Yankees Inhabitants Are Getting Restless In The Bronx Zoo
Published May 03, 2008
The elephant in the room is, of course, the hotly debated and Steinbrenner supported idea of moving phenom pitcher Joba Chamberlain from the setup role in which he has established his dominance, to the starting rotation. While this may seem like a logical move, given the Yankees rotational issues and Joba's proven effectiveness, the switch could prove costly for a team with little room to digress.
While Joba theoretically has the stuff to be a dominate starting pitcher, making this move would limit his appearances therefore limiting the impact he can have for the team on a daily basis. Even if Joba does enter the starting rotation and dominates for seven innings every five days, who will then bridge the gap to Mariano Rivera? Kyle Farnsworth? LaTroy Hawkins? The options are not comparable.
With Joba in the pen, the Yanks have recreated the formula that brought them their initial success in the previous era of Yankee dominance during the 90s. Like Rivera-to-Wetteland in 1996, the combination of Chamberlain-to-Rivera literally destroys the opposing team's chance of winning after the seventh inning. This ability to "cut a game short" gives the Bombers a massive advantage over their opposition; if only they can find a starter besides Wang that can last over 5 innings.
One can never count out the New York Yankees this early in the marathon that is the baseball season. Their prolific lineup of professional hitters along with their dominate bullpen should allow the Yankees to be competitive in, at the very least, the race for the AL wild card. This is obviously predicated on Alex Rodriguez returning as scheduled, but the inherent offensive production provided by the undoubtedly slumping but quality lineup along with the continued success of Wang, Chamberlain and Rivera should keep the Yankees within striking distance in the AL East.
Nevertheless the questions will linger. How long will the Yankees maintain this self-imposed "rebuilding mode?" With Hank Steinbrenner staring at the dismal stat lines of Hughes and Kennedy, when will he succumb to his own inclinations and regrets over digressing in opinion on the Santana issue, and abandon the Cashman manifesto of rebuilding from within? Although both the Yanks bats and arms have most definitely been ice cold, it looks unavoidable that things are beginning to heat up at the Bronx Zoo.
- Yankees Inhabitants Are Getting Restless In The Bronx Zoo
- Published: May 03, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball
- Writer: Anthony Tobis
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I definately agree with you that it is too early to panic. My analysis here was an attempt to examine the current state of the team, their problems, and what kind of reaction those issues would illicit from the front office.
The Yankees new direction is a positive one in my mind. While they possibily rushes Hughes and definately Kennedy, it is important to focus on player developement much like they did with Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Williams, and Pettitte in the 90's.
While one can never count the Yankees "out," the fact is they are facing two major issues: power production (without Arod) and shoreing up the back end of their rotation.
While Igawa and Ranser have dominated in AAA I'm not sure they're pieces of a championship club. I also worry about Mussina's effectivness against the better teams. Patient lineups like the Red Sox mash on him. If he can't get people to chase the knuckle curve he then throws that fast ball from behind in the count and gets hammered.
The Yanks were bad this time last year and came back so there is really no reason to believe that they won't. My question with this piece was given all of the problems they are currently facing, how long before Hank, enraged that he allowed the Santana deal to die, will circumvent Cashman and start making his own moves -- namely moving Joba to the rotation.
Hopefully, Hank will control himself and let Cashman do his job. I do not think moving Joba into the rotation is the answer. His current role is perfect. You are right, the Yankees have done a good job of growing and nurturing farm system talent. I see them as a potential wildcard team, but not World Series Champions. Their future is very bright with just the right blend of veterans and youth. How the fans will see this season is an entirely different matter. Even though it's early, the Cardinals are a good example of what is possible. But then again, they are getting good starting pitching.
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It is not panic time yet. Let's see which players step up. The Yankees just have to stay close. Boston has not had their share of injuries yet. Tampa looks real, but how real is the question. Baltimore is okay. In other words, pennants and wild card positions are not won in April or May. Yankee position players will be fine. The bullpen looks good, but the starting pitching is iffy. Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina look fine. However, 2 of the 3 are injury prone and we know which two I am talking about. Cashman is going to have to find a way to bolster the problem. There is a long way to go before hitting the panic button.