Tired of the "Joba Rules"

by Rothstein on Aug 4, 2009 5:07 PM EDT Comment 12 comments

Isn't everyone else too? Here are a couple things that don't make sense to me about the Joba rules, other than that they're completely arbitrary numbers.

Joba's a big dude, he can take a lot of innings. I think this may be the most overlooked part of this whole situation. The thin fireballers are typically the ones who wear down due to overuse - Prior and Wood come to mind, and there are others, like Verlander in his second year. Guys like Sabathia and David Wells came up to the bigs and immediately started pitching major innings, and both of them were/are fine now years later. They're bodies are more equipped to handle the stress of pitching, they have bigger legs, I guess.

Also, hasn't he pitched enough to not warrant an innings limit? Most pitchers are kept on limits their first year out of the minors. Yes, I understand he was a bullpen guy, but he's pretty seasoned by now, has had a couple of years under his stretched-out belt.

I say turn him loose, take him out when he's tired, but don't just assume you're going to wear him out when you're doing more harm than good with rules and limits. He said his relaxing time was what has helped him pitch better recently. I can't help but think that all this nonsense about how long he'll pitch this year, or in the playoffs, is just adding to his stress and thus, maybe, affecting his pitching.

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Joba right now has pitched more innings this season than any of his career

so, we really have no idea how many innings his body is situated to take.

I agree with you that his size will be helpful, but he has already been somewhat disposed to injury in the past. I can’t really blame the Yankees for being somewhat cautious with his prized arm.

While the “rules” can be irksome, MORE irksome would be watching Joba flame out in his early 20s.

by Lord Duggan on Aug 4, 2009 5:17 PM EDT reply actions

CC had 180 innings his first season

so there.

There are ways to limit his innings without shutting him down complete.y

The worst possible thing you can do is overwork him. Look at basically every young pitcher brought up under Dusty Baker.

Doing what the Phillies did and overwork their young ace Cole Hamels was nice, but it could hurt in following seasons.

There is no reason to throw out the Joba ‘rules’.

by FreeBradshaw on Aug 4, 2009 5:23 PM EDT reply actions

I completely disagree with this. Chamberlain has the potential to be a legitimate #1 or #2 starter. I like the fact that the Yankees are moving forward cautiously, and I would be pissed if the Yankees ruined his career with a “Must Win Now” mentality.

Besides, Chamberlain during his short career has already displayed he is prone to injury.

by murp0837 on Aug 4, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions

This is a tough debate

I see it from both sides……………But for the anti-Joba in the bullpen guys who screamed starter! starter! starter all year, you somewhat contradict yourselves. You can’t limit his innings while he is pitching pretty well,than expect him to be a sure thing and contributing factor in the bullpen for the ever important last 2 months. You could monitor his progress and health,simple as that. Are there not sophisticated arm strength tests he could be put through?

On the other side….you gotta protect the kid. If you destroy a long term investment and make him a liability,you’re left even more disappointed.

What to do….what to do? I’d be more comfortable limiting him if the rotation was strong,but its very vulnerable at this point at the back end,so this is tougher than it seems.

by ReggieARodJeter on Aug 4, 2009 9:38 PM EDT reply actions

So if

He goes the way of Wood, Prior , Gooden and countless other young pitchers that blew out their arm. what you’d think then?

by RollingWave on Aug 5, 2009 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I say stop him at 180 like sabathia

by jv52yankees on Aug 5, 2009 1:22 AM EDT reply actions

hes a big boy

let him pitch

lookout landing - banning people for no reason since 2009

by bigdickwillie on Aug 5, 2009 5:06 AM EDT reply actions

Just because he is hefty

Doesn’t mean he is the same as CC and Wells. Scouts say his pitching mechanics are violent and he is prone to injury. We all want to win now, that is in our yankee blood, but destroying his future career as a yankee would be devastating

by ryfry on Aug 5, 2009 2:17 PM EDT reply actions

phil hughes.

how come phil hughes doesn’t come with a set of rules? especially now that he’s a reliever, and aimed to be a future starter. will he have rules once his reliever duties are over? you can even make the case that lately, he’s a more prized possession than joba is. he certainly sky-rocketed his fan base.

by reedux on Aug 6, 2009 3:14 AM EDT reply actions

he will

you don’t hear about it because a) people don’t seem as obsessed with asking questions about HUOOOS and b) he hasn’t really come close as a starter to worrying about an innings limit.

He threw 146 innings in 2005 and 116 innings in 2006 and 110 in 2007, but since then he hasn’t accumulated nearly what you’d want out of a starter.

He’ll be on a limit and it will be something similar to Joba.

by FreeBradshaw on Aug 6, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions

When did baseball become a girls game?

I am an ex high school and collegiate pitcher. I never had any aspirations to play in the MLB but I just loved playin ball. When i hear this Joba Rule BS, it makes me sick. If I could feel my arm I would pitch, no questions asked. Look at the best pitchers in the history of the game. Go ask Nolan Ryan if he ever had a pitch count. If you could ask Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, or any of the greats if they ever had one of these ridiculous rules. So please tell me when baseball became a girls game? There’s still no crying right??

by SportsGuyy on Aug 6, 2009 10:16 AM EDT reply actions

sorry man

Nolan Ryan didn’t go over 150 innings until his 4th year in the league.

Back in the day with Bob Gibson was different, cuz Im pretty sure the mound was closer so you could still be effective with more.

These rules are not ridiculous. For a guy who’s never thrown this many innings, there’s every reason to be cautious especially if he’s had arm trouble (TJ surgery actually) in the past.

You can be tired of it, but it occurs with every pitcher in the game and most in the past too. There’s a reason to do it and that’s so you don’t burn out the kid too early.

I know its been a real long time before the Yanks developed a pitcher, but when teams are successfully in developing a pitcher this is what you do.

by FreeBradshaw on Aug 6, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions