DEBATE: Is Joba going to save the Yankees season?
Baumbach is in video training at Newsday all day today, so I was going to ask Chicago Norm if he wanted to debate something.
But then I saw a post by Newsday's esteemed baseball columnist Ken Davidoff about Joba Chamberlain, so I just figured, what the heck, I'll debate him even though he doesn't know he's being debated. This is like one of those "Law and Order" and "Homicide" crossover episodes. Or "Murder She Wrote" and "Magnum, P.I."
Read Davidoff's piece and then click back here.
Done? OK.
ANTHONY: Ken, you are wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!
First of all, you shouldn't waste any brain cells watching those sports debate shows. I'm sure all of the people involved are very nice, but you're better off watching a cooking show on The Food Network (Hey, so that's how you make gazpacho! Who knew?)
Second, why can't Joba save the Yankees season? If by saving the season you mean he goes 12-0 with a 0.12 ERA, well, no, he's not going to do that.
But can't he go, say, 7-5 with a 3.64 and get stronger in August and September? Can't he stabilize the staff and provide energy and fun? Can't his absence in the eighth inning force the Yankees to deal with their setup relief problem by either finding the answer from within or dealing for someone from without?
And can't the Yankees, realizing they have a good shot to make the playoffs as a wild card, ride Joba's back down the stretch? And can't Joba start Games 1 and 5 of a playoff series and at least get the Yankees to the second round?
Yes, I know it's unlikely any of that will happen. But young pitchers burst onto the scene all the time to save teams' seasons. The problem with us is we already know so much about Joba that he can't burst onto our scene.
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What do you think, Final Score and Davidoff readers? Can Joba save the Yankees season?
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Comments (5)
This "debate" presumes that Joba will be successful as a starter. I have the feeling that he's the type of pitcher who may get lit up some after going through the batting order a couple of times. Then again, I could be completely wrong.
Please, fellow TFS commentors, don't be a doofus and accuse me of being a Mets fan or something because I don't have a good feeling about Joba being a starter. I truly don't care about either team.
Whether Joba will be a good start down the line has nothing to do with whether he will save the Yankee season this year. He won't, and within a month we'll be wondering why he was pulled out of the bullpen.
Nice job, Joba
Let the second-guessing begin.
Chicago norm is obviously a mets fan and should change his name to Flushing Fran