Yankees Sign Pettitte, Should Joba Go Back To The Pen?
January 26, 2009The Yankees now have four solid starting pitchers. With that said, should Joba Chamberlain be moved back to the bullpen? Here are my thoughts:
4 Responses to Yankees Sign Pettitte, Should Joba Go Back To The Pen?
-
bklynace – thanks for the comments. As a Mets fan I have watched the Mets go through a similar situation over the last few yrs. Aaron Heilman has always thought of himself as a starter but the Mets always thought that he should be in the bullpen as that is what they felt was best for the team.
I think Joba has a much greater impact on the Yankee than what Heilman brought to the Mets but I think you see my point
. The end result of Heilman not being happy was a poor performance that led to him being traded. So your right, ultimately the player needs to be happy or things could go bad quickly. I’m just thinking, if I’m an opposing team & I gotta face Joba/Mariano in the 8th & 9th, I better have the lead by the 7th. -
gigla says:
Hi Kerel! just found your site and I am sure I will be chatting up new york baseball on here alot! great site! getting to whta you were saying about the yankx moving Joba back into the bullpen I think it is agreat idea because lets face it with the him and mariano in the 8th and 9th innings its ballgame over!
Also a big point is mariano is coming off shoulder surgery no matter how minor ..shoulder surgery is shoulder surgery who is to say that he will be the same mo we all have come to know? I say move joba back to the bullpen and let him spell mo from time to time to take the workload off of mariano. Lets face it a guy with a 100mph fastball dont grow on trees and in the long run I believe the yankees are a much better team with joba in the bullpen, and kudos to the other guy above me about aceves. The guy is a stud hes dominated every league he pitched in last year and I like gughes but am not enamored by him. I believe hughes is way over rated and has a recurring injury proble. He hasnt even lasted a full season in his first 3 yrs, I would like the yankees to let those 2 kids go at it during spring training and the best man win. Aceves is a polished pitcher fromall his time in the mexico league, He isnt some rookie taht you cross your fingers with , hes got 3 well above avg pitches , I just hope the ynakees give him a real good look. As for hughes I dont consider a 91mph fastball over powering or above avg, his curveball is his only real out pitch as far as im concerned and what I have seen of him. His fast ball fluctuates alot, let it form being healthy or whatnot but I still wonder how you can go from throwing 96 to throwing 90 and last yr he was topping out at 88-89 in some games..so I really hope he comes back healthy and with these 2 kids in the 5 spot I think will be ideal!look forward to hearing what you think? -
gigla – thanks for the comments. In my opinion, the best spot for Joba is in the pen and I think you raised some good points as to why. I think Hughes is the key to the 5th spot in the rotation but Yankee fans are going to have to be patient and let him develop. With Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte and Wang, that should be enough to allow for Hughes to hit some bumps in the road as he matures. I am looking forward to the season and more chatting with you about baseball.
You bring up a good point about Joba at some point taking over for Mariano. However, I think Joba who has always wanted to be a starter deserves his shot at trying to become on. Sure it’s the club that pays his salary but I think Joba should ultimately have some sort of input as to where he pitches. I know the guy always says all the right things to the media, “I don’t care where they put me, I just want to pitch and contribute to the team.” But if it’s the guys life-long dream to not only pitch in the majors but to be a starter then the Yankees shouldn’t be making that call. Also if he isn’t happy with his situation he isn’t going to perform like he can so let him have some input, much like Papelbon has in boston.
Last year he performed well both out of the bullpen and as a starter so I don’t mind having him at either place.
I’m excited about both Aceves and Hughes, either one of those in my opinion could someday pan out to be a #1 starter and both deserve their shot. I never thought I’d say this but this organization has a tremendous amount of pitching talent now in their arsenal, both in young minor leaguers and proven aces currently studding the starting 4. I just think that maybe the young ones will never get the chance they deserve to pitch and develop at a major league level. I think that’s always been a problem with the Yankees, young players can never get experience at the majors with this club, either you come up and win right away or you’ll be stuck at the minors until you’re traded. Too bad, because I would like to see Aceves and Hughes one day grace the starting 5.