According to Joel Sherman, Phil Hughes will be the Yankees’ number five starter to begin the season:
In the next few days, Joe Girardi will make it official that Phil Hughes is the Yankees’ fifth starter.
There are still meetings this week, still final statements that could be offered, still an injury that can change minds and needs. But this was a competition in the faintest of ways. As I reported in early February, the Yankees brass was going to enter spring privately viewing Hughes as the clear fifth starter frontrunner.
The reality is that no one else could win the job. Hughes could only lose it.
Good.
Also from Sherman, Granderson is going to be the CF, Gardner will play LF.
So that means Joba is pitching the 8th inning? Using the same rationale Sherman sites for Hughes, 2011 and beyond, I wonder if they will use Joba as a 7th and 8th inning guy, a la Mariano 1996. Otherwise, doesn't this seem like a demotion of projections for Joba?
Not that I'm complaining mind you. THe Yanks are filthy with pitching right now.
This whole "5th Starter" thing was overblown. 1 of the 2 boys was going to the BP, and which one it was didn't matter much. We should only be so lucky as to not have Joba starting a bunch of games (meaning no real injuries to our SP).
I think it is smart to use Joba for multiple innings. Both he and Phil will be in the SR next year, so both should be handled accordingly. My guess is Phil will be limited to 160-170 IP.... and that should include the PS.
So Cashman and Co. will have to do some juggling.
I'm a Joba-is-a-reliever guy but I think after all the ridiculousness with Joba last year, he needs to start. If they think he's still going to be a starter it is nonsense to put him in the bullpen. My god are they completely nuts?
Anybody see them putting Joba in the Triple A rotation to work some stuff out?
Javy Vazquez and his 11 million have put Gardner in the starting lineup and punted Joba from the rotation. (unless they decided to punt joba a long time ago, and finding his replacmeent led them to Javy)
This is stupid, and because it comes from the Post, I'm not buying it yet.
The whole point of the asinine "jerky Joba rules v. 2009" was to keep Joba at his innings limit so that he wouldn't get hurt and could start unhindered in 2010 - and beyond. Now they are going to put Joba back into the bullpen so he can pitch, at most if we are lucky, 120 innings?! Even if he was in a Ramiro Mendoza-swing man role, the most IP Mendoza ever had was 133.7 (in 1997). And I know between Pettitte, AJ, and Vazquez, its likely - though not guaranteed - that the Yanks will need Joba to start some due to injuries, but still . . . how does this make sense?
Meanwhile, Hughes will need to be limited in some way because he didn't get a lot of innings last year (~112 including postseason and minors), which means his limit is ~140 IP, OYF [3] including postseason give or take a bit - and that means we are in for "jerky Joba rules v. 2009 Part II - Hughes" this summer if Hughes really is the 5th starter.
I really hope Sherman is wrong.
This is the right decision, both because of performances this Spring and because Joba is far better suited to relieving. I'm sure Girardi and Eiland learned from last year and will do a better job with the innings limitation.
I hope Joba gets entrenched at blowing guys away for an inning or two late in games and they give Ace a chance to pick up Phil's slack. Or -- *gasp* -- it will ve the Meat-Tray. And Cliff has won me over on that one.
To me it makes more sense to have Chamberlain in the rotation, and Hughes be the multiple inning bullpen guy, since they've already built up his innings count.
[6] I agree. The high payoff is to have both in the rotation and the most reasonable way to get there is to have Joba in the rotation without an innings limit and move Hughes to being in the same position. The one guy on the staff that seems like he shouldn't be yanked around this much is Joba. Give him some stability!
[6] I am with you. Until I see it somewhere else, I am not buying it.
I also agree with your assessment 100%. The Joba rules were designed to put him in position to start for an entire season. There is no way you can allow 4 spring starts to derail a two year plan. Even though I happen to think that Hughes will in fact be a better starter than Joba, I also realize that Hughes will have an innings limit, which will likely create another end of year jumble. I also want to give Joba a legitimate chance to start because if it works out, then both he and Hughes can be in the rotation together in 2011. It makes absolutely no sense to send Joba to the bullpen. If they do that, they are basically making him a setup for at least the next three years because I am sure Mariano plans on sticking around for at least that long.
Let me remind folks of a few things:
1) Joba as a starter? 12-7, 221 IP, 4.18 ERA, 206 K, 101 BB
2) Joba in the minors? 1 year, 15 starts, 1 in AAA as a 21 year-old.
3) Joba Rules? 3 years, countless headaches, and a minor shoulder injury.
Sherman is full of shit. He might be right on Hughes, but I can't believe the Yankees are this dumb after so much effort and criticism from non-analysts.
Time to trade Joba and Gardy to Milwaukee for Ryan Braun.