High and Tight.

Friday, December 10, 2010

What Joba's Been Up To This Offseason

Maybe Mickey can help him with his slider.

It's amazing that they both have the same expression.

Labels: disney, joba chamberlain, mickey mouse, offseason fun

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 2:31 PM 0 comments

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Girardi's "Set Roles" Costs Another Game

The situation last night: Dave Robertson came into the game in the 7th inning and faced one batter and struck him out (the box score will show 0.2 IP but one of those was a failed steal attempt).

In a tie game in which you never know how many pitchers you might need, it made sense to send Robertson - who looked good and threw minimal pitches - out for the 8th. However, Robertson isn't the "8th Inning Guy™" so when the 8th started, Chamberlain was called upon. Besides the fact that it's an easy way to burn through a bullpen in a potential extra inning game, Chamberlain had terrible numbers against Kendrick who was due up in the 8th (.667 lifetime average).

When a guy is pitching well and there's no reason to yank him - don't. Girardi's set roles (using his 8th Inning Guy™ in the 8th in a tie or with a lead, regardless of how the game is going, using Rivera only for th e9th and only in save situations instead of high leverage situations) is going to cost the team more wins this year.

I wish for once a manager would grow some balls and manage intelligently and not just stick to "the book" so they don't have to be second guessed if it doesn't work.

This isn't second guessing either - I was yelling about it from the stands in Anaheim last night as soon as Joba came out from bullpen.

Labels: 8th Inning Guy, bullpen, bullpen roles, david robertson, girardi is an idiot, joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:07 AM 0 comments

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Onion Thursday

Starting Pitcher Not Allowed To Start, Pitch

Labels: joba chamberlain, the onion

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Where is the Uproar for "Price to the 'Pen"?

The constant yammering of talking heads on TV and sports talk radio about how Joba Chamberlain needs to be moved back to the bullpen brings up a question: why is everyone just focused on Joba? I have made it clear in this space a number of times that Chamberlain is best utilized as a starter. His numbers are great for a 22 year old in his second season in the rotation. He's not an ace yet, but if nobody had ever seen him pitch from the bullpen, the locals would be ecstatic about his progress. Unfortunately, idiots like Mike Francesa like to point out how "his ERA is better as a reliever." Well of course it is. When a pitcher only has to throw 20 pitches instead of 80-100, they can let it fly without fear of tiring. Look at Phil Hughes' splits between the rotation and the bullpen this year, and you'll see what I mean. Imagine Roy Halladay's numbers in the 8th inning! Bridge!

Aside from rehashing that old argument, one has to wonder why nobody seems to be making the same (flawed) rationale for David Price of the Rays.

Price was a phenom last season. He was brought up at the very end of 2008 and was used from the bullpen, eventually becoming the closer that brought the Rays to their first World Series. He had a .929 WHIP, a 1.93 ERA, and a 230 ERA+ in the regular season, lowering that to a 0.00 ERA and .857 WHIP in the post season. He was a stud, an unhittable Roy Hobbs type striking out every Whammer he saw.

Of course, the long-term plan for Price (as it should be with any good young pitcher with 3+ quality pitches) was for him to be a starter, so that's where the Rays had him slotted this season. He hasn't done well.

Price is 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA in 38 innings this year and is averaging less than 5 innings per start. Yet there is no outrage from pundits, nobody on Baseball Tonight is screaming about moving him to the bullpen. Steve Phillips, of all people, is advocating patience (Phillips, by the way, was firmly in the "Joba in the 'pen" camp).

Maybe it's just that Chamberlain plays in New York that he gets this kind of scrutiny. Maybe it's the "win now at all costs" mentality. However this is the same mentality that gutted the Yankees' farm system in the 1980s and early 90s, and again in the early 2000s.

Price needs time to develop. He's a huge talent and should be a star in the years to come. Maybe he will be sent down to the minors to work on his pitches and control, maybe not.

I'm just curious why there's no uproar to move a guy who is failing spectacularly as a starter back to the 'pen where he dominated, and there is for a guy who is doing a better than league average job in his role as a starter.

Labels: bullpen, david price, joba chamberlain, pitching rotation, steve phillips, they're still the devil rays

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:45 AM 5 comments

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Get Joba in the Bullpen NOW!

He could have possibly pitched one inning tonight in relief of a starter who pitched worse than he did!

Labels: joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:37 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Here We Go Again

Christ on a cracker, John Harper, let it go. In today's Daily News, we get this nonsense:

A new Job-a?
Harper: At some point, the Yanks need Joba back in the 'pen to have any hope of winning a championship. Maybe Phil Hughes can help convince them.

