Twenty-five or thirty years ago, closers like Goose Gossage and Sparky Lyle used to come into the game in the 7th inning to get the save. Now, closers come into the game for the ninth inning. It is considered a laborious outing for them if they have to get more than three outs. Joe Girardi recently announced that he has plans of moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation. Although the Yankee rotation has been terrible this season, I don't agree with this rash move. Girardi seems like a manager who is willing to take risks. I want to see him turn Joba into one of the old relievers, someone who can come in and throw three innings to close out a game routinely. This would be an easier transition for Chamberlain and it would be a way to still have him throw 120-140 innings. You can maximize his production with that amount. He wouldn't feel as pressured to be stretched out and therefore, he would still be throwing 95-98 MPH. When he moves into the starting rotation, the velocity on his fastball will drop since he will feel like he needs to conserve that energy for the later innings.
For now, the Yanks can make him into a guy that can pitch the 6th, 7th and 8th. When Rivera leaves, he can become the closer and pitch the 7th, 8th and 9th. How dominant would that be? Three Joba's coming in to close out a game.
- D. Spell
1 comment:
Interesting idea. Maybe Girardi will come to the same conclusion after seeing Joba pitch a 3 inning stint, although you have to ask whether Hank Steinbrenner would ever sign off on this kind of move.
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