What’s The 401?!?!

Memo To Hank: Shut Up!

Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner is at it again.  He has now decided, 20 games into the season, that Joba Chamberlain belongs in the starting rotation. 

“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” Steinbrenner told The New York Times. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”

No, Hank.  You’re the idiot.  First of all, what does a 100 mile per hour fastball have to do with anything?  There’s no way Joba throws 100 miles per hour if he’s a starter.  He can get it up that high consistently now because he’s in the pen, but once he gets into the rotation he’ll have to pace himself more in order to go deeper into games.  Second of all, I seem to remember a young relief pitcher back in oh…1996 with some zip on his fastball who helped the Yankees win their first World Series in 17 years.  His name?  Mariano Rivera.  Mariano was also a starter at the onset of his career.  What would have become of the Yankees’ late 90’s Dynasty had Mo been forced into the starting rotation?  Finally, there’s no easy way to transition Joba into the rotation in the middle of the season without sending him down to build arm strength so that he can go deeper into games.  The guy has been training for the pen.  Keep him there.  Or send him down and admit that you’re giving up on the season. 

The fact is that the Yankees are best suited keeping Joba in the set-up role until Mariano retires, and then moving him into the closer spot.  Starting pitchers are not built to go deep into games anymore.  Having Joba in Rivera available to shut teams down in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings is a humongous advantage for the Yankees.  When Mo retires, his heir apparant is already in Pinstripes.  Great closers are hard to find, and there’s no secret that having Mariano waiting in the wings has been a huge benefit to the Yankees over the last decade plus.  Inserting Joba into Mo’s spot a few years from now will ensure that the necessity that is a late inning stopper will remain an asset that the Yankees willingly exploit. 

As for Hank, I am concerned that this blabbermouth is going to run this team into the ground.  His comments were ill timed and reflected poor leadership by adding pressure to two young pitchers, Hughes and Kennedy, that have been inconsistent in the early going.  We kept these two guys instead of going after Johan Santana.  Let’s not ruin them before their careers even get a chance to get off the ground.