Hank Steinbrenner, who has taken over much of the day-to-day operation of the Yankees, is starting to look as bad as his father was back in the 70s and 80s:
With the Yankees off to a 10-10 start, and with two of their young starters struggling, the Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said there was one thing in particular he would like to change: He wants Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees’ hard-throwing setup man, to move into the rotation.
“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” Steinbrenner said Sunday by telephone. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”
Steinbrenner said the Yankees were working on easing Chamberlain into the rotation, but he would not be specific on a timetable. The Yankees’ brain trust had wanted to limit Chamberlain’s innings by having him spend at least part of the season in the bullpen. “The mistake was already made last year switching him to the bullpen out of panic or whatever,” Steinbrenner said. “I had no say in it last year and I wouldn’t have allowed it. That was done last year, so now we have to catch up. It has to be done on a schedule so we don’t rush him.”
When Chamberlain, a starter in the minors, was promoted to the Yankees last August, he quickly became an essential part of the bullpen. The Yankees planned to put Chamberlain, 22, in the rotation this spring but chose to begin the season with Phil Hughes, 21, and Ian Kennedy, 23, there. Hughes (0-3) has allowed 16 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings. Kennedy (0-2) has struggled with his control, allowing 15 earned runs in 14 innings.
Ummm, Hank, a question. Exactly how many innings of baseball have you actually pitched yourself ?
Yea, that’s what I thought.
Fortunately, the Yankees have no immediate plans to listen to the ungrateful jerk who sent Joe Torre packing:
Hank Steinbrenner, the co-chairman of the Yankees, was insistent Sunday that he wants Joba Chamberlain in the starting rotation now. But Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ general manager, said on Monday that Steinbrenner is going to have to wait.
“We discussed this extensively this winter about how things would unravel or unfold,” Cashman said. “Right now, that can’t change. There’s no reason for that. Hank knows that.”
Steinbrenner, who is sounding more and more like his demanding father, George M. Steinbrenner, said that only “an idiot” would use a talent like Chamberlain as a reliever.
“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” said Steinbrenner. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”
After reading Steinbrenner’s comments, Cashman decided to focus on the part of the statement in which Steinbrenner said the Yankees are working on Chamberlain’s transition , not the part of the statement in which he intimated that team officials are idiots.
“He said there are plans for this and we’re working toward this,” Cashman said. “I suppose he understands that we’re following that plan.”
In other words, Hank, shut up and let the professionals you pay all that money to do the job you hired them for.
More from Peter Abraham:
If Brian Cashman is the GM of the Phillies or Nationals or some other team next season, remember this day.
Hank Steinbrenner told the New York Times that Joba Chamberlain needs to be in the rotation now. As in right now.
That’s fine. Then by Aug. 15 when he has reached his innings limit, Kei Igawa can take over. Or maybe on July 15 when he has Tommy John surgery. The Yankees have a plan to transition Joba into the rotation and it doesn’t call for a rash move on April 21.
Then this from Hank: “The mistake was already made last year switching him to the bullpen out of panic or whatever. I had no say in it last year and I wouldn’t have allowed it. That was done last year, so now we have to catch up.”
That’s fine, as well. The alternative would have been trading prospects for Eric Gagne then not making the playoffs. That sounds like a good plan. Or continuing to use Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth inning. How did that work?
It’s a simple math equation. Joba pitched 89 innings for Nebraska in 2006 because he was injured. Therefore, his innings in 2007 had to be carefully monitored to minimize the risk of further injury. Because he was so successful as a minor-league starter, Joba would haave reached his innings cap in August.
So to fill a need in the majors and give the kid more experience, he was temporarily made into a reliever. Joba finished the season with a total of 116 innings.
Now he can probably pitch about 150 innings this season. Any more and you greatly increase the odds of injury based on a number of studies of pitchers in their early 20s. Perhaps you have heard of Francisco Liriano, Mark Prior, etc.
So the Yankees will start Joba in the pen, use him for one or two innings at a time and then put him in the rotation in July. It’s really not that complicated.
Why Hank would cause such problems for Cashman and Joe Girardi this early in the season isn’t clear. But the Steinbrenner family owns the team and they can do whatever they want.
Unfortunate, but true.
