It's a whole new ballgame: 2008 New York Yankees Thread

#151
#151
And when LaTroy Hawkins came in, I knew it was only a matter of time before we lost.
 
#152
#152
UTLCA said:
That is understandable.

Basically they were waiting to see how Hughes and Kennedy were going to perform until they would make a decision on Joba,

Now, both Kennedy and Hughes are on the DL and the rotation is in shambles.
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I can understand why a team would be reluctant to start the season out with three kids like Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain in the rotation. You do that when you're the 1991 Braves and finished last the year before, not when you're the Yankees. What I think was shortsighted was the decision not to send whoever the third guy out was down to Scranton, get him some more work as a starter, and bring him up when you decided you needed him. ESPECIALLY if that third guy is the hugely hyped-up Joba Chamberlain, who pitched so well last year. The difference between Chamberlain and whoever would have replaced him in the bullpen is not IMO worth messing around with Chamberlain's development as a starter at all.

Chamberlain will probably be fine. It's just that you never know how young pitchers are going to react, and now he's in a position where he's already been a hot topic on ESPN for a couple of weeks and he hasn't even started a game yet. It seems like a lot of unnecessary drama that could easily have been prevented.

And yet I still have hope. I do not know what has made me so incredibly delirious.
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Of course you have hope! Thanks to the wild card, the Yankees are never out of it. They still field what is mostly an all-star team, and the pitching will improve as the rotation gets healthy (and has Chamberlain in it). There's no reason to take anybody above them in the division except Boston seriously yet; I fullly expect the Yanks to come back and finish second in the division. If I were you I'd have Oakland circled on my calendar, because that's the only team that really looks like a credible threat right now to beat NY out for the wild card.
 
#154
#154
Good point. They're better than their record. And actually, I wouldn't be shocked if it's the Angels vying for the WC out of the west.
 
#156
#156
volfanbill said:
Why did you have to say that? I mean really? Who is going to pick me up off the floor after I get my all my hopes crushed?
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Meaning, of course, that I wouldn't be shocked to see the A's win the division. If it wasn't obvious.

Life is about dealing with disappointment. You'll manage.
 
#157
#157
Vercingetorix said:
Meaning, of course, that I wouldn't be shocked to see the A's win the division. If it wasn't obvious.

Life is about dealing with disappointment. You'll manage.
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well it was obvious to me and I'd just as soon not have that kind of aspirations going through my head until at least mid july.

but if the a's keep playing like they are now, I'm going to find it impossible to withhold those expectations that long.
 
#158
#158
The A's are actually better than their record -- given that they've scored 4.5 runs a game while giving up 3.6, you'd expect them to be 31-21, not 29-23. Meanwhile the LAAAAAs are scoring 4.3 runs a game and giving up 4.1, so you'd expect them to be about 28-26. By all rights the A's ought to be four games up already.
 
#160
#160
Very Pumped.

It'll be in the Bronx, and the atmosphere will be electric. Girardi was thinking of shifting Joba and Pettitte so that Joba could make his first start away because of the expectations the fans will have.

I say his first start in the Stadium will do nothing but let him feed off of his emotions even more.
 
#162
#162
UTLCA said:
I say his first start in the Stadium will do nothing but let him feed off of his emotions even more.
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Yes, because exactly what you want a rookie pitcher to do in his first big-league start in a meaningless June game is "feed off his emotions."

Ah, the drama of the Yankees.
 
#163
#163
So he can't be pumped up to make his first start in Yankee Stadium...?

Strange.

Anyway, his control was lacking tonight and that mixed in with a shrunken strike zone and the Toronto hitters being ultra patient knowing Joba was on a count means 62 pitches 2.1 IP, 1 R on a passed ball, and 4 walks.

Not a strong start, but it's obvious that his arm needs to be stretched out a lot more.
 
#164
#164
UTLCA said:
So he can't be pumped up to make his first start in Yankee Stadium...?

Strange.

Anyway, his control was lacking tonight and that mixed in with a shrunken strike zone and the Toronto hitters being ultra patient knowing Joba was on a count means 62 pitches 2.1 IP, 1 R on a passed ball, and 4 walks.

Not a strong start, but it's obvious that his arm needs to be stretched out a lot more.
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Gee, I wonder if one had anything to do with the other?
 
#165
#165
After watching him, I really don't think he was too pumped up.

The strike zone was also tiny for him and as he has been stretching himself out over the last three appearances, his command has left something to be desired.

Let's see: 35 pitches in two innings the night it was revealed he was getting stretched out.
40 over two innings the next time.
28 over 1.1 the next time.

It's pretty obvious to me that his control has been lacking for a while now, so I wouldn't put it all on his emotions tonight.
 
#166
#166
My point, which you called "strange," was merely that the last thing you probably want a rookie pitcher making his first start doing is "feeding off his emotions" and "being all pumped up." This isn't football. I would have started him on the road.
 
#167
#167
It's not as though he's never pitched at the Stadium.

If he were a true rookie then no, I wouldn't like it. But- he has pitched there and used his emotions to his advantage on many occasions.
 
#169
#169
The experiment is something the Yankees need, but it may prove a flaw in the Chamberlain mythology, perhaps he cannot throw strikes regularly enough to be counted on for 7 innings at this point.

My cousin is a hardline Yankee fan, we had fistfights weekly as kids about baseball, and he thinks Joba belongs in the pen, until he can show a greater mastery of 3 pitches.

I tend to agree, but i'll gladly sit here on the Volnation Yankees thread and pour Kool Aid for those who think Wang and Joba can be counted on for 2 runs over 7 innings more often than not.
 
#170
#170
It drives me crazy when teams do this. Not just the Yankees, and not just Chamberlain; the Braves have done this a number of times over the years, notably with Jason Marquis. When you have a good starting prospect, LEAVE HIM IN THE ROTATION until he convinces you that he's not going to make it as a starter in the majors. Don't move him back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen; don't mess with his routine. It messes young pitchers up. You can always send him out to the bullpen after you decide that he can't handle starting. Chamberlain commanded his pitches well enough to be a great starter throughout college and the minors; if I were Cashman, I'd have wanted to see him prove to me that he _couldn't_ be a starter in the majors before I even thought about moving him out to the pen.

I heard some guys on the radio the other day opining that Chamberlain would be more valuable to the Yankees as a reliever anyway, which seems totally nonsensical. You've got a guy whom you think will eventually be able to give you 200 good innings a year. Why would you willingly put him in a role in which he's only going to give you 60 instead?
 
#171
#171
I think Wang's hurting a little bit. He's had about 5 bad starts in a row and this is his first slump that has lasted this long.

And before anyone comes on and says that it would happen eventually to a guy with one pitch, i have to pre empt that with the fact that he's won 19 twice and won 6 straight to start the year- that's plenty of time to be figured out.

Also, I believe in 2 months I can count on Joba for a 3.3ish ERA once he works everything out.
 
#172
#172
Just wondering why they wouldn't send him down to make his starts instead of wasting his 65 pitch count in a major league game.
 
#173
#173
kev20 said:
Just wondering why they wouldn't send him down to make his starts instead of wasting his 65 pitch count in a major league game.
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There is no comparison to the pressue starting a big league game and starting a minor league game. While it would have helped to stretch him out the mental aspect is just not there. I have got believe this played a part in their decsion to limit him while also making the start in the big leagues...just my 2 cents...
 
#174
#174
I think he looked pretty darned good last time out, but I could be wrong...







Most likely not though.
 
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