Well, I guess this was inevitable. But why now? Because the Yankees are 21-25 and in the A.L. East cellar? Because Darrell Rasner is the 2nd best pitcher on the Yankees? These are ostensibly justifications for starting Joba, but to me, its just Yankees’ brass succumbing to New York media pressure. To be clear, like Hank, I’m all for Joba starting. But for a guy that wasn’t allowed to pitch more than an inning at a time every other day last year, this is a HUGE move to make mid-season. Unlike the relief-pitcher role, where any live arm can come in and dominate, starting requires a period of transition and adaptation, as MJ suggested in his guest post:
Pitchers work on all of their stuff in spring training and then develop their feel as the weather improves in April and into May. Pitchers usually hit their stride six weeks into the season. This plan would ask Joba to work on all four pitches in spring training, shelve them for a long period of time, go back and work on them again (against minor league hitting), and then expect them to be sharp against big league hitters.
I guess the plan is for Joba to work 2 innings for a few games, then 3, then 4, then 5, and by July 1 (?), he’ll be ready to be an effective starter. My fear is that this transition is not as sufficient as a full spring training would have been, and in six weeks, Joba is going to be a mediocre starting pitcher. The ramifications of this?
New York Post, August 1, 2008: “Joba Should’ve Stayed in Bullpen”
Everyone who stupidly claimed that Joba, like Papelboner, is better suited for a relief role than a starter role, will be vindicated. And by Spring Training 2009, Joba is a lifetime bullpen guy because that’s where he showed he can dominate.
This might sound like a worst-case scenario, but I think throwing Joba into the starting mix like this jeopardizes his future as a starter. The risk is greater than the reward given that the Yankees are not a championship-caliber team this year, even if Joba performs well. I pray to Babe Ruth’s corpse that everything works out and that Joba excels as a starter immediately, as he did as a setup guy, but I don’t have my hopes up.