Think about that for a second: the absolutes. "The Yanks need Joba back in the 'pen to have any hope of winning a championship." Give me a break. Here's the rest of the nonsense here:

If successful, Phil Hughes could put Joba Chamberlain back in Yankees' bullpen

Updated Tuesday, April 28th 2009, 8:32 AM

So tonight Phil Hughes gets a chance to begin recapturing his can't-miss status of a couple of years ago, and maybe this is where the Yankee season begins to find its footing. Hughes could solve so many problems if he is ready to mature into a dependable major league starter, directly and indirectly.

Obviously he plugs the Chien-Ming Wang spot in the starting rotation, but beyond that, he gives the Yankees flexibility to make the move they may need to save their season.

It's fucking April. The Yankees are .500 and they've done it without A-Rod, who is coming back soon. "Save the season"? What the fuck?

Yes, Joba Chamberlain. It's an old debate but with a new twist, since Brian Bruney is out now with an elbow injury, leaving a bullpen - in front of Mariano Rivera - that could be hazardous to Joe Girardi's job status at some point.

No, it's the same fucking debate with the same fucking twist and you just can't seem to get past it.

I'm not saying the Yankees should move Chamberlain back to his set-up role immediately if Hughes delivers a solid start tonight.

God forbid you would say anything crazy.

They need to find out more about Bruney's elbow problem, and how long he is likely to be out. They need to see if the highly touted Mark Melancon can be a savior of sorts for the bullpen. And they need to see if Wang can be fixed in Tampa over the next couple of weeks.

No, they don't. Joba is a starting pitcher. Always was, except when you first saw him.

But if the Yankees learned anything from their lost weekend in Boston, it's that they need a much better bullpen to match up with the Red Sox in the late innings, where their head-to-head meetings are so often decided.

Here's what they learned:
Game 1: Joba (!) pitches 5.1 innings of one run ball. The bullpen gets the game from the 6th through the 9th with one more run. Rivera gave up a lead when the bullpen gave him the chance for a save. Can't blame the bridge there. Also does anyone find it disturbing that Harper wants Joba in the 'pen to protect leads by the starter, Joba?
Game 2: Burnett is handed a 6 run lead and can't hold it, surrendering 8 ER. Doesn't sound like the only problem with Game 2 was the bullpen, but they did blow a couple of leads. The problem here, of course, is that your starter shouldn't be giving up 8 fricken' runs.
Game 3: The Yankee offense couldn't score. Pettitte pitcher 6 innings, Melancon 2 innings. Melancon doesn't give up a run.

So essentially, Harper believes that the Yankees should have "learned they need a better bullpen to match up with Boston" because the bullpen faltered in a game in which the starter gave up 8 runs.

For now, at least, they seem firmly committed to keeping Chamberlain in the rotation. But part of the equation here is that he shows no signs of being a dominating starter.

It's been three starts. He's a kid. To anyone other team, their top prospect having a 3.94 ERA would not be sending off alarm signals. Get a grip here.

Indeed, during the weekend at Fenway Park full of ugly pitching numbers, the most alarming number of all came from Joba's pitching line on Friday night:

Of the 91 pitches he threw, only two produced a swing-and-miss. He used to get two per at-bat, it seemed, as a blow-away reliever.

It's like Harper doesn't follow baseball at all. Relievers will get more K/IP than starters, because they're more focused on getting through one or two guys and not setting guys up for their next at bat or saving something in the tank.

Chamberlain did show plenty of grit in his start against the Red Sox, inducing four double-play balls that allowed him to escape big trouble and surrender one run over 5-1/3 innings. But where is the dominance?

Three. Fucking. Starts. As a starter in his career, Joba is 3-1 with a 2.43 K/BB ratio and a 2.99 ERA. Admittedly his WHIP is a bit high this year at 1.8, but the BABIP shows that at .335, he's been pretty unlucky. These things balance themselves out eventually.

Soon after his conversion from the bullpen at midseason last year, he blew away the Sox over seven innings, allowing three hits while striking out nine hitters as he outdueled Josh Beckett.

Well fuck! Let's get him out of that role based on a second game in which he didn't do as well!

On Friday night, meanwhile, Chamberlain allowed 14 baserunners in 5-1/3 innings, and struck out two. In his three starts this season he has allowed 32 baserunners in 16 innings, while getting 11 strikeouts. Although he has managed to limit the damage to a 3.94 ERA, it's clear this is not the Joba who was automatic out of the bullpen.

No starter will ever be that dominant. Let's look at that for a second - Harper is complaining that Joba the Starter is not as dominant as Joba the Reliever. You want to see Joba the Starter's stats if he were?
Fictional Joba Average season: 17-6, 1.53 ERA, 293K.
That would be extrapolating his reliever stats over a full season as a starter (and the wins total is actually low because Joba rarely came into a game in which the Yankees were tied/behind). If that's what Harper expects, he's insane.

