Hot Stove Coal: Let's Debate Joba Some More

Our own Jay Hyne became the second writer from NYaT to be featured in the LoHud Yankees Blog Pitch Hitter series when he wrote his blog post this morning. He wrote about Joba Chamberlain and Jay believes he should stay in the bullpen. It may all be a moot point at this juncture since Brian Cashman agrees with Jay, but I've stated more than once on this blog I think the Yankees have been making a huge mistake by pigeon-holing Joba into the 'pen. And since Jay did reference our WBRS arguments in his bio, I figured that it was more than appropriate to give some contradiction to his post.

Joba's role has been a debate on NYaT from the beginning (Star-Ledger)

The issue is that while the Yankees seemed to have handled Phil Hughes' transisition to the Majors well (though the jury is still out on that--we'll see after an increased workload this year), they totally bungled Joba. I don't think Jay or anyone would disagree with me on that. He was a reliever, then a starter, then they had him start the first 3 innings of a game, then the shut him down, then he was a reliever, and now he's sort of in limbo. It's tough to be that age and be jerked around like that. I also think that people look poorly upon the season Joba was truly given a chance to start because of how the season ended. Look at his starts before they started skipping him and he was a different pitcher.

Unfortunately, it looks like we'll never know if Joba could have been another Roy Halladay, Zack Greinke or Johan Santana--three pitchers who started as relievers and after a rough start in the rotation, made the transition work. I don't know if it's truly that arm injury or just an organizational-wide mental block against Joba after he burst onto the scene as a dominant bullpen arm. Maybe he'll have to be traded to realize that potential or maybe he's just another Aaron Heilman.

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Back In Town and Some Bad News

Got back in town last night from a week in Richmond, VA. Did not realize how many Redskins fans there were down there but it was nice to rub in the Giants win. I was amazingly able to get 880 AM on the radio so I could hear the Yankees come back against Los Angeles. I was also in a bar when the Yankees/Blue Jays brawl broke out so I was able to see that. Pretty crazy.

But now I'm back in the city so great they named it twice. I came back last night to some bad news, however. Peter Abraham, one of my favorite bloggers and one of my best sources for all things Yankees, is leaving The Journal News to go write for the Boston Globe (yes, that means covering the Red Sox...double ouch).

One of the reasons I decided to start a sports blog was because of people like PeteAbe who I enjoyed reading, but wanted to add to the discussion with thoughts of my own. I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor and hope that NYaT can fill a little bit of the gap left by his leaving.

Bronx Banter acknowledges that there will be a big lack of #1 Yankees coverage. Sliding Into Home wishes him luck in his endeavor. River Avenue Blues has a whole Peter Abraham appreciation thread. Rob Neyer gives his congratulations. It Is High, It Is Far, It Is...Caught calls him a traitor for leaving to cover the Red Sox. Pete says that finding a good replacement and keeping the LoHud Yankees Blog up and running at a high level is a top priority of the paper.

