The Cause of Joba's Problems

Last night, the Yankees decided to pitch Joba Chamberlain on eight days rest. EIGHT days rest. That is to conserve his innings limit for the season, which is now around 165 innings.

Chamberlain was drafted as a starting pitcher out of Nebraska and was developed as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues. But in the midst of the 2007 pennant race, the Yankees needed immediate help, so they called up Chamberlain – but not for the rotation.

No, the Yankees needed help getting the ball to closer Mariano Rivera. The bridge to Mo was incredibly shaky in 2007 with Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, and Brian Bruney as the set up men beforehand.

Chamberlain succeeded in the role, allowing two runs (one earned) in 24 innings from the ‘pen. But after the season, there were questions regarding his role on the 2008 roster.

In 2008, Joba started the season as a reliever, but manager Joe Girardi stretched him out into a starter. He was a reliever for the first two months of the season and his first start came on June 3rd against the Blue Jays. He only threw 2 1/3 innings that day due to pitch count (62), but that was the beginning of what would become a successful future.

Joba would start 12 games for the Yankees before being placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He threw 65 1/3 innings as a starter, striking out 74 batters in the process. As a starter, his era was 2.76. When he returned from the DL, he came back as a relief pitcher to conserve his innings, as the Yankees’ front office wanted to be extra cautious with such a young stud.

Entering this season, the question arose again: Should Joba Chamberlain be a starter or a reliever?

Advocates on him being a reliever say he is a five-inning pitcher. 12 of his 23 starts this season have gone longer than six innings; seven of his 12 starts last year have gone at least six innings; he has had five starts in which he has gone seven complete innings (allowed a total of four runs in those five starts).

After his latest performance, people are all over him like the midges were in the ’07 ALDS. He has pitched 20 innings in his last four starts and allowed 27 hits and walked 15 batters in those, not to mention the 19 earned runs.

Everyone knows his potential as a starting pitcher. He was a starter in the minors and was forced to convert to a set-up man in short time only for six weeks of the 2007 season. You cannot let a pitcher with four plus pitches (two plus plus pitches) only use two pitches from the bullpen; you need to have him use all of those pitches and give him a chance.

On to last night’s outing. Eight days of rest for an uninjured starting pitcher is inexcusable, regardless of how good you are. Starters have a different mindset than a reliever; starters pitch once every four days whereas relievers can be used in any game. Joba’s mentality was shaken up with the extra rest, and it is evidently seen.

The problems Joba has been undergoing are a combination of confidence and the rules the Yankees are giving him. Joba has been pitching behind hitters, which causes him to get behind in counts, which forces him to throw a strike down the middle of the plate for the hitter to crush. According to FanGraphs.com, opponents have swung at 22.5% of balls out of the strike zone this season, nearly 4% lower than all of last and almost 13% lower than it was in 2007. FanGraphs.com also says that Joba throws first-pitch strikes to only 55.2% of hitters, 5% lower than all of last season. Lastly, when Joba throws pitches inside the strike zone, hitters make contact 91.6% of the time, 6% higher than in 2008 and over 10% higher than in 2007.

The solution for that is to get ahead of hitters. Joba is losing confidence when he falls behind in the count and when he falls behind, he either walks a lot of hitters or gives hitters a chance to hit the ball out of the park.

As for the Joba rules, that needs to go too. Yankee management has been cautious with him, but the Yankees are too cautious now. They need to treat him like a regular starting pitcher and throw him every four days. If they want to give him rest, skip his start and use someone else. It is wrong to have him pitch once every seven days, as that will not only affect his mentality as a starter, but affect his confidence as the potential starting pitcher of the future.

Take away the Joba rules and give Joba some reassurance. That is the key to have him succeed at the major league level. Babying him for the first three seasons of his big league career may affect how he pitches in the long run.