Klapisch Continues the Pointless Joba-to-the-Pen Argument

I know what you're thinking; oh no, not this s*** again. I was thinking the same thing while reading this article. But let's be honest, we all knew this was coming after Joba had two bad outings, even if it was just the first two weeks of spring training.

From Bob Klapisch:

So you want to enter the Joba Chamberlain ballot box. You’re ready to cast your vote on whether he should start or work the eighth inning. Good luck – this is a choice between right and right.

For now, it appears the Joba-Must-Start army has prevailed, and his No. 4 spot in the rotation is safe. Chamberlain delivered three scoreless innings against Cincinnati Tuesday night, quieting the murmurs about his velocity and mechanics.

Sorry, I must interrupt for a moment. While I guess I'm a member of the "Joba-Must-Start army," he actually allowed a run in his three inning outing on Tuesday. C'mon Bob, get the facts straight.

But is Joba’s mini-crisis really over? Of the 29 pitches he threw, Reds’ hitters swung and missed just once – and made contact every time they sized up Chamberlain’s famed four-seam fastball.

Yes, Joba hit 96-mph once, but in doing so nearly threw the ball over Jose Molina’s head. Joba made it to 95 one other time, otherwise there were plenty of fastballs that slogged along at 91-mph.

Obviously, it’s still early in spring training. Chamberlain has plenty of time to build arm-strength. But he’s not the pitcher he was in 2008; even while blanking the Reds, something seemed amiss.

While it seems that Klapisch understands how early it is in the spring he actually keeps going.

“I didn’t see the same explosiveness out of his hand, and I’m factoring in that it’s March,” said one talent evaluator. Remember, this is the same reliever-turned-starter who was injured not once, but twice last year, including the final week of the season.

Clearly, Chamberlain isn’t the horse the Yankees projected while he was crushing the competition in the minor leagues. Joba might have the unbreakable mentality of a latter-day Goose Gossage, but he’s fragile. His violent delivery ends with a stiff front leg – a recipe for long-term trouble that’s already reared its head. It’s a mechanical flaw Chamberlain will spend the rest of his career trying to fix.

The Yankees would be wise to ask themselves: at what cost will Joba reach his 150-inning limit this year? Given his history of arm trouble, who’s to say Chamberlain can again withstand seven innings’ work every fifth day? Who can assure the Bombers that his air-it-out, closer’s mentality didn’t wear him down by September?

Does Klapisch even know that Joba and his "closer's mentality" has always been a starter? He started in high school, he started in American Legion ball, he started in college, and he started in the minors. He was a starter until being converted into a reliever during the end of the 2007 season.

GM Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi should consider the possibility that Chamberlain’s 80 innings in the pen might be more valuable than 150 innings in the rotation. His outings will be shorter, more explosive, and he’ll only pitch when it’s critical.

Point is, the Yankees have no other alternative for those eighth innings. Chamberlain – not Brian Bruney, not Damaso Marte or Phil Coke – is the best bridge to Mariano Rivera. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes is having a terrific spring, ready to step into the rotation. Once again throwing strikes with his curveball, he’s yet to surrender a run this spring.

Actually, point is, this point is tired and pointless. Joba is a starter, the Yankees want him to be a starter, and he wants to be a starter. Last season he went 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 12 starts last year. He struck out 74 and walked 25 in 65.1 innings pitched last year. You can cry and whine about potential injury concerns all you want, but Joba proved last year that he can be a very successful starter in this league, and the Yankees would be stupid not to try to make the most of that.

Also, you would think that Klapisch would understand how insignificant spring training stats are. Just because Hughes had had five good innings this spring doesn't mean he's "ready to step into the rotation." Chien-Ming Wang had an 8.43 ERA last year in spring training and LaTroy Hawkins didn't give up a run in seven innings. And here's the stats for the two Cy Young award winners last year: Tim Lincecum had a 9.00 ERA and Cliff Lee had an 8.31 ERA. I could go on, but I think I've made my point; spring stats don't matter.

Let me be clear, I'm fine with whatever the Yankees want to do. I think they should stick with their plan and have Joba start, that's where I believe he will be most valuable to this team in the long run. But if for some reason they did decide to move him back to the pen and start Hughes I'd be fine with that too. Not because I think it's the right move, because I don't, but because I think the Yanks will be fine either way. But taking three bad spring innings and turning that into an argument against Joba being a starter is absolutely ridiculous. And as far as the injury concerns, yes they're real, but they'll be just as real in any spot Joba is put in, whether it's a starter or reliever.