Whenever I hear the phrase “Identity Theft”, the first thing that comes to mind is one of the best Jim vs Dwight moments in the office ever.

But I am not here to talk about Jim or Dwight. I was thinking more along the lines of another beloved character, Joba Chamberlain. His start last night, was, honestly, less than pretty, a trend that seems to be developing with Joba. John Flaherty, while doing the Yankees broadcast yesterday evening/morning (gotta love west coast games? not.) brought up an interesting point about Joba. The whole “growing pains” and “oh he’s just young he’ll get it together” attitudes are seemingly becoming somewhat of a tired act. In 17 games and 89 IP, he’s given up 97 hits, 52 runs (10 of them unearned), 78:42 K/BB ratio (1.85) and a .282 BA against. Put that all together for a 4-2 record, 4.25 ERA. Among starting pitchers, Joba is 103rd in BAA and 68th in K/BB ratio (keep in mind, throughout his relief days, Joba had been catergorized as a strikeout pitcher). Despite starting all of his games this season, he ranks 86th in innings pitched. Perhaps the biggest knock of all: you don’t need glasses to see that his velocity has drastically decreased. The allusion of him pitching 96-97 like he did as a reliever was heavenly, but now velocity has dropped to around the low 90s mark.

Now, I’m not suggesting anything drastic here. With all that the Yankees have invested in Joba, it would be unfair to not let him finish the year. And it’s only half way through the season, leaving Joba plenty of time to improve. While the question may seem a little premature, we’re just speaking hypothetically here. The quesiton I must ask readers is this: for arguments sake, lets say Joba doesn’t show that much improvement by the end of the season and stays pretty much on this same path. Do you keep him in the rotation or assign him to the bullpen?

All Those In Favor of The Bullpen Option Say “I”

• His velocity would probably get back up to the high 90 range that we’re so used to seeing, the aspect of his pitching that makes him incredibly dominant
• Use Phil Hughes as a model: starting he wasn’t all that great, but going back to the bullpen transformed him and now he’s really turned into the centerpiece for the Yankees’ pen (obviously, excluding Rivera). Now, theres obvioiusly no guarentee it would work out the same way for Joba, but Hughes is putting up numbers similar to the numbers Joba used to have in the bullpen.
• The Phil:Everybody else’s name ratio would decrease

  

  I’m no mind reader, but you are all probably thinking this “Well, that would leave us one starter short of a rotation now wouldn’t it?” Claps for 1st grade math! Among options for the 5th man could be

• Andrew Brackman (Yankees top pick in 07): Fastball that reaches 99, good changeup, also features knuckle curve like AJ. Yankees #3rd ranked prospect.

• Kei Igawa: Now, we all remember how Igawa’s ERA soared to Chein Ming Wang potential, but in SWB he’s posted 7-3, 3.65 ERA. Not to shabby
• Ian Kennedy: Remember him? He’s out right now recovering from an aneuresm surgery, but will be back in time to finish the SWB season I believe. I love this guy like Winnie the Pooh loves honey. Tons and tons of potential, just some control problems that need to be worked out. Would love to see him as part of the lineup next year. SWB numbers this year: 1-0, 1.59 ERA
• TRADE TRADE TRADE! Roy Halladay would look gorgeous in pinstripes…

  

  Now, Those In Favor of The Starter Option Say “I”

• While Joba’s been a good sport about the whole thing and has said that he’ll do whatever his team needs from him, he preferably likes the starting position better and it’s always good to have your players performing where they are most comfortable and happy

• It’s pretty hard to find a 5th starter, and the Yankees bullpen would survive without Joba
• It could be a little damaging to his self esteem and confidence to take him out after only one season
• Maybe one season isn’t even enough time for a full evaluation?

  Either way, don’t count on the Yankees making a permanent decision anytime soon. The season is only halfway over, and who knows, maybe the second half is Joba Time. There is still plenty of time left for evaluation and improvement. But I would love to hear everyones thoughts on the subject, since this has been a very persistant argument throughout the Yankee organization over the past couple of years. Feel free to comment any thoughts, reactions on the subject.

  Signing off for now
  -Inside the thought bubble