Odds & Ends: Marlins, Brewers, Wang, Mitre, Matzek

Wang isnt a big loss all things considered. Hughes can go back to the rotation and call up their best AAA reliever for the late innings
I think the Yanks might pull the trigger to find a solid reliever also like Chad Qualis or something..

hughes is a short reliever now, they will need some time to stretch him back out.

" May not be a bad idea to look at Byrd or Martinez either."

Martinez it seems is still looking for a huge, pro rated 5M contract, but Byrd said earlier that he was not. It amazes me that nobody has not stashed Byrd away. The Yankees are another team that could easily support the 3 runs or so that he would allow for the 6-7 innings he will eat up in every start he will give a team.

This guy is pennant race proven year after year and delivers.

"So Joba can't go back to the bullpen even though he's an average starter but Phil Hughes can be tossed around without a second thought?"

Easy now icedrake523, you will have Yankee nation in an uproar and YFS78 will be here any moment.

I admit also.. Never thought that Chamberlain could be so effective at 93-95mph for 6 innings as he has, it is not any better lately than brad Penny, but he has really done a good job and it is far better than trading for a replacement.

So Joba can't go back to the bullpen even though he's an average starter but Phil Hughes can be tossed around without a second thought?"

Easy now icedrake523, you will have Yankee nation in an uproar and YFS78 will be here any moment.
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Haha..you guys are lucky my girl's parents are in town or else I would've been on this earlier.

As for the Joba/Hughes debate....I'm done. After this year the Yanks will have CC and AJ they can count on and these guys still want to debate where Joba belings. A quality starter is infinitely harder to find than a 8th inning guy. Joba came into this year with 12 starts worth of experience AND he's never spent even a full season in the minors as a starter. The guy is still learning. Despite his struggles he still has a 3.89 ERA and almost 9ks per 9 IP. Joba has the same problems that David Price is facing and that's too many walks and not enough efficientcy with their pitches. I'd rather try to squeeze 150 quality innings pitched out of Joba this year than 40 IP out of the bullpen. You can ahve the greatest bullpen in the world but it doesn't mean crap if your starters dig a 8 run hole for you by the 5th inning. Joba and HUghes will both be good starters for the Yanks. Just pe patient. You can't have a "go with the homegrown kids" attitude and then not have the patience for them to develop.

YFS78

I think joba should pitch in the rotation. But to be quite honest he doesnt deserve it. Hes boring to watch, lets be honest. He doesnt throw strikes, scared to challenge the hitters, and averages 5.1 innings a game, thats taxing to the bullpen. I liked Hughes since day 1, but I think he stays in the pen. Hes their 8th inning guy now and is much needed where he is now. I think Mitre will do fine. If not maybe Igawa. And then Kontos.

The Rockies should slip Matzek Harrington's number during negotiations. Talking to a guy who turned down first round money and is now changing tires at Costco might help move the process along.

Suzysman: Beckett has been trending much better of late. My gosh...the point is that as of today their stats are not that different, meanwhile Beckett is a 8 year vet and Joba has been a starter for less than 1 full year. Anyone expecting him to be a finished product is a fool. The Sox aren't panicking and neither should we.

I also appreciate how you can predict where Joba's stats will be in the next 3 months. Is that what your calculator and crystal ball tell you or are human beings still capable of determining their own outcome? Let me know because if everything is pre-determined then there's no need to play the rest of the season or the playoffs. We can use calculators and quantum mathematics to determine the WS champ, Cy Young and MVP winners.

Ok JOba..Should post a 4.50 ERA but guess what? he hasn't. He's posted a 3.89 ERA. Have you even watched enough games to even understand what his problems are or are you simply going off of stats?

I really truly resent "stat heads" w/ condesending attitudes. Just because I don't agree with your summation doesn't mean I don't understand a stat. More importantly I understand how to use a stat. I wasn't saying that Joba is as good as Beckett but simply showing other pitchers with a similar ERA. Take into consideration that a 3.89 era isn't that bad and the fact that he's only 24 and is still learning how to pitch and people should be more patitent with him.

FIP takes into consideration what a pitcher does independent of the defense. What has been my thoughts as to Joba's problems? Wildness. His control isn't as on as earlier in his career. He leads in the league in HBP and has a high walk count per 9IP (4.44). The high walk total leads to higher pitch counts which limits the number of innings he goes. What does he do well? He keeps the ball in the park (1 hr/9 IP), gives up less hits than IP (8/9 IP) and misses bats (8 ko/9 IP). Allowing less walks and reducing pitches per inning are all things that Joba can control to an extent. It's not like he's being hammered by opponents. So FIP is a combination of stats that are easy to read w/o a complicated formula. TO simply say this guy has a 4.50 FIP and blah, blah blah w/o understanding why it's high is pointless.

FIP = (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP

So obviously:

less walks = less pitches thrown per IP = more IP = lower FIP.

You are surprised at a condescending attitude after making statements such as “what your calculator and crystal ball tell you”? Really dude, find a mirror before trying to pull that crap.

And then you give a paragraph explaining how Joba (while not pitching that bad) isnt actually comparable to Beckett what so ever, so why would you ever try to put the two next to eachother to begin with? The only real similarity is K rate and a misleading ERA. And since you yourself explain how there are few similarities, then why are we talking?

I will leave you with words of advice - Leave the comment you know isnt true off the board, and you wont get people telling you it isnt true.

Of course my timing is off as usual since Joba gave up 8 runs in 4 IP. This is the first game he's pitched this year where he's allowed more than 4 runs I think?

So Wang is on the DL.

Shouldn't the rotation be something like CC-AJ-Pettitte-Joba-Hughes?

Not some Mitre guy.

So Wang is on the DL.

Shouldn't the rotation be something like CC-AJ-Pettitte-Joba-Hughes?

Not some Mitre guy.

Posted by: melonis rex | July 05, 2009 at 04:07 PM

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I don't think they are abandoning the idea of Hughes being moved back into the rotation. However, he hasn't been stretched out enough to start 4 days from now, Wangs injury doesn't appear to be anything more than a 15 day DL stint and my guess is they would rather have Hughes in the bullpen and see what Mitra could do short term. I don't think they are expecting Mitre to start more than 1 or 2 games until they see if Wang is going to be out longer.

I say go with Mitre for a start. Prep Hughes to return to the rotation if Wang's injury seems more severe and if Hughes has to go back into the rotation for a while then bring up Melancon.