Since spring training the fastball velocity has been an issue, as he throws mostly around 92-93 mph now as opposed to 96-97 when he was relieving.

When you're throwing more pitches, they won't be as fast. Let me give you another example: Let's say in 1992, Carl Lewis decided to run a marathon, and ran well. John Harper would be mocking Lewis for not averaging the same speed that Lewis had in his record-breaking 100-yard dash, regardless of the fact that no human has ever even come close to anything like that.

And while his celebrations as a reliever may have been a bit over the top, he seemed fueled by the emotion and let-it-go fire he could pour into a one-inning stint, as opposed to pacing himself as a starter.

The combination of lower velocity and a mostly placid demeanor have baseball people wondering what's wrong with Joba.

Nothing.

"There shouldn't be that kind of difference in velocity between starting and relieving," one AL scout said Monday. "When (Josh) Beckett is right, he's topping out at 96-97 from start to finish.

Who the hell? Sure there is. Look at what Burnett said about being a pitcher and not a thrower and trying to stretch himself deeper into games.

"It makes me think (Chamberlain) is worried about hurting his arm, especially after the shoulder problem he had last year. He's had injury issues before - that's what scared a lot of teams off of him the year he was drafted. I don't know, I just see a different guy out there as a starter. He doesn't have that swagger he had when he was coming out there, knowing he could empty the tank for one inning."

Shit, that's what this is all about, isn't it? Joba isn't pumping fists and yelling, so he must be not as good. What kind of scout gives a flying fuck if a guy is full of "swagger" or not?

The Yankees have to be thinking this way themselves, so you wonder how long they'll give Chamberlain before deciding to try him in the bullpen again.

Unlike Harper, the Yankees realize that a starter is more valuable than a reliever, and that 200 IP > 80 IP.

Perhaps it all depends on what happens in the next few weeks with Bruney and Melancon, as well as Wang and Hughes.

No, it doesn't.

I still think the Yankees will be OK. Assuming Alex Rodriguez returns in a week or so with no complications to his hip injury, their lineup should be explosive, especially with Robinson Cano off to such a hot start.

Uh, here's the blurb from the beginning: "The Yanks need Joba back in the 'pen to have any hope of winning a championship."

Doesn't sound like you think the Yanks will be OK to me.

Likewise, assuming that Wang isn't a lost cause and A.J. Burnett's meltdown at Fenway on Saturday wasn't an omen, the starting pitching should be among the best in the league over the long haul of the season.

... an omen. One bad start is to be concluded that it's either a trend or some supernatural bad mojo.

The bullpen is the trouble spot. Even if Bruney returns in a couple of weeks, the Yankees don't have enough depth, unless Melancon's power arm is ready to make a huge impact.

John Harper doesn't obviously follow the Yankees minor leagues, because if there's one thing they have down there it's a ton of bullpen depth.

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.

There we go again... "to have ANY hope." I thought you "still think the Yanks will be OK"?

ATTN: Daily News, please fire John Harper as he's a complete hack.

Don't worry though, he'll still sell you papers since the idiots that read your paper agree with him.

Poll Results

Should Joba Chamberlain be in the Yankee bullpen?
Yes, it's where he is most dominant 71%
No, he will be an elite starter 9%
It depends on Phil Hughes and Chien-Ming Wang 20%

Labels: dailynews, douchebag, joba chamberlain, john harper, mark melancon, phil hughes

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:36 AM 1 comments

Monday, April 27, 2009

Peter Gammons Continues to be a Clueless Tool

Gammons, the "most respected baseball reporter in the country," just had this to say on ESPN Radio this morning (slight paraphrase):

"The Yankee bullpen is a mess. Joba will be back in the 'pen soon enough. Maybe if Mellon-Con can hold down the (setup) role this will be delayed or won't happen but chances are you'll see Joba in the setup role soon enough."

Besides the fact that the Yanks need Joba in the rotation now and in the future, Gammons is suggesting Joba's role should be defined by a kid with 1+ innings of major league experience, not by someone like Brian Bruney who will be back soon.

I'll also wage dollars to donuts that if Melancon were a Red Sox, Gammo wouldn't have pronounced his name as if it were a fruit and vegetable convention.

Labels: brian bruney, douchebag, gammo, joba chamberlain, mark melancon, mediots

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:07 AM 1 comments

Sunday, April 12, 2009

I Bet the "Joba to the Bullpen" People's Brains Are Exploding

"If Joba had been in the 'pen to work the 8th, the Yankees never would have blown that game today. That Joba started.. and pitched well in... wait..."

