Joba's struggles forcing tough decisions
The best part of Joba Chamberlain's performance Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium came at his locker rather than on the mound."I understand what I've done and the situation I've put myself in," he said, showing accountability for his tedious and unsuccessful 3 2/3 innings of work against the Kansas City Royals. "You set yourself up to do the things you need to do, then let the chips fall where they may."
Where they fall is anybody's guess right now, and the tone of Chamberlain's remarks indicates he's well aware of it.
Joba threw 91 pitches before his manager took the ball from his hand, allowing seven hits, three runs, and four walks in an outing that looked more like preparation for a start in an Arizona instructional league than the Major League postseason -- and if you were at the game, you know his performance was actually worse than the box score indicates.
Were it not for some hard hit balls tailing foul, getting smoked directly at fielders or snared by strong defensive plays behind Chamberlain, Kansas City might have thrown up a far more lopsided early lead against the Yanks, who would eventually lose the game 4-3. You have to wonder how long Chamberlain might have lasted if his opposition wasn't a team that's lost 94 games this season.
As Joe Girardi, his coaching staff, and the rest of the Yankee decision-making hierarchy contemplate their 25-man roster for the American League Division Series, set to begin in about a week, they will have to make some hard decisions about Chamberlain's value to the team in that first playoff round and beyond, if the Yankees advance deep into October.
There is no need to pull up the ugly numbers. Chamberlain's limitation-shackled, one-foot-forward-two-step-back season has been marked by inconsistency in terms of velocity, command of his pitches and poise. If the roster selection process is a meritocracy based on individual performance and its translation into team success, then Chamberlain has proven unreliable as a starter and less deserving than others of a place in the bullpen. Blame the Yankees' hotly debated Joba Rules, blame Chamberlain himself, throw blame on them all, it hardly matters anymore.
The New York Yankees are primed to make a run at a World Championship. What matters now is which players are most able to get them there.
It is a virtual certainty that the team will opt for three starters -- CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte -- in the first playoff round. This in all probability means they will carry seven relievers. Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves have their spots in the 'pen assured. Damaso Marte's value as a second lefty option (along with Coke) marks him as a near lock. This leaves two spots open for candidates Chad Gaudin, Brian Bruney, Dave Robertson, and Chamberlain.
Two spots, four pitchers. Even I can do the subtraction.
Of the four, Gaudin has outperformed Chamberlain as a starter, and has proven himself a solid long reliever. Robertson posts a 3.24 ERA, has surrendered only 34 hits in 41 innings of work, boasts a slew of other impressive statistics and appears to have bounced back from the recent arm strain that led to a stint on the disabled list.
Bruney -- whose honesty about his struggles while rebounding from early season injury has been as commendable as Chamberlain's frequent denial has been frustrating -- has shown consistent improvement and success in recent weeks. He has a fastball that crackles with speed and life, his breaking pitches are sharp, and, very importantly, he is back to throwing strikes.
Again, if individual performance and usefulness to the team are our criteria for a postseason roster spot, the hard choice for Girardi and company should be deciding which of those three will have to be excluded. Chamberlain ought to be the easy pick for odd man out.
But let's forget for a moment that there's a competition for the spot, flip the argument and make it strictly about reasons for inclusion rather than exclusion. What would be the basis for judging Chamberlain useful? The memory of a high-powered fastball-slider combination that has barely peeked out from hiding all season? The hope that he can recover his lost magic?
It makes no difference whether the Joba Chamberlain who hit the Yankee baseball scene like a lightning bolt in 2007 is gone, on hiatus or irretrievably lost. Optimistically, the Yankees have to believe he is somewhere to be found. But now -- right now -- he isn't in the house. What has replaced him is a pitcher who could not last four innings against the Kansas City Royals in his final start of the regular season.
| "I understand what I've done and the situation I've put myself in. You set yourself up to do the things you need to do, then let the chips fall where they may." |
| -- Joba Chamberlain |
The calendar has turned to October. The Yankees have earned the best record in baseball and a chance for the biggest prize of all. They have invested much in Joba, shown him confidence and loyalty and as of the present gained paltry rewards. Whether or not their mutable, maddening rulebook has contributed to this unhappy circumstance, the fact remains that Joba has had his chances and failed to take advantage.
Bruney, Gaudin. Robertson. Chamberlain.
At least one of those four will be left off the ALDS roster. If the choice were yours, who would be the first you eliminate from consideration? And if the answer is Chamberlain -- as simple merit would indicate -- would you then trust Gaudin as a fourth starter going into the Championship or World Series?
These are the very difficult questions the Yankees face over the next several days.
"We have a little bit of time to think about exactly what we're going to do, but he's had a lot of success out of the bullpen," Girardi said of Joba's potential playoff role. "I can't guarantee that he's going to revert back to his old form if we do put him in the bullpen, but he does have a lot of confidence coming out of those gates."
That may or may not be true. But Girardi's own confidence was hardly unequivocal when he was asked whether he thought the 2009 model of Joba Chamberlain might at all resemble the 2007 classic.
"I wish I could say 100 percent yeah, but until we actually see it, we won't know."
Whether this is the time to go looking for it is the circular predicament.
And for the Yanks it could be a killer.
quick question that i hope someone can answer....say the yanks dont go with joba for the alds....can they put him on the alcs roster...like i wanna know if after each series you can change your roster up
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Congratulations to the Yankees for ruining Joba .Only they could take a golden arm like his and make it useless. All this limiting of innings has done is make him rusty-in his control and his mechanics.
A muscle must be worked harder to get stronger. And the arm is made of muscles. This is not an 11 year old kid we are talking about but a grown man. My father tells of Bob Feller coming to the big leagues at 17 years old and he had a long and great career. And he threw at least as hard as Joba. (Or the way Joba use to throw).
