The Mike and the Mad Dog debate............stupid is as stupid does.

I am a fan of Mike and the Mad Dog. I always have been. Their show is interesting for the most part because the two will delve into areas of sports that you wouldn't necessarily think about. They'll have Ken Burns on to talk about his Jack Johnson movie, or have Steve Garvey in to talk about all of his interesting stories from the time he played. Also, unlike a lot of the other shows, their arguements seem real, the types of arguements we all get into with our buddies when we are hot over an issue. They get loud, the interupt each other, they condradict themselves constantly (something you always do in a fight with a friend, because it becomes about beating down your buddy than actually making good points) and they seem like two guys who need a time out from one another.

But, for as much as I enjoy the show, what startles me is how little each really seems to know about the games they cover. They have the basics down, and they are great at regurgitating information that has been passed on to them by "experts" in the field as if it is their own idea, but neither one of them do any homework, they seem almost bothered by the idea of perparation, and their ideas of what is right and wrong in the sports world at times is sooo perplexingly stupid it boggles the mind.

Case in point, the Joba to the pen or the rotation arguement. Mike Francesa has been saying for more than four months now that he would take the dominant reliever over the dominant starter in this day in age of baseball. Honestly, that is just the dumbest thing anyone could ever say. Why? Because everything that has happened in baseball over the past 20 years, including what has happened in this town, negates that idea. Look at the names of the guys who have closed on championship teams over the last several years. Bobby Jenks, Adam Wainwright, Braedon Looper, Keith Foulke. Is that a list that you expect to see in Cooperstown any time soon? Look at the Yankees. They have had Mariano for the last 7 years. Have they won a championship? Of course not. Why? Because relievers don't matter without great starters. Everyone likes to say that Mariano was the most important pitcher on the Yanks during their championship years. It isn't true. Mariano was the most dominant and the most clutch, but as we have seen now for the past 7 years, Mariano is irrelevant if your starters can't get you to him. Mariano was never as important as a David Cone or a David Wells or a Orlando Hernandez because if those guys didn't provide the start, didn't pitch good to great in the first 7 innings, Mo would do what he has done the majority of the time in the last 7 years; watch the game from the bullpen.

Now, whether to move Joba this year or not is an interesting debate, and I feel it is too soon to talk about that in the middle of April. In my opinion, the ONLY chance, with two rookie starters in the rotation already, to win this year will be to have Joba in that bullpen. However, in the future it would make no sense to keep him there. Whether it is as a close or a set up man, it is a waste.

One of the favorite "comebacks" from Francesa and Chris Russo is "you have to prove that Joba can be this kind of shut down starter" yet neither one of them wants to actually put the kid in the rotation to see if he can be that starter. How can you "prove" that without seeing it? Is there some sort of equation Francesa knows about that can prove whether he can be a great starter, or is there a specific blood test you can run to try and prove it? The only way is to actually pitch the kid. If he failed as a starter, what would be the ramifications? They would move him back to the bullpen. No harm, no foul. If they kept him in the pen, they would never know if they had a Johan Santana or a Josh Beckett or a Roy Halladay. Do you honestly think anyone has a guy they believe can be a Josh Beckett in their bullpen right now and they are going to keep him there?

Bullpen pitchers are there for a reason. Look at Ross Olendorff. He was brought over to the Yanks as a starter, he imploded. He couldn't get the job done and was pitching poorly. The Yanks decided to put him in the pen and, suddenly, he has been very, very good. Look at Humberto Sanchez. By all accounts, he has electric stuff and was, in the Tigers organization, a starter. But Sanchez has proven that he just can't handle the work load of being a starter. So, what does that mean? It means he is going into the pen. It means that, while his stuff says he can be a starter, his body won't allow him to do it. There are reasons why guys go into the pen, and it is NEVER because they are the most dominant force on their team.

Joba has the best stuff in the Yankee organization. He has four pitches, two of which are devastating. He has a bulldog mentality that, unlike his friends Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, translates into needed confidence. Should the Yanks move the man into the rotation this year? Probably not. Should he be moved eventually? Absolutely, on that there should be no question, and Mike and the Mad Dog don't know much about baseball, or have very, very short memories, if they honestly believe the most important pitcher on the team is one coming out of the bullpen.