CLEVELAND – It was the eighth inning at Progressive Field and Joba Chamberlain was back on the mound setting up the game for Mariano Rivera.
No, he was not pitching in relief to get those three outs to get the ball to Mo, but rather looking to finish his own start that was going to be one of the finest in his young career.
He has been at the heart of a debate that has been waged in all forms of media for what seems like years only that it has been just over one year since the Yankees declared that he would be used as a starting pitcher.
One side declared that Joba was the perfect future replacement for Mariano Rivera. Another side declaring Chamberlain could develop into the Yankees future ace-starting pitcher for the next decade.
Think of it like the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s waging battle.
With no middle ground, each of his starts was looked at from a unique prism. If he was great, he should remain. If he was average or worse, he should go back to the pen.
It all reached a crescendo in Texas last Tuesday when Chamberlain struggled through four innings, throwing 84 pitches and simply not having his best stuff in an eventual 7-3 loss to the Rangers. He had not resembled the same pitcher the fans had been used to seeing. It was as if he was pitching somewhat defensive and no longer the attack dog that he was known.
He resembled a puppy.
He had some good starts during the early part of this season, but there was an unease and inconsistency to his velocity and performance to where at the very least you began to question who “The Real Joba” was.
Now here he was, back in Cleveland where in Game 2 of the AL Division Series he was seen attempting to fight off not only the Indians in the eighth inning, but the Lake Erie midges with Yankee recommended bug spray. This ill-advised move proceeded to turn his body in a haven for the little creatures and as Michael Kay points out, “It made his neck look like cured pastrami.”
NOTE - I was there at Game 2 and still wonder to this day how that happened. The bugs were not the entire game and somehow with the Yankees leading in the bottom of the eighth 1-0, the little ones show up and make Joba appear he is in the forest.
Jamey Carroll, Kelly Shoppach and Asdrubal Cabrera were the hitters who had the uncomforting task of trying to get on base against him. To that point, Chamberlain had dealt seven strong innings and had overpowered the Indians hitters with a fastball had started at 96 MPH in the first inning and was touching 97 and 98 MPH in the eighth.
Gas.
He was in a groove and had most of his pitches working on this night. While his slider made not have had the same bite that would normally get hitters to chase, his curveball and occasional changeup were tremendous. Most of the outs registered by the Indians were weak hacks, showing that the difference between the 91 and 96 is enough to turn foul balls into defensive swings and weak outs.
Carroll quickly fell behind 0-2 before grounding out softly to Mark Teixeira at first. Shoppach wouldn’t allow himself to get in a hole and grounded out to Derek Jeter. Cabrera stayed alive for a moment before softly lining out to first.
Inning over.
After 105 pitches, it was the end of the night for Chamberlain as he confidently walked off the mound. It was here where he showed justification of the reasoning behind why the Yankees view him as a long-term starter not only for the season, and for the future.
This brings up back to this.
Last year we debated whether Joba Chamberlain should be a starting pitcher or a top relief ace.
He drafted by the Yankees based on his ability to start games, and it only stood to reason that he was given the chance to apply his craft with the Yankees.
If it doesn’t work out, there is always the alternative of putting him back into the bullpen as utilizing his talents best in the area. However, you have to allow him to fail first as a starting pitcher before any such decision is made on what to do.
What most scribes and moles fail to realize is that the team brought him along and put him in the role of eighth inning relief ace out of necessity because they did not have anyone else at any part of the organization that could do the job.
The Yankees attempted to address the need by plucking a quality reliever from another team. Such a market did not exist and the team was forced to be creative. In addition, as the team found out, trading for a top relief pitcher from a floundering team is a game of Roulette, with the result very tricky.
Want evidence? Ask the Red Sox how the Eric Gagne trade worked out. The Yankees were the exact same market and pass when the price was out of the team’s range.
Here, they succeeded.
Chamberlain was utterly dominant, allowing only a 0.50 ERA and WHIP of 0.50. It was ownage not seen since Mariano Rivera in 1996. Problem is, he was so good that it was such a tantalizing idea to allow him to be the apprentice to Rivera that at it had to at least be considered.
For weeks and months, the conversation continued. The Yankees had always viewed him as a starter despite all of the outside "noise". Chamberlain was so great as a reliever that the only argument that could be made was there could be no way he would replicate his success as a starter that he did when coming out of the pen.
The merits between whether a good starter is more valuable than a great relief pitcher has gone back and forth. Arguments have been heard from both parties and to the point where even I can argue both sides of this.
Originally, I was "Pro-Joba Bullpen" before I did my research and came around to being "Pro-Joba as a starter". The argument can be made, but there is no short-changing that a dominant starter should be taken every time over a relief pitcher no matter how great he is.
100 times out of 100, I would take having Roy Halladay over Mariano Rivera.
In order to utilize Rivera you need to have your starting pitcher get you there first. Having a closer does you no good when you are losing because he does not get into the game if the starting pitcher or bullpen people cannot deliver him the ball in the ninth inning.
While baseball has changed to where pitch counts highly influence the way starting pitchers are used, once could say that if you have a good enough bullpen, you do not need to have the starter go seven or eight innings.
This was the case with last season’s World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, who rode a slightly above average rotation and two great relief pitchers to a championship.
Having that kind of luck is never a given with the volatility of relievers from year-to-year. Your percentages are certainly higher if you put high quality starters on the mound each time out.
This point is accentuated even more in the postseason where your chances of winning are enhanced greatly by having that same high quality pitcher be able to “miss bats” and get strikeouts, rather than have the unfortunately lucky bounce of the ball find a hole to potentially decide a game.
You have to find out what type of pitcher he is going to be. Will Chamberlain be merely a good starter, or a top of the rotation horse? We all are in our mode of “win now” and “to hell with later”, but their does have to be some long-term planning involved here with Chamberlain. Injuries cut back his innings limit last season. Moving him to the bullpen to make him a permanent setup man impedes his growth.
Then you have the “He can always be a starter next year.” Ok, but let me propose this question. If it is the middle of the season and Chamberlain is not performing spectacular as a starter, would you then suggest moving him back to the bullpen? The answer by “that crowd” would certainly be yes.
This is not fair to his career to bounce him up and down like in “Yo-Yo” fashion. You had better find out first before deciding to do anything else. A pitcher with the assortment of great fastball and slider, and above average curveball and improving changeup, must be used as a starter if he can consistently throw 100 pitches and avoiding living on the disabled list.
Why else do you think Chicago Cubs right-hander Rich Harden hasn’t made the transition yet? Soon, the DL may be renamed the “Rich Harden List”.
He will likely reach his innings limit by the end of August and thus, will have to transition back to the bullpen to help the Yankees in that capacity going into and even during the postseason. It is just a matter of whether it is done now or later.
Have him start now and then be able to utilize his talents later.
Either way, both will help the Yankees this season and in the future.
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