chad Billingsley and went about it the right way. Billingsley spent about the first two months or so in the bullpen, and then the Dodgers gradually conditioned him back to a starter by limiting his pitch count in his first couple of starts. A similar approach with Joba could work. However, if Joba pitches like he did last season out of the pen and the rest of the bull pen struggles; it may be hard to move him out of the role he has already conquered. Still, it is a somewhat nice problem to have to have a dominant arm who can help in more then one role, so really neither decision the Yankees could make would be all that bad.
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