Labels: joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:01 PM 4 comments

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

It's Time to send Joba Back to the Bullpen

Look, I know Joba has looked better of late, but let's face facts - the guy is a reliever. He came up as a reliever, succeded as a reliever, and when he was moved to the rotation his numbers suffered and he got hurt. He's a big, heavyset guy - do we really want to see him out there every five days huffing and puffing through the 4th inning?

Of course not. The Yankees should move Chamberlain back into that 8th inning role - the bridge that is NEEDED to Mariano Rivera. Phil Hughes looked great this spring, bring him up to the the 5th starter. Who cares about a 5th starter? You don't even USE them in the playoffs.

This is about the hundreth time I've had to make this statement - it's about time the Yankees woke up and realized that they are trying to put a round peg into a square hole.

Get Joba back where he belongs - giving 80-85 FANTASTIC innings in the bullpen.

Labels: april fools, bullpen, joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:07 PM 6 comments

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Jesus, Stop it Now. Just Stop Talking About This Already.

Joba Chamberlain is a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees.

A starting pitcher.

Which is more valueable to you, an ace 23 year old starting pitcher, or a top setup man? The answer is simple: the former.

However, a bunch of idiots like Kevin Kernan keep this nonsense alive, suggesting that Joba is best used out of the bullpen.

Forget about Joba Chamberlain being in the rotation - he needs to go back to the bullpen. From Day 1 of spring training. No ifs, ands or bugs.

With a top three of Sabathia, Burnett and Wang, and with Pettitte on the back end, Joba is most needed in the bullpen now, especially since Mariano Rivera is coming off shoulder surgery.

This way the Yankees New York Yankees can keep Joba's innings under control, and if Rivera needs a little extra time to be ready for the season, Chamberlain can be the emergency closer. If Rivera is right for the start of the season, then Chamberlain has the eighth inning and the Yankees are that much more of a force.

An eighth-inning dynamo is much more important to the Yankees now than a back-end starter, and besides, the Yankees have candidates for that fifth spot, including Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves.

There are some people in the Yankee front office who are convinced Chamberlain is best-suited for the bullpen anyway because of his emotional makeup and arm. Many scouts I've talked to say the same thing. In some ways, Chamberlain is like Jonathan Papelbon in makeup and talent. He lives for the competition every night.

When you are a starter, you have four days to kill between starts. When you are in the bullpen, you have to be ready to go every game.

This way Chamberlain can basically be a two-pitch pitcher, slider and fastball. He can mix in the curve, but he does not have to depend upon it as much as a starter, who needs three pitches to work the lineup, and this would mean less stress on his shoulder.

Chamberlain can just roll out of the bullpen and be that Raging Bull that Yankee fans have come to love. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, and when you step back and look at the situation now, Chamberlain looks great in the bullpen.

The Yankees should plan on it now. Joba is the perfect fit for this bullpen.

I'm not going to go off on the same rant again about how you should have your best pitchers throwing the most number of innings, etc etc, but it's the mentality of "that's what we saw him do!" that causes these sorts of ridiculous reactions. Nobody would have considered putting Roger Clemens in the bullpen to be a setup guy in his prime, would they? Why did the Twins move Johan Santana out of the bullpen? Who is more valuleable to a team: vintage Pedro Martinez, or vintage Scot Shields?

Stop with the comparisons to Papelbon. Joba can be emotional as a starter - it worked for Clemens and Pedro.

Let me give you another couple of examples:

A restuarant is in need of an emergency line chef for a night, and thus picks a recent graduate of a prestigious culinary academy to fill in and make soups for an evening. The soups are a great hit, and even though the chef studied for years and was well known as a classical french chef, the only job he is ever offered is making that same soup every night because heck, we know he can do that.

Rembrandt agreed to paint his cousin's house with him. All of the town agreed this was the finest painted house in all of the burgh, and wished Rembrandt to paint their houses for them as well. Rembrandt let them know he was an artist, not a house painter, but the townsfolk all agreed they would never buy his paintings because they wanted him painting houses.

Of course these examples are ridiculous, but so is the suggestion that Chamberlain is best used in the bullpen.

Stop it. Please.

Labels: douchebag, joba chamberlain, kevin kernan, mediots, nypost

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:57 PM 1 comments

Friday, August 22, 2008

Does Ponson Have Naked Photos of Cash or Girardi?

They were willing to pull Rasner from the rotation, but the Yankee brass still hasn't seen fit to send Sir Sid a-packin'. There has to be some kind of reason for this. Instead we get Brian Cashman saying things like "Sidney's pitched very well for us." No, Brian, he hasn't. He has pitched very, very poorly.

