Some Much-Needed Joba Sanity

The Joba-t0-the-pen debate rages on, even in the wake of the kid's impressive 8-inning outing against the Indians. I, for one, want Joba to remain in the starting rotation, although I do miss the energy of his late-game appearances. When he first came up, his appearances, which were initially  limited to every other day because of the famous "Joba Rules," became an event, bordering, at times, on pandemonium. Of course, it wasn't simply Joba's one inning of dominance that caught people's attention. It was his fearlessness, his un-Yankee-like histrionics that got people going. His nasty slider and 100-mph fastball didn't hurt either. As I wrote following Joba's eventual 12-strike out performance against the Red Sox earlier this year, Joba needs a certain level of intensity, a specific knock-and-tumble vigor to succeed, whether he's pitching in the 8th inning or every fifth day. Yes, I think Joba should start, but I also want him to be Joba, "disrespectful" fist pumps and all. These two things aren't mutually exclusive; in fact, they're symbiotic.  

Still, despite the constant protestations of RAB and Tyler Kepner and, yup, the Yankees, members of the media--specifically Mike Francesa and ESPN-- seem to think Joba, who they consider the next Goose Gossage, should be coming out of the pen. Nothing short of a Cy Young Award, it seems, can dissuade them of their short-sighted opinions about Joba's usefulness to the club. And I'm fine with that. They're entitled to their opinion, no matter how misguided or uninformed it happens to be. Some people still vote Republican, after all. It's nice, though, to have a national voice weigh in on the debate. SI's Tim Marchman speaks the truth thusly:

Starters are more valuable than relievers, and Chamberlain is showing every sign of developing into a wonderful starter; therefore, he should start. Simple. 

[Snip]

There are complicated decisions to be made in baseball. Neither this nor any similar argument involving any young pitcher is really one of them. If Chamberlain is hurt, or if the Yankees obtain access to a time machine and learn that he really is much better than Mariano Rivera, they should by all means listen to the outraged minority and consign to the bullpen a 23-year-old with every chance at being the best pitcher they've developed since Whitey Ford. Otherwise, they should leave him alone where everyone can enjoy him. He's doing fine.

I'd say he's doing better than fine, but let's not argue about semantics. Joba's proving his worth in the rotation, right where he belongs. 

50 Games In, Yankees Off to a Promising Start

Earlier this season, after the Yankees had dropped their fifth consecutive loss to the Red Sox, I was tempted to write off the team’s chances for capturing their 27th World Championship. The bullpen, behind an embarrassing 5.79 ERA, was the second worst relieving corps in the Majors. The once untouchable Mariano was starting to show cracks, serving up almost as many home runs in his first dozen or so appearances than he did all of last season. The starting pitching wasn’t faring much better. From CC to Joba, the Yankees’ front five performed somewhere between wildly inconsistent and wholly ineffective. Offensively, the Yankees were stuck in a rut, despite averaging about 5 runs per game. Mark Teixeira, the Yankees’ high-priced first baseman through Obama’s second term, couldn’t hit his weight, and was even more dreadful in RBI opportunities. Through April, the Yankees, as a team, were hitting an anemic .237 with runners in scoring position. If it weren’t for Nick Swisher’s and Johnny Damon’s unbelievable first month, the Yankees could have easily been 10 games out, buried in the standings before Alex Rodriguez, out with a hip injury, played a single game. (Cody Ransom, Rodriguez’s replacement, had an equal number of strikeouts as he did hits).

But then a funny thing happened. A-Rod returned, and since May 8, the Yankees have gone a league-best 16-6, an impressive streak that included three consecutive walk-off wins and nine straight victories in as many days. At 29-21, the Bombers currently sit atop of the standings, and are finally living up to their moniker. In May, Teixeira hit .375 and drove in 35 runs, while A-Rod, in 22 games, has seven home runs and 17 RBI. Jorge is finally healthy. Jeter is still playing at a Jeterian level. Cano’s kept up his torrid pace. Melky’s finally playing at a consistent level. And the team’s defense is the best it’s been in years. In yesterday afternoon's loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees tied a Major League record with their 17th-straight game without an error.

Behind staff ace CC Sabathia, the starting pitching, which now includes Phil Hughes, is finally living up to expectations. Despite a few recent subpar outings, A.J. Burnett finally thinks he's figured out his mechanical--and mental--issues, while Andy Pettitte has locked down the back end of the rotation. The calls for Joba to the pen continue, but the kid, even with a less than impressive WHIP, is making  a strong case for why he should stay in the rotation, not just this year, but for the rest of his career. In the later innings, Mariano Rivera has returned to form, and Alfredo Aceves, the second coming of Ramiro Mendoza, has quickly emerged as a late-game stopper and reliable innings-eater. Meanwhile, erstwhile starter Chien-Ming Wang is rounding back into form: his velocity—and his signature sinker—is back, and his ERA, once an unsightly 35, is now a more manageable 16.07, spitting distance to Daisuke Matsuzaka, ESPN's favorite titular ace.

Although the team still needs to figure out the bullpen situation--and some questionable roster decisions-- I'm now much more confident in the Yankees' chances of reaching the postseason, after last year's absence, than I was in early April, just a few weeks ago. I even like their odds of capturing that elusive 27th championship this October. 

Joba

Three things happened last night that make me think Joba's about ready to take over. First, the 12 Ks. Granted, he probably only earned an honest--but still impressive--nine, but, after the disastrous first inning, Joba simply dominated the highly touted Red Sox lineup (sans Youklis) including eight consecutive strike outs to finish his night. 

Filthy. 

Second, he hit Jason Bay. Since arriving in Boston from Pittsburgh last summer, Bay has simply punished the Yankees, hitting an amazing .556 with three home runs and 10 RBI in just five games this year against the Bombers. Bay, who took Mariano Rivera deep in the first Yankees-Red Sox game this season, homered off Joba in the ill-fated first inning, giving the Sox an ultimately insurmountable 4-0 lead. The next time up, though, Joba got Bay looking on a questionable called third strike. The next time up, Joba put his first pitch in Bay's ribs, as if to say, "No more, Dudley Do-Right. 

Third, Joba attacked. I've had a nagging suspicion that Joba's been a bit too preoccupied about pacing himself through each game. Last night-- again, after the first inning-- he seemed to spit out that strategy like a stale wad of gum. For four straight innings, he flashed the same untouchable brilliance that he used to show setting up for Mo. "Screw it," he seemed to say. "Here it is, fellas, try and hit it." For better of for worse, that is Joba's modus operandi,  Take it or leave it.  

What captivated Yankees fans--and most of baseball-- when Joba first burst on the scene, was his aggressiveness. His fearlessness. His disregard for radar guns and pitch counts and, at times, the natural laws of physics. He threw hard, and threw strikes. Somewhere along the way, in the interest of becoming a reliable, front-line starter, he seemed to forgot this. All of the sudden, it was more important to be a complete 7-inning pitcher: efficient, even-keeled, emotionless. 

Last night, though, after the first inning, when his fastball was an un-Jobalike 89 mph,and the Yankees were already down four, Joba unleashed his talents and let loose his fist-pumping intensity, remembering, at long last, what got him here. "Here it is fellas, try and hit it." They couldn't.