Brilliant job, Diane.
Neck and neck until the eighth...
Wish we could have won.

Scooter turns in grave?
Love that, Diane, you're aces
Wish Yankees were, too

Haiku recap, tops!
Shame it's from a Yankee loss
Well, even Zeus rests.

[3] Dig. That. Jazz. (I've switched to Beat)

Comic relief from the Seattle Times. I guess the Seattle sports writers have to develop the proper attitude toward Oakland.

[5] That's pretty good. Thanks.

[4] Rhythmic, Daddy-O.

Bravo, Diane, bravo!

Joba in the 8th
The bridge to Mo is broken
Angels strike again

Brilliant job, Diane! (fixed)

So.... 3 days ago we were lamenting that Joba wasn't in the SR, and now we question if he can even pitch out of the pen?
Yeah... he had nothing last night.
We were lucky it wasn't worse, as the Angels were launching projectiles off of Joba.

So in all of 9.i innings this year, with 3 BBs, 10 Ks and a 3.86 ERA, we're ready to shitcan Joba?

Are people really questioning his talent?
To me, he is AJ Jr. Tremendous below the neck, questionable above.

Joba was called up too soon, got way too famous too fast, and got bounced around his whole major league career. I'm not making excuses or blaming the Yanks, just saying his development path has been far less then ideal.

He's 24, with far less experience then most pitchers his age, and has still managed a career 1.37 WHIP, 3.62 ERA, in the AL East.

I, for one, am not ready to give up on him, as a starter or BP guy.

Loved this D! Wonderful write up.

[9] I agree...to a degree. It is hard to evaluate him this year using ERA, since that stat rarely tells the story for short relievers. He has not always looked to me (warning: subjective!!) as good as his numbers would indicate He does not seem to have the same velocity coming out of the pen as he did a couple of years ago. He was positively lit up last night.

I am not at all ready to give up on him, especially as a starter. That is why I think the best thing they can do is send him to AAA. As you say, he was rushed to the bigs---the whole Joba in the pen thing in 2007 was a desperate move by a club in need of bullpen help. Those few innings of super-success appear, in turn, to have given him a get-out-of-AAA-free card. Meanwhile, his narrative counterpart, Phil Hughes, has been jerked around every bit as much: to the pen and back, and multiple trips between AAA and MLB. Perhaps in the end this has been beneficial for the Phranchise.

Send Joba to AAA for at least half a season, to work on mechanics and approach. In my ideal world, he would be sent to AAA to work especially on being a starter.

[9] To continue: I am more concerned about his near-to 1.40 WHIP--somewhat below average for a reliever this year, and certainly not inspiring for the eighth inning guy™. At the very least Girardi needs to consider moving him out of this role. The problem, though, is that if he is stuck in nebulous middle relief, it will be difficult to get him regular work. So again, the best thing for his development may be at least a short stint at AAA.

[11] I don't think Hughes has been jerked around nearly as much as Joba. It's also the way Joba has been handled; the stretching out from reliever to starter in the bigs was weird, the innings limits were handled bizarrely at times. Hughes has had only one stint as a reliever where Chamberlain has had, what, four? It's on a different level.

Joba's numbers when looked at selectively don't tell the whole story. As a starter, his innings per game was at times ludicrous. He would give up one run but he was out of there after 4 2/3 innings.

Sublime, Diane. Absolutely sublime.

[13] We agree more than disagree. I would contend that stretching Joba at the big- league level is not really so weird. Also, short starts (made shorter by inefficiency) are not unusual for young pitchers, especially in today's climate of strict pitch counts. I do agree completely that the way his innings limit was handled was bizarre, or at least betrayed no real plan whatsoever.

All this being said, my gut feeling is that much of the jerking around has little to do with the problem. Rather, I think that the league figured out his tendencies (he will nibble and try to get batters to chase his slider waaaayyyy off the plate) after his big splash in 2007, and there may be some mechanical issue (his velocity seems down not only as a starter but also as a reliever).

The comparison to Hughes was only meant to highlight the willingness of the organization not only to "demote" him to the pen (a decision that still galls me) but also to send him to AAA (parts of three seasons, including some rehab time).

Joba was essentially skipped over AAA, except for a few innings in 2007 when they were converting him to a reliever. He should really be given time to hone his craft at AAA.

[15] All in all I agree going to AAA isn't a bad idea. It seems like a fresh start might help - I think the organization (and Joba himself) need to pry themselves away from the narrative forged in 2007 and take a good hard look at what he really is and isn't capable of now.

It seems to me without his blow-away velocity he may be better suited to be a starter, physically. They just need to try their best to get his noggin in line because his approach as a starter has been ... inconsistent, at best. But like I say if he can't throw 98 mph, his snorting bull out of the pen routine doesn't really work either. Too bad.

Recap most serene
Of quirky game as witnessed
Joba, Joba, do

Pure genius! Makes a bad loss somewhat easier to take.