Even the Sportswriters are giving him a pass. Instead of "release Ponson" we get puff pieces like how Sidney is setting up a crab dinner in Baltimore, full of skewed comments like these:

"People like Sidney," Derek Jeter said. "He's a good guy."
The journeyman has become reliable.
"His sinker has been a big pitch," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's thrown the ball really well for us. I love the way he attacks the (strike) zone. I love the way he goes after hitters. He works fast and keeps everyone involved."

Reliable? Yes. Reliably awful.

Ponson has pitched 56 innings with the Yankees this year. He's averaging a little over 5 innings per start, has a WHIP of 1.607, a 5.46 ERA, a K/BB ratio of 0.95, and an ERA+ of 78.

For anyone who doesn't know what each of these stats mean, allow me to summarize: he's been awful. Really, incredibly awful. He has been awful this season, he's been awful since 2004 and there's no logical conclusion that he will ever cease to be awful.

Why is he stioll getting innings at the expense of Phil Hughes? At least if Hughes was putting up those terrible numbers, one could see the reasoning: Hughes is a part of the Yankees future. Giving him major-league innings is a step toward his development. Same thing for Ian Kennedy.

When Joba comes back (and I suspect he will soon, judging by the reports) my guess is the Yankees choose not to remove Ponson from the rotation and instead send Rasner back to the bullpen.

I'm going to attempt to be as clear and concise as my currently seething mind can possibly be at this very moment: Release. Ponson. Now.

He. Is. Not. Good.

Labels: ian kennedy, joba chamberlain, lupe's bf, phil phranchise, pitching rotation, pitching woes, roster moves

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:58 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ian O'Connor and the Temple of The Bogeyman of Doom

200 innings or 80 innings?

The Bergen Record's Ian O'Connor falls on the completely indefensible side of the argument that the Yankees are better served with Joba Chamberlain in the 'pen rather than the rotation - not just now, but forever.

Normally, this is where I'd pick apart the article and point to where the author is completely wrong. I'm not going to do that this time, because the entire article is wrong.

Instead, I will sum up O'Connor's reasons for wanting to have 80 innings of Chamberlain instead of 200 for many seasons to come:

No longer as much of a "bogeyman"
Not as menacing
Blends in too much
Doesn't inspire unbridled dread in opposition
Fastball with vile intentions tamed
Was born to seek and destroy through late-night raids
Chamberlain is a reliever
Chamberlain is a devastating reliever
He requires three out adrenaline rushes
Joba should succeed Mariano Rivera
His mentality screams that he should be Jonathan Papelbon
Doesn't look like himself
Chamberlain is a manic slasher
He feeds on vulnerability and disappears into the night
He is too human
Does not inspire widespread panic

With well founded arguments like these, how could anyone disagree? My guess is O'Connor contacted Bill James for help in researching this factual and well researched treatise on how a player is best utilized.

Labels: douchebag, ian o'connor, joba chamberlain, mediots

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:08 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Nobody Can Seem to Get the Joba Story Straight

Once again, people who are paid to watch and report on baseball are not able to successfully do either.

Flashback to last night's Orioles-Yankees game. 8th inning, Kyle Farnsworth in and the game is tied at 8. The Orioles broadcasters are Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer. The following is a very close paraphrase:

Thorne: Normally this is where you'd see Joba Chamberlain, tie game.
Palmer: Well not now, you know Joba can do the job but now they're having to rely on Kyle Farnsworth.
Thorne: It's a big loss for the Yankees - you need to win the games you are supposed to win. With a so-so starter and a great bullpen, you should win those games, but with a good starter and a lousy bullpen, you're not going to win those games you should win.
Palmer: Farnsworth has a lot more experience, but he's not Joba Chamberlain.
Thorne: Up until a week or so ago, he was their 8th inning guy. This whole issue was so poorly handled by the Yankees. They said in spring training that he was going to the bullpen, and that he's their setup guy this year and that's it, end of story. Then a week ago he starts being used for multiple innings in games you wouldn't use him normally, and when someone asks Girardi, he says that they're stretching him into a starter all of a sudden.
Palmer: Of course two weeks after Hank Steinbrenner says that's where he wants him.
Thorne: Just really poorly handled.

Of course Cashman stated in spring training that Joba was to pitch about 165 innings this year, and that he'd need to spend time in the bullpen in order to limit his innings before moving to the rotation. Inning counts have been a huge point of his ever since the "Joba Rules" of 2007. There was no surprise involved. Cashman laid it all out, clearly. Sorry you didn't get the memo, Gary Thorne.

Also that nonsense about "winning the games you should win" being possible only with a good bullpen and not a good starter? What kind of insane Mike and the Mad Dog nonsense is that?

Are most baseball announcers/writers/broadcasters/mediots really so dense that they prefer 80 innings from a great pitcher instead of 150?

