Joba Should Start

If closers existed back in the day the way they do now, then Nolan Ryan would never have gotten a shot to be what he became. People would have said he threw too hard and that his arm would die after a couple of seasons and, because he was dominant, no one would have questioned the easy decision of plopping him into the 9th inning role. Instead, people would have cheered for him to strike out the side and he would have been a dominant cult figure and universal fan favorite. But think of all that the fans (and Nolan Ryan) would have lost had Nolan Ryan not been given an opportunity to start because of his blistering fastball, ungodly yacker, and penchant for intimidation. Nolan Ryan is an icon - the proverbial power pitcher and strike out artist. A pitcher for the ages.

And this is the comparison which commands that Joba Chamberlain be given an opportunity to start baseball games. He cannot be relegated to the bullpen just because he has electric stuff and because he blows people away like we all think a closer should. He cannot be relegated to the bullpen because the crowd loves him or because he has become (overnight) a cult figure and fan favorite. I am sure, if he weren't a Yankee, he'd grow an intimidating moustache. But even this fact should not relegate Joba to the bullpen.

It is said that Joba has 4 legit plus pitches. And so, Joba must be given the chance to start. He must be given the chance to be one of the great pitchers of his era. The Yankees owe that to baseball and to the fans. The easy short-term answer of putting a pitcher with electric stuff in the bullpen should not be the ultimate answer. The chance is miniscule that Joba may actually be another Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens, but the comparables are self-evident. He, therefore, must be groomed as a starter. Because, maybe, just maybe, he is, and it would be terribly unfortunate if we never got the chance to see and cheer for that Joba Chamberlain.

There are those that might argue that in this day and age, pitchers don't get "relegated" to the bullpen because closers are just as important as starters. This is a silly point. I love closers just as much as the next guy, but all closers are starters who could not hack it in the bigs as starters. In the case of Mariano Rivera, he was a starter who couldn't really last out of the 4th inning and only had two decent pitches (his four seam fastball and slider). And so, a move to the bullpen was natural for Mo. And it turns out he became one of (if not the) greatest closers of all time. This might not be Joba's story though.

Papelbon is an exception to this point. And what the Red Sox did with Paps is exactly what I hope the Yankees do not do with Joba. To relegate Papelbon to the bullpen before you know whether he can start or not makes sense on a team with no other closer option that feels (given the condition of Manny and Papi) that it must win now. This is not the situation with the Yanks. They have three young pitchers coming (Joba, Hughes and Kennedy) with more on the way (Horne), well established veterans (Jeter, A-Rod, Abreu) and a good young core of offensive players (Cano, Melky, Tabata) and Mariano for another three years. There is simply no urgent need for Joba to close games.

And I won't be told that Joba should close because closers are more (or even just as) valuable as starters. To say that Mariano was more valuable than Andy Pettitte in the championship years is to quickly forget how little of a difference Mariano made in recent years when the Yankees starting pitching was inadequate in the playoffs. Mariano is great, and he deserves all of the awards and adulation he gets. But, starting pitching wins games, playoffs and championships, end of story. If for no other reason, Joba should start if he can.

Now I don't meant to say that Joba needs to start today. Joba never pitched above A ball and needs time to develop maturity and arm strength and stamina. Otherwise, he'll end up hurt and no good for anything. So, bring him along slow. Keeping him in the bullpen this year with a few spot starts is perfect. He'll find his way to 100-120 innings and then continue his conditioning and throwing programs in the offseason. Think about using him as a starter next year when Mussina is gone. There is no rush. Let him ferment, learn about the cutter, build arm strength and confidence. But while he is doing all that, let's not forget that Joba is the Yankees most promising young starting pitching prospect, no matter how good he does in the 8th inning this year.