Cashman Claims Joba to Start in 2009
By Phil Allard ~ October 2nd, 2008. Filed under: Phil Allard.
Our fearless leader, Mike Silva, is right on the money when he refers to Joba Chamberlain as ‘Bubble Boy.’ This is no fault of Joba’s, of course, but the way the Yanks have babied the young hurler has bordered on criminal.
According to Kat O’Brien at Newsday, the Yankee GM reiterated what he told Mike Francesca on WFAN. The plan is to start Joba from the get-go in 2009 (Sorry, Jorge).
This is clearly the right move. Let the kid know his role going into the season and take the damn training wheels off. Let’s find out if Joba can succeed like Jon Lester and Tim Lincecum have this year. With his overwhelming arsenal of four pitches, his can dominate. His stuff belongs in the rotation. In order to keep his innings down somewhat, he may need to miss a few starts and not go long into games, but that is preferable to dumping him in the pen.
Also, with the emergence of Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, and others, the Yankee bullpen without Joba won’t be a problem. It will continue to be a strength.
