I don't understand why he says the innings totals are a red herring. If the Yankees are just worried about the eighth-inning leads, then why would they consistently say all year that they are going to move Chamberlain to the rotation later in the season? If they want to use him as a setup man all year, they can just say that, and the only people who will complain are the stat freaks on the Internet.

An innings limit is only relevant if the Yank's play meaningful games this fall, thus forcing Joba to the hill. A .500 pythag, the prospect of some lengthy DL stints, and expected outputs from Igawa and Rasner push this possibility towards remoteness. Jeter has zero dingers which is perfectly symbolic of their lethargy; they need to stay in ballgames somehow, someway. If they close May with a, say, 30-30 mark, 7/8 games back of Boston I think Cashman looks foolhardy.

If they close May with a, say, 30-30 mark, 7/8 games back of Boston I think Cashman looks foolhardy.

The Yankees were 13.5 games out of 1st on May 31st of last season, and they still made the playoffs.

Consequently, it's reasonable for Cashman to base the plan for transitioning Joba to the rotation on the assumption that the team will make the playoffs.

What isn't reasonable is for the Yankees to send Joba down to the minors in order to stretch him out.

An innings limit is only relevant if the Yank's play meaningful games this fall, thus forcing Joba to the hill.

No way. The innings limit is there to protect Joba's health first and foremost. I don't know if the Yankees are right to worry about a large increase in IP as a risk factor for injury, but they are hardly the only team that monitors increases in IP (the Red Sox are incredibly anal on this point, for instance), and their decision for Joba's usage has to be understood as a set of precautions taken to protect his future health. Pitching him from the rotation in the beginning of the season only to send him to the bullpen later wouldn't make much sense if your long-term goal is for Joba to be a starting pitcher, and leaving him in the rotation all year was off the table for health reasons.

I do think that the Yankees need to get a move on with shifting Joba to the rotation, as soon as is feasible given his innings limit. In the spring, I argued that the most important factor in how quickly, if at all, you shift Joba to the rotation is the quality of the replacement-level pitchers in the rotation and bullpen. Since the rotation has fallen apart, and already two of the AAAA fodder guys are taking regular starts, the value of pitching Joba from the rotation has grown significantly. The bullpen hasn't turned into anything special, but it hasn't collapsed either. The back of the rotation needs Chamberlain, but the Yankees should only make the move once they're ready to sign off of Joba's health and innings limit.

I don't know if the Yankees are right to worry about a large increase in IP as a risk factor for injury, but they are hardly the only team that monitors increases in IP (the Red Sox are incredibly anal on this point, for instance)

This is true. The Sox have been incredibly careful with Julian Tavarez to protect his health, and I, for one, am glad.

How has Edwar Ramirez looked? The one appearance I saw him in he looked lights out. Think he can handle the set-up role if they switched Chamberlain to the rotation?

I haven't had a chance to see him pitch yet this year, but his AAA numbers were (as usual) incredible. Eight innings, two hits, one walk, thirteen Strikeouts. I love Edwar Ramirez. When he's on his incredible changeup makes him one of the most entertaining pitchers in the league. On the other hand, his fastball is kind of crappy and some days he looks really crappy. The Yankees seem to like Albaladejo more than Edwar at this point.

What isn't reasonable is for the Yankees to send Joba down to the minors in order to stretch him out.

I never understood why he couldn't stretch out in the majors. You know Mussina isn't going to go more than 5 or 6, plan on him pitching 3-4 innings a few times there.

Why is Rasner taken so lightly? His numbers have been reasonably promising in the minors and majors so far. It seems like he could turn out to be a 4.50-4.70 type of starter, maybe even a little better.

last year, his fastball location stunk. he had no ability to pitch from behind in the count.

after 0-1 count: 44 AB, .205/.250/.318, 20K, 2BB, 1 HR
after 1-0 count: 31 AB, .323/.523/.710, 11K, 12BB, 3 HR

this year (with the obvious sample size caveat):

after 0-1 count: 14 AB, .214/.353/.357, 5K, 2BB
after 1-0 count: 7 AB, .000/.125/.000, 2K, 1BB

...while we can't learn a whole lot from 21 AB, it does seem that he's either made some adjustments to improve his fastball location, or...he's just gotten real lucky so far (forget the batting average -- he's only walked 1 guy in those 8 PAs, which is a huge improvement for him).

if he's actually improved his fastball location, then yes, i actually could see him as an 8th inning kinda guy -- if not, he's the LAST guy i want out there -- he's a walk, a bloop, and a blast away from ruining my evening everyday.

[Joba voice-over]

I cannot make the ball hit the Yankees' bats.

The Yankee batters have to learn this.

The hard way.

I'm assuming No. 10 is about Rasner or Ramirez, and not Joba.
But it's nameless

if he's actually improved his fastball location, then yes, i actually could see him as an 8th inning kinda guy -- if not, he's the LAST guy i want out there -- he's a walk, a bloop, and a blast away from ruining my evening everyday.

One of the reasons his location was so poor last year was because of Torre's usage of him. He would use him, sit him for a week and then pitch him again. Without consistent work, he grew rusty and lost his control. With consistent work, I expect he'll look like the kind of pitcher his minor league numbers suggest, a dominant set up man. He has certainly looked the part so far this year.

sorry, yes, #10 is about edwar.

and agreed, cp -- edwar was lights out his first outing or 2, which earned him a spot on the bench for like 6 days, iirc...he then came in after that break, and served up a grand slam.

Albaladejo has pain in his elbow and is now on the DL, so cross him off for now. I think Ohlendorf and Ramirez are the best candidates to fill the eighth inning role. Ohlendorf's stuff seems to translate better to short burts in the bullpen rather than the length of starting; I think he's the best candidate.