A 6-Man Rotation: the 4/3 Approach

by jscape2000 on Dec 3, 2007 8:59 PM EST in News Comment 17 comments

1. Pettitte
2. Wang
3. IPK
4. Hughes
5. Moose

I'd like to see those pitchers as our top 5 in 2008.

'Whither Joba?' you may ask.

I propose using him like the 6th man on a basketball team. Let him pitch once a week, rotating between slot 3, 4, and 5. The odd man out of the rotation gets skipped for that turn in the rotation and becomes the long man in the pen. Using the 6th starter as a long man saves the Yankees the roster spot that would otherwise be wasted a Rasner/Igawa/Karstens.

A regular starter will make 32 starts over the course of a year. This 4 man/3 slot approach would hold each player down to 24 starts (about 150-160 innings each, depending how much they were used out of the pen).

If someone gets hurt, tired, ineffective, or throws a hissy fit then his replacement is already on the 25 man roster.

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my only question...

...regarding development. maybe someone with more knowledge than me can comment. but, wouldn't the lack of a repeatable schedule of consistent starts be more beneficial to these young pitchers building up arm strength? especially since the "long man" is not always needed.

by tombradylikesdudes on Dec 3, 2007 9:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

idk

i think if ipk or hughes is going to be gone. The seem very determined to get an ace. although if it is the rotation you have above I would use Joba in the pen till moose breaks down.

re-sign Jaret Wright

by yankeechaser on Dec 3, 2007 9:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Joba must start

We'd be wasting the kid in a relief role. We owe it to him and to the team to see how he does when he can exercise his full-quiver of pitches on AL hitters.

I agree with the statement that starters are more valuable than relievers--especially in the case with the Yankees. We've got the greatest closer of all-time coming out of the pen so let's see what we've got in Joba every 5-days.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Dec 4, 2007 11:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting thought

but it will never be implemented on a major league team. I'm not saying it should or shouldn't be, just saying that it is too revolutionary for any team to try it.

Fear the Evil Empire

by pfistyunc on Dec 3, 2007 9:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

won't, and should not

part of baseball is psychological; players would not like it or trust it

Anyway, it is academic. Joba is your set up man in training to be the closer

brass will not take an important effective cog away from the team (see Papelbon)

all the talk about Joba the starter surprises me

by Frank Malzone on Dec 4, 2007 1:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

joba has

3great pitches and 1 good one that is y he is considered a starter

re-sign Jaret Wright

by yankeechaser on Dec 4, 2007 1:50 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Joba could start, but will not

they need him where he is

by Frank Malzone on Dec 4, 2007 2:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not exactly

Chamberlain will be a starter. That has been the plan all along.

The Yankee front office and Nardi Contreras himself views him as a dominant front-line starter who they compare with Verlander and King Felix.

He's got too much talent to stick in the pen. That would be such a waste.

by anaconda on Dec 4, 2007 3:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dunno about that

If anybody might try something like this, it would be the wonky Girardi.

I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque

by LateInningRelief on Dec 4, 2007 4:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

IPK better than Hughes?

You really have IPK ahead of Hughes. Hughes is the number 1 pitching prospect in baseball he wasn't healthy last year so he didnt live up to his potential. He was pitching at 90 to 91 when he normally is 93 to 95. Also with this loss of velocity his lost the "sharpness" of his breaking ball. I hope the yankees keep him because I see him being our legit ace next year 16-18 victories 3.30 era. I'm thinking trade IPK, Melky and Horne or Marquez for Bedard. Thoughts?

juice

Juice

by juice on Dec 3, 2007 11:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't

want IPK and Moose to pitch on back to back days. Their stuff is too similar.

Eleven wins in October...

by Edwantsacracker on Dec 4, 2007 12:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And

we know IPK can give us more innings than Hughes can in 2008.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Dec 4, 2007 6:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

clippard traded

yanks just traded clippard to the nationals for a minor league reliever named Jonathan Albaladejo. Interesting deal for me mainly because I haven't heard of the guy. You would have thought the Yankees would have tried to move clippard still only 23 for a more well known reliever. Then again Cashman probably saw this guy and saw he throws in the upper 90's or has a nasty slider or something. He has pretty good numbers in the minors but only very recently. He also did well in 14 innings for the Nats last year. I've scoured the internet but no sign of a legit scouting report on the guy. Anyone else?

Juice

by juice on Dec 4, 2007 1:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Some time ago

I proposed a rotation of Wang every 5th day and then the others rotating through. I think it would be a hard sell for Andy and Moose, but the kids should do as asked. It would help with inning count. If you need a long man, the line moves up.

I think it is an interesting idea.

The way pitchers are used has changed a lot since I started watching in the 50's. I have no reason to believe the current way is the optimum.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

by Cbeck3 on Dec 4, 2007 2:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's the right way to do it.

I might balance it slightly differently, but you have the right idea.

Also, Joba was wickedly effective out of the pen last year. So if you start him slightly less (say 18 starts or so in 2008), you might be able to use him him half the time as a setup guy.

All of this is of should of course be flexible based on performance, injury etc.

by KevinV on Dec 4, 2007 9:31 AM EST reply actions 0 recs