Labels: gary thorne, jim palmer, joba chamberlain, mediots, orioles

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:04 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Fist Pumps, Chest Bumps, and ESPN

Am I the only one who finds it funny that ESPN and their clone-minded brethren in the mainstream media have decided to make Joba Chamberlain the poster boy of celebrations, as if no other pitcher has done the same - or worse - for years?

I just read a ridicylous front page story all about it, and how it's "ruining the game."

Nevermind that for years now, Francisco Rodriguez has done the cha-cha after a strikeout.

Nevermind that Jonathan Papelbon drops invisible turds on the mound on a regular basis.

Nevermind that Jose Valverde yells at invisible unicorns after each out.

Nevermind that Manny Ramirez stands like the Statue of Liberty watching meaningless homer after meaningless homer go over the wall (don't worry, ESPN is there to reminid you it's just him being him).

Nevermind that Derek Jeter's fist pump after throwing out a baserunner has been shown over and over in commercials and restrospectives and that he's not only called the classiest player since Joe DiMaggio, but scientists have re-animated the corpse of Marilyn Monroe just so he could fuck her zombie and pass the torch.

Nevermind that Sammy Sosa's homerun routine was so practiced and repeated that every video game used it for his avatar.

Nevermind that Pedro Martinez fist pumped all the time after ending an inning.

No, this is now an issue because it's Joba, and he's a Yankee. Yankees aren't supposed to be having fun.

So the media goes looking for quotes from guys who played in a totally different era, like Goose Gossage:

"He's a great kid, but no one is passing the torch today. Nobody talks to them. When I broke into the big leagues, I didn't say two words all year... I'm trying to think of what would've happened if I did what Joba did, especially if I was a rookie," he told The Record. "The veterans would've sat me down so fast, it would've never happened a second time. Truthfully, there would've never been a first time."

Goose, man, I love you to death, but this isn't 1972 anymore. When you started, there was no DH, few foreign players, the Vietnam draft was in effect, the Texas Rangers were in their first season, Willie Mays was still playing centerfield, and the all-time homerun leader was still Babe Ruth.

Times have changed. The sports has changed. People have changed. Do we really want to see rookies like Joba afraid to "say two words all year" anymore?

Let it be said that I am not a fan of celebrations in most instances, except in cases of a game-winning or game tying hit in the 9th inning, or something similar. However, giving a fist pump isn't showing up the opposition. If Joba starts pointing at batters and telling them to go back to the bench after a K (like media darling Dennis Eckersley did repeatedly during his career), well then that's a different story.

I'm not defending the celebrations, I'm simply saying that there have been plenty of targets to go after for years now, and the media have largely ignored them. The article I liked doesn't even mention Rodriguez, whose over-the-top celebrations made a mockery of the 2002 playoffs. Nope: rally monkeys. Grit. Hustle. Ecksteinitude. Small ball. Scioscianess. That's what we were fed.

The difference now is there's a Yankee that can be targeted, and the boys at the big network from New England aren't going to let that opportunity pass them by.

Labels: espn, fist pumps, goose gossage, joba chamberlain, mediots, references to george romero films

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

George King Regains Title as Stupidest Mediot

The New York Post has printed George King's season preview. I swear, the Post must just employ people because they want to outrage readers, or because they have naked pictures of the editors in precarious positions. Either way, here are some more gems from El Rey de los Idiotas. He starts off wrong right from the title, YANKEES' PLAYOFF STREAK COMING TO END, and continues through the justifications:

Against Hank Steinbrenner's wishes, the Yankees allowed Johan Santana to slip into Queens.
First Base: A year ago the Yankees did their best to keep Jason Giambi away from here. This time, he is easily the best player at the position in the final season of a seven-year deal

Last year, Giambi was easily the best player as well if he's the best player now. Were Andy Phillips, Josh Phelps and Doug Mientkiewicz reall that much better than Shelley Duncan and Morgan Ensberg? Considering Phillips and Phelps were both waived and Mientkiewicz is trying to catch on as a backup, I'd say... no.

He then goes on to praise Melky, Jeter, Cano, A-Rod, heap accolades on Abreu (who he says is going to the Mets(?) next year), Posada, and Matsui, and says that Damon will be somewhat challenged, but the bench is pretty strong. OK, that doesn't sound negative/postseason armageddon, right? Then, he does it. He drops the most asinine comment I may have ever read from a sportswriter:

Moving Chamberlain in front of Rivera was not only the right move for 2008, but forever. Finding somebody to dominate the seventh and eighth innings is harder than discovering a fourth and fifth starter.

Let's take a look at that comment: Joba's ceiling is a 4th or 5th starter. Keep in mind he was called one of the best pitching prospects of the past 10 years by Baseball America, ahead of Josh Beckett and Mark Prior. However, George King's superior scouting ability has him as a 4th or 5th starter, at best.

