From The Record:
Johnny Damon didn't outright say Joba Chamberlain should have remained in the bullpen, but he did tell the New York Daily News: "You don't take Jeter out of the two-hole and put him in the seven-hole just because you're leaving the '4' and '5' guys on base. You let him do what he does best.
"We've gotta win the games we should win. We didn't do that on the last road trip. We could have been 5-2. Instead, we went 3-4," the left fielder told the News. "That's a big swing."
"I just felt like our bullpen was our strength," Damon told the News. "I think it still could be, but when you move a guy like that, everyone's trying to find a role. Everyone's trying to replace a guy who was possibly the best in that role.
"I remember the teams the Yankees won (championships) with, if they were winning after five innings, it was pretty much game over. We kind of felt that way this year. If we were winning after six, we had (Kyle) Farnsworth in the seventh, Joba in the eighth, and Mariano in the ninth - we thought it was game over.
"Now, instead, we're trying to find out who's best suited for that eighth-inning role."
Was he's saying has some validity, but come on Johnny, shut up. The last thing this team needs is players complaining to the press.
1 Comments:
Of course Damon is right! It's obviously better to NOT loose 2 or 3 games a week by having Joba in the bullpen, then to try and win 1 game a week by using him as a starter.
The first week after the decision was made to move Joba to the starting rotation, 2 games were lost by the bullpen; a third game was won when they inserted Joba. Last night Farnsworth came in and gave up a run in the 9th. If he hadn't, A-Rod and Matsui's singles would have tied the game, which was won by Giambi's walk-off homerun. Thus, another loss by the Joba-less bullpen was avoided.
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