Where’s Joba?
Posted by Steve L. on August 18th, 2007 · Comments (4)
Did you see Joba Chamberlain sitting out in the bullpen today? It made me wonder: Since the Yankees know, exactly, the days that Chamberlain will not be pitching, why send the kid out to the bullpen on those days? Since he’s going to be a starter in the future, on his “off” days, does it not make more sense to have him on the bench, sitting with Pettitte, Wang, Mussina, or Clemens – learning from them? I noticed Wang and Pettitte on the bench together, today, talking things over. Could not Joba learn something from them? It just seems silly to have the kid, out in the pen, when you know that he’s never going to pitch that day.
Maybe the Yanks just want to keep things simple for him right now. In other words, just stay in “reliever mode.”
Besides a fine outing by Clemens, the best part of the game today was the attitude from Farnsworth on the mound. If the Yanks can get Farnsworth right–to go along with Ramirez, Vizcaino, Chamberlain and Mo–well… that’s a bullpen for October.
1. it’s a pretty crowded bench already for a man with Joba’s size
2. while they dont’ want to use him, one can never say you won’t have games where the team used up all their pitchers in extra innings or something.
What Joel said. He’s a reliever right now so it’s probably a good idea to keep him in that frame of mind. Especially if starts getting into more pressure situations. He’ll have plenty of time to hang out with the starters in ST next year. Besides, he has Mo to talk to out there. I think he knows a thing or two about pitching.
What Jen said. Plus my seats are close to the bull pen so that means I’m close to Joba. Keep him in the pen!