Now move on. Finding somebody to dominate the seventh and eighth innings is harder than discovering a fourth and fifth starter. Finding a set-up guy is harder than finding a starter. Finding a complementary bullpen piece is harder than finding a starting pitcher. Finding a guy who can throw 80 effective innings is harder than finding a guy who can throw 200.

If this were the case, you would think that reliever's salaries would dwarf those of starters, wouldn't they? It's odd then that the setup market is capped at around $4m/year, while guys like Carl Pavano are pulling down $10M per.

Can George King actually believe it's harder to find relievers than starters? A reliever needs but two pitches - a starter needs about four. He wants to cap Chamberlain's innings at 80/year for his entire career.

Johan Santana - who you chide the Yankees for not getting - used to be a reliever. Should he have stayed in the pen, Mr. King?

Ok, so let's assume the Yankees do need Chamberlain in the 'pen, as King says. That much mean the rotation is in perfect order, right?

Rotation: Welcome to the biggest question mark in the Yankees' universe. Santana would have answered a lot of problems. With Wang and Pettitte (if healthy) the Yankees should be OK. If either misses extended time, the Yankees are kaput. Mussina had a good spring, but nobody can predict what Hughes and Kennedy are going to deliver.

So, let me get this straight... King wants to take Chamberlain, the highest rated prospect in the Yankees system, out of the rotation and put him in the bullpen, but the rotation is too shakey to withstand any injuries? What kind of sense does that make? Add into it that he wants a converted reliever who he considers the best pitcher the Yankees could have in the rotation.

Final prediction: 90-72, second in AL East. Last game of the year is Sept. 28 in Boston.

I'm sure he just pulled the record from his butt, and didn't take into account that Boston actually has more pitching rotation questions than the Yankees do right now, without Schilling and Beckett to start the season and have to rely on ... (wait for it...) an aging veteran and a couple of kids. Oh, and Boston's incredibly hard to find set-up guy? He was an afterthought castoff from the Japanese leagues.

Labels: douchebag, george king, joba chamberlain, mediots

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 11:34 AM 2 comments

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Joba Most Likely To Spend Season in Bullpen

Yes, I know the Yankees are trying to limit Chamberlain to 140 innings, so some time spent in the bullpen would help to keep him under the innings cap. However, let's suppose there are no injuries to the starters, and the Yankees are winning, Chamberlain is the best setup man on the team, and we're hitting mid-season?

Barring a major deal for some setup help, I can't imagine the Yankees would take Chamberlain out of the 'pen and insert him mid-season into the rotation. In the bullpen, Joba only uses his fastball and slider. How is he to adjust to starting, and attempting to throw all four of his pitches, especially when he hadn't had a chance to develop the other two? Would the Yankees really deplete their bullpen by moving him out? If he stays the entire season in the bullpen, he'd get nowhere near 140 innings (an abusive Joe Torre isn't at the helm anymore) so adding the 30 or so innings to his totals like they had planned would seem unrealistic.

80 innings of Chamberlain is less valuable than 140. Barring some unforseen circumstance, my guess is that's all we'll see from him, however.

Labels: bullpen, joba chamberlain, lineups

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:56 AM 0 comments

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Cashman Admits to Things Everyone Has Known All Along

Yet, it's refreshing to see he's not giving the stock answers anymore.

On Bernie Williams:

While retracing Bernie Williams’s unfriendly departure from the Yankees, Cashman said Williams had become more involved in his music “and that took away from his play” and that Williams had a "terrible season" in 2005.

On Joe Torre:

Cashman added Joe Torre had played Williams "ahead of guys who could help us win" in 2006, a reference to Melky Cabrera.

On last year's early struggles:

Cashman said Damon struggled last season because he reported to spring training out of shape, adding that Bobby Abreu was also out of shape.

On Joba vs. the midges:

"I thought our guys weren’t mentally tough enough to get through it."

On working his way up through the Yankees front office:

"It was a great grooming ground. Things kept opening up because people kept getting fired."

None of those things were mysteries to anyone that has paid attention to the Yankees the last few years (or just read this blog) but to see Cashman admit there is some blame to be laid on players and managers is a nice change from his normally stoic and non-candid answers.