And for the people that want him in the bullpen well I see no signs that he will have the same speed he had as a reliever. Right now he is of no use to the Yankees.
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Joba's problem is not his arm as it is his mind! It's like he has AAD on the mound. The "shock therapy" worked once so it showed it wasn't his arm yankee7777.
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Teams are allowed to reset rosters if they advance. Thus, if Joba is left off the ALDS roster, the Yankees can add him to the ALCS roster - and have him start Game 4 - if they choose. The same applies from the ALCS to the World Series.
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thanks tempny for letting me know how it works...i thought u had to keep the same 25 man roster for each series you advance...so now that they can switch it they SHOULD leave Joba off the ALDS roster....use brurney and robertson...but for the ALCS i want joba back...hed do good in a game 4 situation against bucholz or santana for the angles
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Aloha, Yankeexx . . . Joba is a bit of a mystery, but I tend to agree that his arm isn't the problem, or the worst of it anyway. Nor do I frankly think it's the Joba Rules per se at this point. If one listens to Joba at his locker after he's pitched, and particularly after he's pitched poorly--I've done it quite a few times now-- it becomes apparent that he head is full of coach-speak. I've grown to believe that what often sounds as if he's making excuses for himself is really a lot of latter-day pitching gobbledegook. If you want my opinion, Joba and the Joba Rules seemingly have been a kind of toxic combination. He's thinking too much on the mound instead of just pitching. The Yankees had to impose some innings limits on Joba. We can debate whether their plan was the best one possible, or whether it might have been implemented in a better way, but its basis was solid. I have a hunch Chamberlain will find his way. The issue is what to do with him right now.
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JP, here is my prediction - and Lord, do I hope I'm wrong. Joba will be on the first-round postseason roster, and he will hurt us in that game. And why? Because I consider Joe Girardi to be one of the more spineless managers I have seen in my time. I don't believe that he has the guts required, to face the music that will be played for him by the NY media, if he doesn't have Joba in there. I believe they will scream about his having ruined this guy with The Rules, and he just won't be able to face it. So instead, he'll play him, giving alot of blather about the faith they have in him; then speak sorrowfully afterwards, about what a shame it is that the kid let them all down. Garbage! Like I said, I hope I'm wrong; but if I'm right, and the Yanks fail to win the series because of our spineless manager, I sincerely hope he gets replaced by either Mattingly or Pena. Girardi was my third pick in that horserace - and I still truly believe that either of those other two guys, would have gotten this team just as far as they have gotten to this point.
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Rick, I'd disagree with you about Girardi's managerial ability, but leaving that aside, consider this: I think that, at present, leaving Joba off the ALDS roster would be the popular move and, conversely, that Girardi showing faith in Joba by putting him on the roster is the move that would potentially draw a hail of fire from the fans and media alike should it hurt the team in the series. Chamberlain was roundly--and unfortunately, in my view--booed off the mound the other night. He doesn't inspire great confidence in too many quarters right now. Whatever the outcome, if Girardi runs with him, it won't be because of any lack of guts, but because he ultimately believes Joba will succeed and help the team.
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JP...I agree with you in that Joba will probably find his way. He's trying to work out the logistics of throwing vs pitching and the "proper" emotion that goes along with it. If he fist pumps he's labeled a punk. If he acts like a "gentleman" he can't control his adreline. Joba is in pitching puberty right now and just needs to be seasoned. Maybe a sports psychologist might benefit Joba.
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btw to quote Yogi Berra about the cerebral aspect of baseball and by inclusion pitching....
Yogi said baseball is 90% half mental.
(now that's a gem!!)
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Not even A-Rod has this... www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnbKU3T6qDk
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This posting could not be more flawed. To begin with, Bruney's numbers and performance over the season are far worse and less consistent than Joba's. That fact alone shows that the posting is not based on an objective reading of 2009 statistics but it is based on short-term memory of the prior performance of each pitcher (particularly Bruney).
For perspective: The decision-makers on Joba have been negligent from the start of the season and continue to lack a plan with Joba even now. They woke up to the need for an innings cap for Joba in late July when they should planned with foresight from the start of the year and done what the Rays did with David Price: start him in AAA or extended spring training and limit his innings early when he did make the big club, rather than reach the sudden realization that he needed 3 inning starts only in September to keep him within the innings cap; that is a lack of planning that is stunningly
short-sighted.
Even when Joba was allowed the six inning starts more recently, these were subject to 90 or so pitch count limitations, and so it's a wonder, and a credit to Joba that he pitched as well as he did against Boston last week considering that he faced tough hitters who take pitches, tend to foul balls off and get deep into counts -- 7 pitch at bats are not uncommon.
Jim Kaat recently wrote on his blog, in a section devoted to the Joba rules, that he doubted he would have been able to pitch under such constraints as a young pitcher.
Versus Kansas City, when you have cases of 10 pitch at-bats ending in bad hop singles, or Joba walking Billy Butler (their best hitter) because he did not want to give into him, it is maddening to see fans pile on as though this were a catastrophic pitching performance. It is true that he lacked fastball command and he lacked the pace he had vs the Red Sox -- and this is critical for him to work on -- but through four innings he still kept the team in the game, despite not having his best pitch.
I think Joba should pitch out of the pen vs TB this weekend as a warm up to a rightful place in the pen in the ALDS.
The team needs to do responsibly manage Joba's in-game use to see proper use of the pitcher, maximize his effectiveness and focus, or shut him down altogether but not use the innings/pitch count as an excuse for keeping him out of the LDS due to poor performance caused by the "rules" in the first place.
This whole business with Joba is a major blemish on a season in which the team finally managed to get a lot of things right. I hope they clean up their mess and, with targeted limited use before the LDS, get him ready to use out of the pen.
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