Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Process Has Begun

This is Brent from The Bronx Block. For the next week, until Rebecca returns from her Italian vacation, Elizabeth from Blogging the Mystique and I will be reporting for Rebecca's blog.

Yes, the Yankees won 8-0. Yes, Darrell Rasner was great. And yes, Alex Rodriguez had a big night and had a home run taken from him, but that's not the biggest news.

Joe Girardi admitting that Joba Chamberlain has started the process to become a starter is the big news.

What can I say on it?

You can't waste Joba's arm in the eighth inning. The simple fact that he was put up with four plus pitches says something: Joba has the stuff of an ace. A potential future ace for the New York Yankees. Think about that: with the ceiling of Phil Hughes and with Chien-Ming Wang pitching the way he has, the Yankees could have a strong 1-2-3 combo in their rotation.

You also don't know if Joba would be a great starter unless you give him that opportunity to start. I just hope Yankee fans don't freak out if Joba doesn't start out extremely great when he starts his first game in the majors, but considering all I've heard about Hughes and Kennedy so far, I'm not overly optimistic about that happening.

Honestly, I would have hoped Joba would stay as the 8th inning guy for the year and stretch him out during Spring Training next year to start next year, but the Yankees feel Joba is most needed as a starter, giving him the ability to affect 6 or more innings once every 5 games. To the Yankees (and to me), the amount of innings a starting pitcher can affect is more valuable than the 50+ innings a reliever can affect.

Let's hope that the Yankees are right in their decision.

In fact, let's be optimistic.

1 comment:

  1. I was kind of mixed on moving Joba to the starting rotation. But I think he does have the stuff to be a #1 starter. Also there have been so many games lately when Joba can't even get into a game because the game is out of hand by the 8th inning. I think in the long run it is the right move.

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