Joba Built Like A Hut



AP

 It looks as if the 25 pounds CC Sabathia dropped during the off season after cutting ties with Captain Crunch went right to Joba Chamberlain's torso. Joba Rules, the set of innings-outings restrictions placed on Chamberlain when he first came up and blew batters away in 2007, never seemed to mention reporting to spring training looking like Fat Albert. According to The New York Daily News Chamberlain has put on 25-30 pounds and now weighs in at 250-260.

Chamberlain hasn't been the same pitcher since he hurt his shoulder in a game in Texas late in the 2008 season. After getting pulled, he went on the DL and since then lost anywhere between 7-9 mph off his fastball. I remember watching his Yankees debut when he came in relief against the Blue Jays and hit 100 on several pitches.

Could he be trying to gain some of that heat back by getting fat? David Wells had a nice career going that route, but most pitchers can't. You have more weight behind your throws, but you feel slow and your reaction time slows down too. But the man he has to impress the most, GM Brian Cashman doesn't appear to be convinced right off the bat. “He's heavier, he's heavier” said Cashman. Manager Joe Girardi, who will have to balance a pitching staff better than those guys who used to balance spinning saucers on the old Ed Sullivan Show said it's never good for a young man like Chamberlain to put on that many pounds, but the bottom line will be performance.

All of this can't be but another negative for a career that has quickly spiraled downward. After his awesome major league debut, Hank Steinbrenner came out and basically said anyone who doesn't think Joba should start is as moron. I have to admit that I was one of those morons. Starting stuff and relieving stuff are two very different things. The biggest adjustment is endurance. You have to take something off and pace yourself if you're going to pitch six or seven innings as opposed to one or two. His 100 mph heat shown during one or two innings can't be sustained by most hard throwers over six or seven. And with Chamberlain it quickly showed. In 2008 and 2009 he went 13-9 in 43 starts and his 4.75 ERA in 2009 must have had Hank scratching his head like Homer Simpson.

So it comes down to whether Joba's extra weight will add another 5-6 mph to his fastball or end up making him even more dead weight than he has already become. Mariano is still Mariano, and now they have Rafael Soriano as the bridge. That leaves Joba battling David Robertson for the seventh innings setup role. My bet is on Joba losing the extra pounds and developing an out pitch or getting mentally ready to have the clubhouse man fit him for another uniform – an xxl without pinstripes.

Random Thoughts

Of course they won't admit it, but their season ended today.

The Yankees lost their most clutch pitcher, Andy Pettitte as he decided to call it quits rather than play for a 17th season. The 38-year-old Pettitte said in a Stadium press conference that he he could've gotten into playing shape but that his "heart wasn't where he needs it to be."

So after winning five rings and going 240-138 with a 3.88 ERA in 13 seasons with the Yankees, Pettitte will head back to his ranch in South Texas and the Yankees will look to somehow stick a thumb in a hole in the dike that's as big as a Park Avenue sewer hole.

General Manager Brian Cashman may have talent hidden in the minors we don't know about, pitchers who will be asking for huge bucks four or five years from now. We do know that Pettitte work won't be patched up by retreads like Bartolo Colon and/or Freddie Garcia. And it will take a great number of band aids to hold their staff together until Seattle throws in the towel and puts King Felix on the block - that's assuming of course that the Red Sox aren't up by 15 come mid-July.

So no Cliif Lee, and now no Andy Pettitte. Braves fans used to say back in the 50's, "Spain and Sain and pray for rain." Now Yankees fans can say, "CC and Hughes and no way they're gonna fill those shoes."

video of Pettitte's press conference:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=13106019&topic_id=16563494

What Luck

Quarterback Andrew Luck decides to spend another year in college instead of entering the NFL draft. Good move for him, bad luck for the Carolina Panthers who say he would've been high on their list (in other words their hands-down choice) with their top overall pick http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5995754 See why he's become such a hot commodity at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ-a-N9Y5mc...

His father is a former NFL qb and has undoubtedly given his son some good advice. If he stays healthy he be with a highly ranked team and has a chance to make himself even more valuable. Here's the thing...if Luck does stay, does head coach Jim Harbaugh stay too? Harbaugh's stock is rising faster than Google's a couple of years ago. He's already interviewed with the Dolphins and 49ers and according to ESPN the Broncos want a crack at him as well. The Dolphins should've learned from the Nick Saban debacle that a high profile winning college coach can be a disaster in the NFL (anyone remember Lou Holtz as coach of the NY Jets?).

 

Father Tom, it's time to go



sipkin/daily news


If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and smells like a duck - well, here's the thing. It's probably a duck. The NY Giants smell like a duck - a dead one.

Coach Tom Coughlin achieved the ultimate, winning the Super Bowl in 2007. But in all his other seasons, the Giants haven't won a single playoff game. Not to mention a fall-off-the-cliff finish after Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg two years ago.

There is a pattern here. I don't like blasting managers or coaches, but you really don't need computer charting software to clearly see what's going on. Every year seems the same. Giants off to a quick start, then after week seven or eight it's look out below. Their 28 point fourth quarter meltdown at home to the Eagles in a game that would've put them in the playoff drivers seat was the final straw.

Four years ago the players hated Coughlin. Except perhaps his son-in-law, offensive lineman Chris Snee. Didn't like his temperment, didn't like the way he operated. The following season he eased up and the frost began to melt. Now his current squad's in love with him. But here's the thing...they're not winning for him in the clutch. Dogged it at home against Dallas after Wade Phillips got dumped. Then flatlined against the Eagles. A week later went brain dead in Green Bay. Is that any way to show coach Tom love?

I wanted Bill Cowher to coach the Giants the year after he joined the broadcast booth. But he had family issues, and it was too soon after a Super Bowl win for the Giants to replace Coughlin. The time's right now.

Giants fans turn away, this is for Giants haters only: DeSean Jackson's game winning punt return:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3eXFrrYuT0&feature