Eric Boland of Newsday (Yes, they’re still in business) interviewed Brian Cashman about the never ending debate about sending Joba to the bullpen and got some interesting quotes. Cashman said:
“If he’s throwing 95 in the first inning, let people throw that argument out there,” Cashman said. “We haven’t seen that yet, so why would they think that’s going to suddenly happen by going to the bullpen?”
Some have argued there’s an adrenaline rush that Chamberlain has coming out the bullpen, an argument Cashman brought up, then dismissed.
“That’s all crap,” he said. “Wake up and smell the coffee. If he’s on national television on ESPN and throws 91 on the 22nd pitch, why would you think if he comes in in the eighth inning protecting a 4-3 lead [he'd throw 96]? Stop, he’s a starter.”
Cashman is right. For Joba, his velocity is tied to his ability to get everything in sync. Joba has had trouble finding his rhythm early on in games and sending him to the bullpen won’t solve that. That will only make every inning the 1st inning for him, and do you know what he’s done in the 1st inning this year? Here it is, we could get Kei Igawa to produce like this.
The NY Post had another quote from Brian:
With Brian Bruney back on the DL, the seventh and eighth innings are the Yankees’ weakest link. Because Chamberlain had success in that spot two years ago, the argument never stops. However, two guys who would make the call say there is no chance of Chamberlain moving from the rotation.
“We have not talked about that,” Girardi said.
GM Brian Cashman went further. Asked if he was tempted to move Chamberlain, Cashman said, “No, not at all.”
Joe Girardi might have had the best quote of all. He said this during the pregame interviews before yesterdays game in Cleveland:
The Yankees have not discussed Joba in the bullpen. Great line from Girardi: “The good thing about the presidential debates is that they end. … This one doesn’t.”
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0 Responses to Cashman to B-Jobbers: FORGET IT!
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TIQ IQ
Two things could end the debate:
1. Joba throws consecutive no-hitters.
2. Someone else steps up and becomes a lock-down 8th inning bridge to Mo.
My advice: buy earplugs when the debate begins anew.
Good stuff and helps a little in understanding Joba’s velocity issues. I totally agree that if he’s not throwing 95/96 in the 1st inning of a start and struggles in the 1st inning, why should we think he could somehow turn on the velocity and effectiveness if he become the 8th inning guy again? I’m still concerned with why his velocity is so inconsistent (we’re not talking about 2-3 mph, we’re talking about 5-6 mph lost) and still not satisfied with the few responses I’ve seen (i.e. he struggles with his mechanics). Anyone else have any theories?
I have a theory that no one seems to discuss. I don’t think Joba’s a very hard worker. I’m every bit as troubled as you are by the wide swings in velocity, and if he trained harder I bet he would be more consistent. But this is part of the learning curve for a young pitcher, learning the value of preparing in advance for each start. Learning that natural ability will only take you so far.
Hughes learned that the past few seasons, he found that (like Bernie Williams) he needs to do a certain amount of work just to stay healthy. Joba may need to work harder in between starts to make his results more consistent.
Doesn’t anyone think the velocity issues as a starter are at least partly by design? Early in the season, all you heard about A.J. Burnett was how Halladay taught him that he couldn’t just throw it as hard as he can every time, that he should learn to pitch in the low-mid 90s with regularity and then be able to dial it up when he needs to. I dunno, obviously the injury had something to do with it, but part of me has always felt that since he’s starting now its been dialed down a little on purpose.
Meanwhile, The Scout is right. It might take consecutive no-hitters….which would be an impressive feat since he hasn’t seen the 8th inning since he became a starter. And yeah, the emergence of a new automatic 8th inning set-up guy would go a long way.
Excellent reply, I’ve thought the same thing myself.
Not just AJ, the Yankee staff would like him to get quicker outs so his pitch count doesn’t climb too quickly, and the way you do that is to throw more 2 seamers down in the zone. 2-Seamers are generally slower than 4-seamers.
I think the drop from 98 mph as a reliever to 94/95 was by design. What I’m confused by is the 90/91 we’ve been seeing a lot of. When his fastball is at that speed, his offspeed pitches are not as good because of the diminished gap in speed between the two. Also, by throwing 90/91 he’s having a hard time putting away hitters, which is leading to higher pitch counts and 4/5th inning exits.
From what I can see with a lot of Yankee prospects, the yankee organization’s main goal is to keep these guys healthy. If that results in a decrease in velocity then so be it. I do not necessarily agree with this method but I think this is a reason for Joba’s problems with velocity. It seems that last year when Joba was sitting 95-99 as a starter and then got hurt, the yankees came to the conclusion that they should subtract some MPH in favor of durablity. Instead of 95-99, I think we should expect 92-96 out of Joba. The problem with that is, why are we seeing 89-90?
I think this might be a result of Joba struggling with his new mechanics and not wanting to just let his arm go. There is a hesitation when he breaks his hands during his motion. This hesitation has been inconsistent in the starts where he has struggled but in his successful starts he has been able to repeat it.
I think the solution is for Joba to be more of a pitcher earlier in the game. Use more change-ups and curveballs early in the game to make up for the discrepancy in the velocity. As he gets more comfortable with his mechanics throughout the game he can go back to his power stuff (power fastball and power slider).
The Yanks dont do without reason. There’s a considerable amount of medical evidence that suggests the body is not designed to throw a baseball more than 95 MPH. They’ve done tests on cadavers that show the the connective ligaments in the shoulder begin to tear when you stress them above the levels required to generate that speed.
Since quality pitching is such a finite resource, and you can get outs without throwing that hard, it makes sense to reign in a pitcher who will just wind up hurting himself if left up to his own devices.
Joba hasn’t had the velocity since he was shut down last year. And that includes the time he was back in the pen at the end of last season. It was coming back to 94-95 until he got with the line drive against Baltimore. This bullpen velocity talk is utter nonsense.