Labels: bernie williams, bobby abreu, brian cashman, joba chamberlain, joe torre, johnny damon

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:37 AM 1 comments

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Reality Check History Lesson

Who was the lowest regarded prospect of the following:

A. Phil Hughes
B. Joba Chamberlain
C. Sam Marsonek
D. Domingo Jean
E. Ian Kennedy
F. Brandon Claussen
G. Johan Santana
H. Ted Lilly
I. Ryan Bradley
J. Jake Westbrook
K. Tyler Clippard
L. Ed Yarnall

If you guessed "G," you were correct. Santana was left unprotected in the Rule V draft by the Houston Astros, and then was selected by the Minnesota Twins. The Astros didn't think highly enough of Santana's future to place him on their 40 man roster, and lost him for nothing. Two (and deserving of at least one more) Cy Young awards later, Santana has proven the scouts and pundits wrong.

So where are Yarnall, Bradley and Jean these days? Clippard is now so low on the Yankees radar that they'd happily throw him in on almost any deal at this point. Claussen is now in the Nationals system after frustrating Reds fans and not pitching in 2007. Westbrook has had one good year (2004) and been a mediocre pitcher in every other. Theodore Roosevelt Lilly has had the most success of any of the "highly regarded" prospects traded by the Yankees, and has put together a pretty decent career as an above average major league pitcher (although 2007 is the only year since he left the Yankees he has posted an ERA under 4.00). I believe Sam Marsonek picked up my dry cleaning last week.

What's the point here? Yankees fans tend to overvalue their own prospects and young players, thinking every single one of them is going to be the next Whitey Ford or Roger Clemens. Kennedy, Hughes and Chamberlain are good prospects and appear to be able to compete on the major league level and hopefully all three will have good careers ahead of them. There are, however, no guarantees.

Remember that when the thought of sacrificing one of three prospects to obtain the best pitcher in baseball in the prime years of his career becomes a possibility.

Or maybe you're still hoarding that Hensley Meulens rookie card, convinced he could still be the next Mickey Mantle.

Labels: bam bam meulens, ian kennedy, joba chamberlain, johan santana, phil phranchise, prospects, trade rumors, yankee history

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 4:01 PM 4 comments

Monday, November 19, 2007

Joba Chamberlain is Better Looking Than Alex Rodriguez

Just ask him.

I may not be the best judge of how attractive a man is, but I'm not going to argue with him either.

Labels: a-rod, joba chamberlain

posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 10:16 AM 4 comments

Monday, September 17, 2007

What Have We Learned This Weekend?

Looking back at the Fenway series, here are 10 things we've learned or confirmed this weekend:

Other than Josh Beckett, the starting pitching really isn't very good. Schilling had a nice performance most of Sunday and Matsuzaka constantly worked out of trouble on Friday, but do either of them put any fear into a playoff team?
Terry Francona has no faith in Eric Gagne. If he did, Papelbon never would have been asked for a 6 out save. That's why they got Gagne in the first place. At first I thought Tito was a genius in that he was going to use his best reliever in the highest leverage situation and then use Gagne to start the 9th, but that's not what he was planning to do.
The Red Sox bullpen is not nearly as good as people think. Papelbon has been beaten twice by the Yankees this year (both final blows delivered by the amazingly un-clutch bat of Alex Rodriguez). The freefall of Hideki Okajima continues. Perhaps it's just a regression to the mean, as nobody expected him to be as good as he was in the first half. Still, going into the playoffs is a poor time to have your bullpen implode.
Umpires are not good at their jobs. Despite clearly being safe, Johnny Damon was called out at first, which cost the Yankees at minimum one run on Sunday. On Friday, nothing Pettitte or Matsuzaka threw was being called consistantly a strike or a ball, and the zone seemed to shrink whenever men were on base. The umpiring for the entire series was disgraceful. Bud Selig absolutely needs to address the umpiring situation in MLB in teh off-season. Of course, he won't.
80% of Derek Jeter is still probably better than your team's shortstop. I hate to agree with Jon Miller, but it's true.
Jason Giambi can be the most impactful presense on any bench of the playoff contenders. he really should be in the starting lineup, but Giambi has kept his mouth shut and produced when asked to pinch hit.
Joba can handle the pressure. Sunday was really the first "big game" Chamberlain has been in, and he handled himself well. Yes, he gave up his first earned run, but it was on a 98 MPH fastball up above the strikezone. You can't do anything but tip your cap to Lowell and move on, and that's what he did.
Sean Henn is a disaster. Even in a mopup role. Blech.
The Red Sox need Manny Ramirez to return, and be Manny Ramirez again. Look, the Jacoby Ellsbury experiment is working out so far, but let's face facts - he had an unerwhelming minor league career and wasn't ever projected for superstardom. Ortiz needs protection in that lineup and in the postseason teams can completely pitch around him and nullify his power. Without Manny, the Sox offense is a lot less scary.
Alex Rodriguez is a good ballplayer. It would be nice to see Posada hitting behind him more often though, but the Yankees have proven that you can't walk Rodriguez and beat New York. It's a recipe for disaster.