Moooooooooo!

The cows have come in.

Weren’t the Yankees like, 75-5 (or something ridiculous) after 7innings with a lead in 2006? You people realllly over value this mythical “8th inning guy”

What I can’t figure out is how the process is going to go – is Joba just going to steadily increase his innings, and be unavailable in between? Can that last if, in the first week, the bullpen screws the pooch a couple of times, and then there is an eighth inning lead that absolutely must be protected, so out comes Joba?

That reminds me a bit of Andy Pettitte relieving last year on his “side” day.

What are the odds that Joba immediately excels as a starter? Even assuming he goes out and dominates for seven innings, immediately (I’ll give that a ten percent likelihood), what will be the result if the bullpen blows up one or two times per week?

Everyone says a dominant starter is more valuable, and I’ll say that is true during crunch time. But when you are chasing a playoff spot, wins are what counts. Two to three bullpen collapses every two weeks (let’s just say on average) wipes out any win advantage from Joba starting.

I saw Kennedy’s numbers over his career too, and now he’s a freakin’ pinata at the major league level.

These young guys are moot anyway as far as the 8th inning is concerned, becuase General Joe is going to stick with Farnsworth until the cows come home.

Instead of signing a solid, journeyman guy to fill out a very decent starting rotation, we have risked blowing up the bullpen. But it’s OK, right? I shouldn’t sweat it. I need to embrace this transitional time.

They have guys they “can stick in” the 8th inning? They have crap.
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No offense, Joel, but what do you know about Robertson, Cox and Melancon? Did you even know they existed? Did you even see Robertson’s numbers over his career? But you’re willing to call them crap?

All three were college closers. Melancon is just coming on right now, returning from surgery, and Cox and Robertson both dominated in the minors.

I don’t understand why you find it impossible to believe one of these guys can pitch effectively in the big leagues.

There are other talented arms in the world besides Joba.

–I’m sure they’ll cobble together a decent relief corps.–

It’s been eight years. I’m still waiting for the cobbling to come together.

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Joel:

Why is it so hard to understand that an ace starter is infinitely more valuable than a lights-out 8th inning guy? What good does it do to have Joba in the bullpen to protect leads if they are down 10-0 by the 5th inning??!?

No one says that Joba will definitely be an ace. But you have to give him the opportunity – if he fails, he can always slot right back in the ‘pen. Between the 4532 relievers they have on the roster and in AA/AAA, I’m sure they’ll cobble together a decent relief corps. Ace starter pitchers don’t grow on trees. Decent relievers do.

Don’t fool yourself, Rich. By the time everything shakes out the 8th inning is going to belong to General Joe’s pet renovation project, Kyle Farnsworth.

The difference between Ohlendorf and Joba is wide. They can fill that chasm pretty easily.

Are you all serious? They have guys they “can stick in” the 8th inning? They have crap. We’ll be lucky if one of these kids they’re rushing through the system are as good as Ohlendorf let alone Joba.

But don’t worry. We’ve been instructed by Minister of Propaganda Peter Abraham that our $200 million team with three first ballot Hall of Famers is officially in “transition” and we shouldn’t have to “sweat every pitch.”