While on pitching, we have some serious issues with Joba. If I am going to take credit for telling everyone we didn’t need Pettitte in the rotation, I need to come clean and say that I was OK with Joba going into the rotation. I am a believer that throwing appx. 180 innings as a starter is worth more than throwing appx 70 innings as a reliever. With Joba, there are some extenuating circumstances though. One important factor people are overlooking is that if Joba were in the pen, he would not be doing well. His stuff now consists of excellent breaking stuff, average fastball and bad command/control. That is a mediocre at best package. So what is wrong with Joba? It is not because he is a starter. In 2007 and to start the season in 2008, he was throwing 97 out of the bullpen. As a starter in 08, he was sitting at 97 and hitting 99 when he needed to (in that Boston start where he went 7 IP and gave up 3 hits, he hit 99mph on his 99th pitch of the night). Then he hurt his shoulder, and he came back throwing 94 out of the bullpen. And everyone let it go as him building up arm strength from his injury, but he never got his velocity back. He’s sitting 92 now with an occasional burst to 94 -95 but also sometimes at 90. The key is that he was consistent at 97 and now he is consistent at 92; that is an enormous drop off. I could see 2 MPH from a starter to a reliever that is going all out, but 5 is enormous. The lack of fastball is causing his breaking stuff to be less effective and the lack of confidence in his fastball is causing him to nibble far too much, throw way too many pitches and not be able to get deep in games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Joba Chamberlain’s 10 decisions (7-3) through his first 29 career starts are the fewest in Major League history. Hard to say what it means, but clearly he is taxing the bullpen.The most disappointing part to me is that he was a guy I was excited to see take the mound; now it is painful to watch him pitch. I saw and still see a guy who has good endurance, he does not throw slower as the game goes on, in fact, he sometimes has increased velocity after 70 pitches. Hitting 99 on his 99th pitch against Boston last year shows this. However, hitting 93 on his 99th pitch, in the 5th inning is not nearly as meaningful.Something happened to Joba’s shoulder, but nobody is saying anything. I am not sure what the answer is, but for the same reason why Joba should have started, I think Hughes should start. I know we don’t have a bridge with Bruney struggling, but Hughes would be more valuable in the rotation and this is why I didn’t want them to take him out for Wang. I would have left Wang in the pen doing well and working on his stuff until we had an injury. In games like Friday and Saturday, Hughes and Mariano can’t help because the starters stunk and they never get into the game. Starters are always more important than setup guys.For now, I would give Joba another shot after the All Star break, but I would also send him for an MRI and think about sending him down to the minors to get himself straightened out. As poorly as Aceves did in his start, I have confidence he can be more effective than Pettitte and Joba have been thus far. One last point, If Joba got his control better, his stuff is still good enough to be a good starter (even at 92), but without it, he is AJ Burnett throwing 92.
glasses for a second here and work with me big guy.The major knock on Arod despite his impressive numbers is pretty much is inability to get hits in BIG spots, no? Maybe I read different newspapers than you. Not sure.
Tex is a witch.
