Friday, October 2, 2009

Villone Discusses Joba and Hughes

From Dan Martin:
"Phil is showing that he's more than capable of doing the job he's doing now out of the pen," said Villone, now with the Nationals. "And Joba, he's still figuring it out."

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"They're two different kinds of pitchers," said Villone, who like both Chamberlain and Hughes, has spent time as a starter and a reliever. "The biggest thing, though, is that they're still both so young. If they were in a different organization, they might be doing something completely different."

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"Sometimes it takes awhile to find out what you're made of and sometimes going to the bullpen helps bring it out since you have to be ready every day," Villone said of Hughes. "He's battled through injuries and maybe the timing's right and the bullpen is the right place for him to be right now. I don't know about the future, but in September and October he's going to have to be ready every day and I think he will be."

...

"Who knows when Mariano will be done and you'll need somebody, but Phil is showing that he's more than capable of doing the job and possibly he could fill those shoes."

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"The scheduling is the hardest part, when you've been a reliever and you're trying to become a starter," Villone said. "It's not that it's that tough an adjustment, but there is a learning curve and I think that's what [Joba's] going through now. I think they're both probably capable of doing either job."
Gotta agree with him, and it's much better reading something like this instead of the usual "the Yankees ruined Joba with his rules" nonsense we've been getting mostly from the media.

I don't want Joba to start in October, but that's a long leap from me saying I don't think he'll be a good starter eventually because I do. Like Villone said, he's still figuring stuff out, and I think at times we also forget how young he is. The same could be said for the reactions when Hughes started last year. People thought he was already a bust. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Hughes had a great year next year as a starter, or Joba for that matter.

45 comments:

  1. u can never stop me greg

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  6. Now all comments must pass through my email before being posted. None of your comments will go through now. HAHAHAHAHAH

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  7. Hows it goin Greg? Durden managed to get tickets to the DS but hes got the flu, I might have a free set now :-P

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  8. Oh that sucks (for him). Is it swine flu?

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  9. Nah not the Swine luckily. Just the regular flu. Docs seem to think it was from being at the game where there was that 2 hour delay with rain that he ended up staying at.

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  10. Oh damn, now I feel bad cause I kept telling him to stay.

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  11. Greg doesn't like me...he's responsible for my leg injuries. Way to block comments then unblock you toolbox.

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  12. Nah man, he was way underdressed for the game, he left here in jeans, a tshirt and a wind breaker. I kinda had a feeling it would happen, just not the flu.

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  13. dude seriously please go the fuck away, your not liked, your not wanted, we dont care what you have to say and your proving the red sox fan stereotypes correct, is that ur mission in life? if so you sux at life.

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  14. I can just turn them on again. If you post twice in a row they go on, that's the new rules.

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  15. dude theres no such thing as free playoff tickets! hopefully im better after the weekend.

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  16. thanks dude. its not so much the flu. my doctor said my allergies are acting up and i managed to get a bad cold so all that combined is just messing with my body.

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  17. time to get inked, later Greg, catchya Durden.

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  18. Villone..the voice of reason, who woulda thunk it.

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  19. holy cow, sox fan get a life.

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  20. Well done, Greg! I was hoping you could block/delete posts or ban certain posters. Way to keep this blog the best one out there for Yankee fans!

    Mike

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  21. I like Villone a lot. I think the Yankees get a new pitching coach next year and they have a dyansty rotation. Never been a big fan of Eiland.

    -G

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  22. I just e-bombed the shit out of that anons computer.

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  23. lol, forgive me for asking, but how does one do that without an email address?

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  24. no email needed. its a hack and you just flood them with pop up windows.

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  25. hes probably still clicking out of them, I hope he likes all the E.D, hair-loss replacement and xanax pop ups.

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  26. Howcome nobody ever brings this up? Joba is a total mess personally. I think the chances are very good that he eats himself out of the game by the time he's 28. He was obese as a kid then lost some weight to get drafted. Now he's back to being a tub of goo at 24. He's just in bad shape and can't get through a season intact. This is why so many teams passed on him in the draft back then. I know some will take offense at all of this, but it's the truth.

