Okay, so Mike and the Mad Dog and their many minions may be dead wrong about Joba being a starter in the future, but they are dead on accurate that he shouldn't be moved from the pen this year. Why? Here are a few reasons.
Enough is Enough - You already have two rookies in the rotation right now. How does it make any sense whatsoever to pull one rookie for another rookie? Now, granted, Joba has better stuff than either Kennedy or Hughes, but anyone who thinks that Joba is immune to the "growing pains" of being a rookie starting pitcher is crazy. He's gonna get hit, and he might even get hit hard. The Yanks struggles right now are about lack of quality innings and the chance for a pitcher to implode. You don't stabalize a rotation with another rookie.
Even if you replace Mussina with Joba, you are then looking at 3 starters in the rotation. Come ON!!!!!!! That isn't a formula for winning.
Patience my friends - Brian Cashman and the Yankee front office put their eggs in the Phil Hughes basket, and if he doesn't succeed and take over control of the third starter spot, no one, not Joba, not anyone from the minors, is gonna help the team. He had the most major league experience starting for the Yanks last year, he's had the most minor league experience, and his innings limit was not nearly as constrained as Joba's. Yes, he is only 21, but of the big three, he has the most experience. Now, let's assume the Yanks didn't get it wrong with Hughes and that, down the road, he is gonna be a very, very good pitcher. Well, you would assume that his assention to greatness would begin next year, and having a full year under his belt there would be little to no limitations as to how many innings he could pitch. That would mean that, with a veteran like Pettite (who admitted this week that this probably wouldn't be his last year), a top starter like Wang, and now Hughes with a year under his belt, you would be able to absorb a learning year from Joba. The Yanks could easily absorb a learning year from Hughes this year if they had done the right thing and added another veteran, quality starter to the rotation, instead of fortifying it with a second rookie. Next year, Hughes could allow for Joba to make the transition easily and smoothly.
Your honor, there is precedent - Remember two years ago when that crummy St. Louis Cardinal team won the world series? They won with Adam Wainwright as their closer. When Jason Isringhausen went down with an injury, Wainwright, a top prospect with nasty stuff, was called up to solidify the pen, and by the end of the year he was closing the games out for the Cards. In 2007, the Cardinals moved Wainwright out of the pen and into the rotation. After a VERY shaky start, Wainwright began to live up to his talent, won 14 games, and posted an ERA of 3.70. This year? He's off to a 2-1 start with an ERA under 3. He is the Cardinals best pitcher. What's my point? My point is, Wainwright pitched 75 innings in the bigs in 2006 and by 2007 he was pitching in the rotation, logging over 200 innings. Now, because Wainwright had more minor league starts, he did log more innings in 2006, but there is no reason why Joba wouldn't be able to make enough of a leap in innings next year after a full year in the pen this year. It CAN be done without making him a starter.
A win is a win is a win - The Yanks are obviously going to have some problems with their rotation this year, no matter what they do. Mussina might be done and Kennedy and Hughes are still gonna experience "growing pains" even if they find a way to get past the third inning. So what does that mean? It means that the Yanks are going to NEED to win all the games they are leading after the 6th inning and, even more importantly, they are gonna have to win all the games Pettite and Wang pitch. That means, for this year, you are gonna need a shut down bullpen.
Here is the thing: you need to have an elite pen or an elite rotation. Now, it is infinitely more important to have an elite rotation, but that seems to be very unlikely this year. So that means, to have any chance of winning #27, or maybe even making the playoffs, you are going to have to have a great bullpen. With Joba, the bullpen has the chance to be outstanding. Mariano looks like he is 30 again, Joba is virtually unhittable in the eighth, Brian Bruney looks nasty this year and is a very difficult guy to hit when he is on, Billy Traber is a nice lefty specialist, and Ross Olendorff looks on the cusp of being a shut down quality reliever. Add in the warm bodies of LaTroy Hawkins and Kyle Farnsworth, and the bullpen is formidable to say the least. If you take Joba away, you weaken the pen without any guarantee that you will be able to strengthen the rotation. This year, you have to try and win with the pen, and Joba gives you that chance. Next year, when Olendorff might be capable of handling a later inning roll, when a guy like Humberto Sanchez will be up showing off his nasty stuff, or when more quality relievers might be available via trade or free agency, the pen might be set without Joba. This year, they need the youngster.
You are gonna do WHAT? - So, the Yanks, in what promises to be a tight race for either the division or the wild card, are going to yank Joba out of the pen, send him down to the minors for a month, let him stretch it out down there, the bring him back and jettison someone from the rotation, all the while not having a suitable back of the pen replacement. Yeah, that sounds like a great plan. All aboard the Brian Cashman express.
Hank wants Joba to start right now. Brian Cashman wants Joba to start in June. What is wrong with just playing this year out and seeing where you stand next year? The Yanks have a $200 million payroll and they ask each fan to basically pay a pound of flesh to attend a game. The Yanks demand loyalty from their fans, both in attendance and in what they are willing to pay to support their team. The New York Yankees are about fielding competitive teams. I have no problem with planning for the future and taking some lumps along the way. I have no problem with this team being a long shot to win a title this year as long as their is a payoff with Hughes and Kennedy down the road. However, playing with Joba like they seem to be planning to do essentially makes them a minor league squad, making decisions contrary to what is best for the team in exchange for what is best for the player. If the Yanks wanted Joba to be a starter they should have left him in the minors to get some innings, where those innings could be controlled without worry, and then brought him up in the middle of the year. This isn't Scranton, this is The Bronx. I want Joba to succeed as much as the next guy, but I don't want his progression as a starter to be put ahead of the team's chance to win.
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