Polaroid
I need a tittle
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As usual news has been thin on the ground during the baseball offseason and as usual anything involving anything to do with Yankees overrides everything else. Irregular bowel movements from CC Sabathia would take precedent over anything relating to the Dodgers opening day starter or the Mariners lead off man. And so today the main baseball news was the surprise that Phil Hughes had won the fifth starting pitcher job over Joba Chamberlain, or not so much of a surprise if you look at their respective Sprint Training figures. With a much improved changeup, Hughes has struck out 12 and walked two in 13 innings this spring with an ERA just over 4 which was inflated due to three wind assisted home runs in his last outing. Chamberlain on the other hand has an ERA of 16.40 after giving up 12 runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.
While Hughes winning the #5 spot might have been a surprise - since it was initially a five way race also including Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre the fact that Chamberlain missed out isn't. Chamberlain, 24, was unleashed in the latter part of 2007 as the set up man to Mariano Rivera and only gave up a single earned run over 19 innings. 2008 was just as impressive with 12 starts and 30 appearances as a reliever as he started in the bullpen until taking a starting position in June before moving back to the pen after returning from a one month stint on the DL with shoulder issues. The stint on the DL threw a spanner into the works of the Yankees plan to increase Chamberlain's innings with a view to being a full time starter and that translated to a poor 2009 in 31 starts he only managed a 9-6 record with a 4.75 ERA and, more worrying, he averaged less than 5 2/3 innings per start. Even more worrying was his pitching repertoire; his 7.51 K/9 was markedly lower than previous years, his control was poor as he only managed a 54.7 first strike percentage (compared to the 58.2% MLB average) and his fastball which he entered the majors with at 97MPH had dropped to 92.
So the Yankees are left with a number of options. The sensible move might to be send Chamberlain back to the minors, to be recalled as a 6th starter where necessary, in order to keep his innings pitched high with a view to working on his delivery and to be a future starter and even the Yankees can surely use another low cost starting pitcher in their lineup. An alternative will be keeping him as a set-up man, which manager Joe Girardi alluded to, although giving up on a high 2007/8 prospect to a position with little value to a team would not be a smart move. A set-up man with a view to taking over the closing position when Mariano Rivera retires is not an option due to the lack of overpowering stuff from Chamberlain, his previously mentioned reduced velocity fastball was 3rd worst in the majors last year. Let's see if the Yankees take the sensible option.
Tomorrow we'll look at the reduced frequency and velocity of CC Sabathia's bowel movements.
.
While Hughes winning the #5 spot might have been a surprise - since it was initially a five way race also including Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre the fact that Chamberlain missed out isn't. Chamberlain, 24, was unleashed in the latter part of 2007 as the set up man to Mariano Rivera and only gave up a single earned run over 19 innings. 2008 was just as impressive with 12 starts and 30 appearances as a reliever as he started in the bullpen until taking a starting position in June before moving back to the pen after returning from a one month stint on the DL with shoulder issues. The stint on the DL threw a spanner into the works of the Yankees plan to increase Chamberlain's innings with a view to being a full time starter and that translated to a poor 2009 in 31 starts he only managed a 9-6 record with a 4.75 ERA and, more worrying, he averaged less than 5 2/3 innings per start. Even more worrying was his pitching repertoire; his 7.51 K/9 was markedly lower than previous years, his control was poor as he only managed a 54.7 first strike percentage (compared to the 58.2% MLB average) and his fastball which he entered the majors with at 97MPH had dropped to 92.
So the Yankees are left with a number of options. The sensible move might to be send Chamberlain back to the minors, to be recalled as a 6th starter where necessary, in order to keep his innings pitched high with a view to working on his delivery and to be a future starter and even the Yankees can surely use another low cost starting pitcher in their lineup. An alternative will be keeping him as a set-up man, which manager Joe Girardi alluded to, although giving up on a high 2007/8 prospect to a position with little value to a team would not be a smart move. A set-up man with a view to taking over the closing position when Mariano Rivera retires is not an option due to the lack of overpowering stuff from Chamberlain, his previously mentioned reduced velocity fastball was 3rd worst in the majors last year. Let's see if the Yankees take the sensible option.
Tomorrow we'll look at the reduced frequency and velocity of CC Sabathia's bowel movements.
.
