We are just about at the midway point of spring training, and if there is one issue that has begun to crystallize for the Yankees, it is the inevitability of Joba Chamberlain heading back to the bullpen.
After all the babying, all the Joba Rules, all the jockeying back and forth from starting to relieving, one thing hasn't seemed to change: Chamberlain has not been able to maintain that same high intensity level over the first five or six innings of a game as he has when called upon to retire five or six batters in the seventh or eighth.
The Yankees, of course, are not about to admit the Great Joba Development has been a failure, but a yield of eight hits and 11 runs over 3-2/3 innings of his first two spring starts has, if nothing else, placed him dead last in the four-man competition for the fifth spot in the rotation. The one heartening aspect of this is that at least he wasn't competing for a top-of-the-rotation spot - which is where GM Brian Cashman has had him projected from the day he had him at the top of his 2007 draft card.
What we do know is, Cashman hedged his bets on both Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, his two crown jewel homegrown starters, having breakthrough seasons in 2010, and instead went out and acquired Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves at a cost of about $8 million to the payroll. With Chamberlain likely to return to short, late-inning work, the trade of Melky Cabrera for the 33-year-old Vazquez, who has averaged over 210 innings the past nine seasons, looms ever larger now.
At the time of the deal, Cashman intimated it was essentially a one-year insurance policy he was taking out on Vazquez, whose contract expires after this season. But as Chamberlain's struggles with starting this spring and Hughes' slower-than-hoped development have proven, it's a whole lot harder developing your own top-of-the-rotation starters than it is to just go and buy them. Pettitte, who turns 39 in June, remains the last starting pitcher drafted by the Yankees to establish himself as a No. 1 or No. 2.
That's why when it comes to projecting the Yankees' rotation in 2011, there still would appear to be a far greater likelihood of Cliff Lee being a part of it than someone homegrown.
Regarding the "rules", I still struggle to understand why anyone would be against them. Keeping young pitchers healthy is not an easy task, and the fact the Yankees are trying to do that is not a bad thing, and it's also not a mistake. It's funny, had the Yankees not used any rules with Joba and he ended up needing major surgery, Madden would be bashing the Yanks for not doing everything they could to protect their young arms.
Besides his blatant hatred for homegrown talent, Madden does make one point that I agree with: the Yankees are happy to have Vazquez while their two young starters (or one starter and one reliever) continue to develop. It was a smart move by Cashman, who has kept the Yankees staff as strong as possible while still doing what he needs to do to develop his homegrown talent.
Besides his blatant hatred for homegrown talent, Madden does make one point that I agree with: the Yankees are happy to have Vazquez while their two young starters (or one starter and one reliever) continue to develop. It was a smart move by Cashman, who has kept the Yankees staff as strong as possible while still doing what he needs to do to develop his homegrown talent.
