Comments on: One inning, under the microscope

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:02:10 +0000

but if he is getting in the pen for the whole post season if they want him to start again next year he is going to be in reliever form not in starter form and what about the world series you have to win 4 games there too. so he should start game 4 especially if its not a need win game and so CC can have full rest.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:57:57 +0000

I personally think that Joba should be on the ALDS roster. This is because what if we need an extra arm. For example if the Yankees get into a big jam and they need an extra right hander that can get some quick outs.

Thats all I gotta say on the Joba subject I am not a big fan of him but I think he should be there as an insurance policy.

By: Klemy

Klemy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:24:28 +0000

I actually laughed about it when I heard about it on sports radio. Not that I don’t think he should be respected, just that if you choose for that way to go, you almost get something like that when being handled by strangers. Next, they’ll be using Walt Disney as a crayon.

By: Klemy

Klemy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:22:12 +0000

Amen. Great year gents.

By: Klemy

Klemy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:17:44 +0000

I don’t even remember the last time it was correct. lol

By: Klemy

Klemy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:15:53 +0000

Well, it’s not like you can wave a magic wand and 3 new guys are showing up.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:56:02 +0000

Yesterday’s outing doesn’t reignite the starter versus reliever debate (at least not yet). Instead, it addresses the question of taking Joba on the ALDS roster or leaving him off. His effective inning definitely deserves to be weighed into the equation. While he didn’t attain blistering speeds, his more consistent 93+ was an improvement over the 90-91 he would often throw at times as a starter. Quite frankly, Joba doesn’t need to live at 98…he seems to do just fine around 95. If one inning from the bullpen allows him to sit in that range, then he would definitely be an effective reliever in the playoffs.

If you look at the post season schedule, the Yankees would only need a #4 starter one time all post season (game 4 of the ALCS), and even that could be eliminated by having CC pitch one game on short rest. In other words, Joba as a reliever would contribute much more than Joba as a starter in the post season (exactly the opposite of the regular season). For that reason, I would remove him from the #4 starter equation and simply let him know he is in the pen throughout.

By: jmas12

jmas12 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:44:18 +0000

Oh, and I meant to end with a question. If we advance to the ALCS (I think this is a foregone assumption, but I don’t want to jynx it), who starts game 4, Chamberlain or Gaudin? I really don’t know the answer to this. Joba has the potential to be lights out as a starter, we’ve seen that on occasion and I think it is even more likely if he’s well rested from the Division series and has the adrenaline flowing from a playoff start (and potentially against Boston). But Gaudin has at least earned consideration.

One thing I will say though, if we were to advance and play the Angels, I wouldn’t want him to start. The Angels would steal he and Posada blind, regardless of how effective his stuff may be.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:40:54 +0000

People speculate that his drop in velocity was related to the shoulder injury, but it’s not clear what happened (and whether they are related). The timing of the injury and velocity drop match, but he could be holding back, changed mechanics, or throwing 2 seam fastballs more often.

Another thing we don’t know if how common this type of velocity drop is. Verlander experienced it (roughly correlated with his no-hitter) and came back to his previous velocity. It may be that most pitchers see a drop in velocity like this as they develop, and we just weren’t been able to measure it until Pitch f/x came along.

By: jmas12

jmas12 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:35:39 +0000

I hate to say it, as I have been a proponent of Joba being a starting pitcher this entire time, but maybe he is just a better fit for the bullpen. Hughes, while he’s been in a similar situation in terms of a rise in velocity and effectiveness out of the pen, I think just translates better to the rotation than Joba does. Joba needs the adrenaline to be successful, that’s why he was solid against Boston in this last series, flanked by two stinkers. Hughes has the demenor of a starter, and was showing signs of life right before he was moved to the pen when Wang came of the DL. With Kennedy healthy next year, and Pettitte likely to return, I’m not saying that we should just return Joba to the bullpen. I think he deserves a fair crack at the rotation in Spring Training. But I think it at least needs to be considered, especially if we see him hitting triple digits on the radar gun in October.

Also, in the pen Joba sits between 95-98 and can hit 100. In the rotation he sits between 92-95 and can hit 96. Hughes in the pen sits 94-95, can hit 96. In the rotation he sits 90-93 and can hit 95 if needed. It’s less of a dropoff for Hughes, as is his stuff. Plus as a starter Hughes has been able to go deeper in games, and I think has been a little more consistant.

Like I said, I’m not christening him for the bullpen in ’10, but if he doesn’t earn it, and Hughes or Kennedy look better, I’m all for it, which considering how I was a hard-liner “Joba -> Rotation” guy since ’07 is a pretty big swing.