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  27. It's possible but I don't think it's the reason why he's done so terribly. Look at Boomer Wells, he was a tub of lard(or beer) and he was solid. It's been a pretty rough year for Joba. He had the DUI over the winter, then had to deal with it in the beginning of the season. His dad was sick for a little while and his mom got arrested and charged for drug distribution. I'm not making excuses but its been an A-rod-esque season for him with outside distractions.

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  28. Wells was the exception, not the rule. All of the off-field stuff is part of my point. He's got a very messy personal life and there are signs that he has no regard for his physical well-being. That's a really bad formula for a young, overweight, pitcher.

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  29. Lucky, are you giving up on him before his career starts?

    If the Yankees see the potential in him, you best be assured that they will help the kid out. They want him to succeed and not to succumb to whats happening outside of the game or his struggles this season.

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  30. Durden, his career is well under way. He's been in 90+ MLB games and pitched nearly 300 innings, including essentially 2 full MLB seasons. He is young, but he's a veteran at this point. My guess is he's back in the pen next year and Hughes is in the rotation. IN the pen the Yanks can keep a closer watch on his off-day behavior, as you need to be ready every day. Hughes was always a better prospect, anyway.

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  31. Chamberlain wont go back to the pen next season. His 1st season was all of a 2 month stint. Last year he started in the pen then moved to the Roto. This year he was in the Roto but had too many Joba rules to follow. Give him a season where hes not worrying about rules and junk like that and it could be a different story.

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  32. CC, Wang, Pettite, Burnett, Hughes ... aren't they all ahead of him in the fight for rotation spots next year? Or are they going to keep Hughes in the pen (which would be a collossal waste of his talent)? Plus you have to figure the Yanks will sign some high-priced starter this offseason just because they can.

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  33. Lucky theres a few issues in your statement there.

    1. " Plus you have to figure the Yanks will sign some high-priced starter this offseason just because they can."
    Cashman said that after signing Tex that he knew he was taking himself off the market next season, the Yankees are not gunna go out there and sign any big names.

    2."CC, Wang, Pettite, Burnett, Hughes ... aren't they all ahead of him in the fight for rotation spots next year?"
    CC and Burnett are the only pieces to the rotation next year. Wang's injury is going to sideline him well into the late spring early summer, and remember his trials and tribulations this season? He's not a lock to come back and hes not a lock to return to 19 win form. Pettitte is also a FA, he might get picked back up, who knows. And if he does thats 3 starters, the final 2 would be Hughes and Joba.

    Remember Hughes would be in the rotation right now if Wang did not come back and rehurt himself.

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  34. Pettitte is the Brett Farvre of MLB. He will be back. YOu know it. Maybe Wang won't be ready to go, but he will have a slot if he's healthy.

    Also you don't really but that line about not being in the free agent market, do you? Are you suggesting that Damon and Matsui are going to leave and the Yanks will ahve an outfield of Nady, Swisher, Melky/Gardner? They will be big players for Bay and/or Holliday. That's a lock. I'll bet anyone right now that the Yanks make several off-season Free Agent signings of more than $7 million/year. They have a team that can't win in Oct and they will have to spend again just to keep from being torn to pieces by their bloodthirsty fans. IT'st he cycle they ahve put themselves in and it won't end until they start developing more talent.

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  35. Lucky, Cashman was told he "exhausted resources signing Tex." I can honestly say they wont be big players this offseason. As tempting as Bay and Holliday are we should skip the temptation. Holliday proved hes a NL only player, look at him in Colorado, then Oakland where he sucked ass and now with the Cards....and would you honestly want to give a 1st round pick to the Sox? I know I wouldn't, there farm is plentiful enough.

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  36. what you would do and what the Yanks would do are two different things. They did just that with Damon (gave the sox a #1 pick -- who turned into Ellsbury!). Very similar situations, really. Both were 31 and coming off career years. Yanks may not sign Bay or Holliday, but if they don't it will only be because they don't sign one of the other free agent OFers (inclduing Damon and Matsui)

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