After the All Star break, Joba Chamberlain went 9 days between starts (July 10-July 19) and came back every bit the pitcher the Yanks have always hoped he’d be. In the 3 starts after the break, he went 3-0 with a 0.85 ERA and in 21.2 IP he gave up only 8 hits and 8 walks while striking out 19 batters. He pitched into the 7th in two of his starts and into the 8th in another. He had his regular 5 days rest between each of these starts.
Since then, phase two of the Joba Plan has kicked in where he’s getting more rest between starts, and the results have been very different. He is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. In 16 IP he’s given up 18 hits and 12 runs, all of them earned. He’s struck out 12 batters and walked 12 batters in that span. His next start is scheduled for August 25th against the Texas Rangers, again with 9 days between starts.
And yet, despite this recent trend I still fully support what they’re doing with him. Seems like he’s been around forever, but he’s still only 23 and the added rest will keep him strong and make him much less prone to injury, and learning to pitch with added rest now will benefit him come October. Barring injury, he would be our 4th starter in the playoffs. No matter what he does for the rest of the year or what the playoff match ups are, it’s still very unlikely he would get a start over the playoff tested Andy Pettitte. Chances are, Joba will only get one start in each round of playoffs and will likely have a week in between each start, if not more. In the best of 5 ALDS, it’s very possible he wont even get a start, depending on off days. I’d rather have him figure out how to deal with extra rest now. See what kind of routine he needs to be effective and what kind of in-game adjustments he needs to make. Better he figures it out now, than out on the mound in October in what could very well be a decisive game.
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His last two starts were on regular rest. Not a good result either. He nibbles whether on short or regular rest. He needs to be a power pitcher on short or long rest.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
The last start he was suppose to have long rest and then all of a sudden they told him he was back stating against the Mariners only a few days before hand. It’s the unknown that I think is killing him. He was string for innings he had control and everything but after that he wore down because of lack of preparation I can only surmise. The fastball really never got going and the Slider didn’t have great bite after the 3rd .
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I think Joba is doing fine. Remember, this is only his first year as a full-time starter in the bigs. It takes a while to learn how to pitch as a starter against big leaguers over the course of a long season. While he certainly has number 1 stuff, I wouldn’t expect him to pitch like a number 1 for at least a year or two. A couple quick examples: his first two years Clemens (another power pitcher) was 9-4, 4.32 ERA, 1.31 WHIP (age 21) and 7-5, 3.29 ERA, 1.22 WHIP (age 22) and in his first year Pettitte (while not a power pitcher, certainly the anchor of the staff for many years) was 12-9, 4.17 ERA, 1.40 WHIP (age 23). Heck, Josh Beckett’s first full year as a starter, at age 22, he was 6-7, 4.10 ERA, 1.27 WHIP. I think Joba, at 8-3, 3.98 ERA, 1.46 WHIP (age 23) is coming along pretty well this first year, getting his sea legs under him, although the WHIP is higher than I’d like. Still, pitching like a solid number 3 or so seems about right this year for him, with even more progress to come next year, and so on. My two cents.
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Old Ranger Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Very good two cents, Tom…I agree, he is still learning his trade.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Look at Johan Santana his first year he was a reliever after being a career starter and then transitioned bacl to the rotation while struggling a lot more than Joba has, in fact I would say for being in the AL East in the middle of a playoff possible title run and learning how to pitch finishing the year with an ERA of 3 anything is a success that will allow him to build for next year. Joba’s biggest problem is inconsistency if he could just learn to use his stuff the same way every time and not abandon the fast ball at times he could dominate like the Red Sox Roger Clemens (sans steroids).
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