Hal Steinbrenner, Phil Hughes, Jack-O and Other Yankees Links

• Peter Abraham on Hal Steinbrenner: "The Yankees once had the most outspoken owner in sports. Now they have one of the quietest. Widely respected within the organization, Steinbrenner emerged as his family’s leader and the caretaker of an empire."
• Joel Sherman on Hal Steinbrenner: "Obviously, winning is the strongest inducement for fans. But part of that four million going through the turnstiles annually was about George Steinbrenner's penchant for making his organization must watch."
• Rob Neyer and Marc Craig both agree that Phil Hughes has been brilliant as a reliever but should ultimately be a starter. And Neyer says something I've been harping: "With all due respect to all the fine and wondrous relievers out there in Baseball Land, isn't Hughes yet another nail in their coffin, value-wise? Good relief pitchers are merely failed starters"
• According to Buster Olney the Yankees have the fourth hardest road to the playoffs in the American League. The good part? The Red Sox have a harder schedule. The bad part? The Rays have an easier schedule. The hardest part: "The Yankees actually have two West Coast trips remaining, including one more visit to their own private hell in Anaheim."
• Chop-n-Change has an interview with Jack-O of Bill Simmon's B.S. Report fame. Heeeerrrrre's Johnny! "The attention I've received from appearing on the BS Report has been kind of surreal, but very, very fun. As Bill and I have commented to each other, the conversations that we have are ones that we would have anyway (although there would probably be more swearing and political incorrectness) so it's funny that people seem to enjoy listening in."
• Erik Boland of Newsday says that despite injuries and inconsistencies, the Yankees are actually in good shape. "For a team that has suffered significant injuries to the lineup (Alex Rodriguez), the rotation (Chien-Ming Wang) and the bullpen (Brian Bruney) and a horrendous early-season slump of one of its three prize free agents (Mark Teixeira), the Yankees enter the second half with the second-best record (51-37) in the American League and lead the wild-card race. Really, that's the bottom line."
• Jon Heyman doesn't think that the Yankees are going to get Roy Halladay because the Blue Jays won't trade within the division. Even if they did, Heyman doesn't think the Yankees want to clear out their farm system of the best prospects: " and/or The Yankees are reluctant to "gut their system,'' according to one rival executive. The Yankees could easily form a nice trade package by including one of two young talented right-handers -- Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes -- plus catching prospect Jesus Montero and outfield prospect Austin Jackson."

What A Homestand For the Yankees

I think I would agree with Sam Borden of LoHud that this may have been the greatest Yankees homestand ever.

Consider this day-by-day:

May 15 vs MIN: Brett Gardner hits inside-the-park home run and ninth-inning triple, then scores winning run on Melky Cabrera’s two-run walkoff single.
May 16 vs MIN: A-Rod gets his first hit at new Yankee Stadium with game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning.
May 17 vs MIN: Johnny Damon gives Yankees third-straight game-ending hit with 10th-inning home run to win it. Yankees clubhouse chefs put rush order on more whipped cream.
May 18 vs MIN: Mark Teixeira homers from both sides of the plate and the Yankees reverse their magic, scoring six in the first inning instead of rallying late.
May 19 vs BAL: A-Rod and Teixeira homer again and Yanks score seven runs in the seventh inning to turn a tight game into a laugher.
May 20 vs BAL: Yankees hit three homers in a row in the second inning and blast Baltimore to back Phil Hughes. As games on this homestand go, a pretty boring night.
May 21 vs BAL: Joba Chamberlain goes down two batters into the game after being hit by a comebacker, but the Yankees bullpen doesn’t break and they win again, their ninth in a row.
May 22 vs PHI: Jimmy Rollins homers on the very first pitch of the game and the Yankees don’t recover, finally losing.
May 23 vs PHI: Back to old reliable – the walkoff. Down two in the ninth, A-Rod hits a two-run homer to tie it; Melky Cabrera drives in Robinson Cano with the winner moments later.

So, to sum up: That’s eight games, seven wins, four walkoffs. Oh, and by the way, the pitching match-up for today’s homestand finale is CC Sabathia vs. Cole Hamels. Not a bad stretch of baseball, right?

Not bad at all. They were a few outs from losing this series to the Phillies but now are one win away from their fifth series win a row. Looking back at the Yankees schedule, they've only lost two series of more than two games: the first series of the season against the Orioles and the April series in Boston.

The most wins on this homestand? Alfredo Aceves with 3 followed by Jose Veras with 2.

Amazingly, although I had gone to 10 Yankees games this season, I only attended one of these. But I can say I saw Jorge Posada's walkoff a few weeks back that started this turnaround for the Yankees and A-Rod's first hit at the new Yankee Stadium, a game winning two-run homer that really got this streak going. This team truly believes that they can come back against anyone. Although I'd love to see them win 10-3 more often, I like to see that they have fight in them and don't quit. That's the mark of champions.