Dave Pinto brought up an interesting point when discussing John Harper’s article (more on that later) about Hughes allowing Joba to move back to the bullpen:
John Harper is the latest to bring up Joba back to the pen again, this time, because Phil Hughes might be ready to start in the majors. Why not move Phil to the pen, instead? Given that the Yankees seem to need a long man once everytime through the rotation, so why not give Hughes that job? That way, he can work his way into the majors, spot start for injuries, and if Bruney can’t pitch for a while, he can be a two-inning setup man.
This idea is a non-starter (no pun intended), mainly because the Yankees need to get Phil up to about 150 innings this season. There is almost no way he does that if he spends four months spot starting and pitching out of the bullpen. The most you can get out of a role like that is about 130 innings (take a look at Ramiro Mendoza’s seasons from 1997-1999). However, I wonder why those calling for Joba to go to the pen do not do the same with Hughes. In fact, Phil makes a lot more sense as a reliever than Joba does, as he only has two legitimate above average pitches (although we are hearing great things about the cutter). I could see Phil ending up in the pen if he continues to have consistent injury issues.
Regarding Harper’s article, I really do not want to rehash the whole Joba debate. However, I did want to highlight one thing that really struck me as silly:
At some point it’s hard to see how the Yankees deny the obvious, that they need Chamberlain back there to have any hope of winning a championship. Maybe starting tonight, Hughes can help convince them.
Really? They cannot win a championship with this bullpen? How anyone makes such a determination after 19 games, particularly considering a group that looked like a strength going into the season, is beyond me. With a healthy Brian Bruney throwing the 8th, the Yankees should be able to find a few consistent performers out of the large number of options that they have to toss the middle relief innings.
Mr. Harper, I suggest you go look at the numbers for the 1999 WS champion Yankees. The bullpen prior to Mo had one pitcher with an ERA under 4, Jason Grimsley (3.60). They got decent production out of some no-name type guys and used Mariano liberally. You do not need a shut down 8th inning guy “to have any hope of winning a championship.” You just need to limit the exposure of your bullpen by getting length from your starters, and hit on a few solid performers. The Yankees have the personnel to accomplish both.
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8 Responses to Pinto: Hughes To Pen?
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Phil Hughes has his worst numbers in the first inning, and then his numbers gradually improve until he tires. At least that has been his history in his entire minor league career.
Its also something he talked about last year when discussing his history of also being a slow starter (in terms of season, not in the actual game, but it was the same article, I’m trying to locate it right now if I can).
Guys like that don’t do well in the bullpen, you’d rather the guy be lights out in the first if he is going to be a reliever.
I would guess that the first inning as a starter is very different than the first, and maybe only, inning by a reliever.
Usually when starters are prone to first inning problems (I don’t know if this applies to Hughes or not), its do to being pumped up or having a rush and being excited.
In those cases, pitching in relief in anything other then really low leverage situations actually exacerbates the problem significantly.
Fair enough. I just think you cant really know until you try it.
Actually, it was tried, and I thought it was somewhat successful. Remember the playoffs when he came in for Roger Clemens?
I can’t remember though if he had any problems though when he first came in, but he did pitch well, and I thought he should have stayed in a bit longer.
Save this one for October. With Sabathia in the rotation you only need 3 starters and hopefully the young guns will be pushing their innings limits by then.
Okay here is what I don’t get. People want Joba in the pen, mainly because he throws hard and pitches with emotion. Fine, I can’t change their opinion on how stupid that logic is, but whatever.
Now these same people are making the argument that Joba is only a mediocre starter now that his velocity is hovering around 93 mph and not 95 mph. However what if you move him back to the pen and he’s still only throwing 93mph? Are we sure he’s holding back as a starter, because he never did that last year. Maybe the shoulder injury cost him a mile or two on his FB?
So what I’m saying here is if he really has lost a bit on his FB, wouldn’t he be better off learning how to use all 4 of his pitches and go 6 innings a night instead of just being a run of the mill reliever throwing low 90s heat?
Am I wrong here?
True. I think the velocity thing is just a product of it being early and Joba being a bit tentative with his shoulder. I bet it goes up plenty.