Say what you want about George Steinbrenner and his management style, but I guarantee that the Joba Chamberlain debacle would not have happened under his watch.
The word came down today that Phil Hughes has won the fifth starter spot over Joba. It's the right decision–I'm not arguing that. The problem is that the Yankees have spent the last three years messing with Joba's head and because of it, he may very well end up needing a one-way ticket out of the Bronx to get his career back on track.
Chamberlain had ...
So it was all for nothing.
The innings limits, the pitch limits, the extra days off between starts the Yankees forced Joba Chamberlain to undergo during the second half of 2009—that rendered him impotent come the playoffs—under the guise that they were "protecting his arm" so that he could at long last become a full fledged starter this season...it was all a lie.
Tossed aside because of 3 2/3 spring innings.
That's how long it took for Joe Girardi to forget the past two years, during which Chamberlain went 12-7 with a 4.18 ...
Manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees staff evaluated the entire spring training and came to the same conclusion I did: Phil Hughes should be the fifth starter.
Hughes beat out Joba Chamberlain, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre, and the recently released Chad Gaudin.
Girardi has been very impressed with the much-improved changeup that Hughes has been using and working on throughout the spring.
Chamberlain, Aceves, and Mitre are all now competing for spots in the Yankees bullpen. Nobody, including Chamberlain, is guaranteed a role. Each player will need to earn it.
Hughes will be on ...
As a Yankee fan born and raised in the heart of the land that sports the pinstripes, the last thing I and many other dedicated fans want to see is a slump in the 2010 season, especially after nine seasons of lacking a championship win.
Fellow fans of Bronx Bomber nation, it’s possible that we may be facing some hard times this season.
Let’s take a look at some of the issues that can derail the Yankees this season.
First up—Alex Rodriguez’s injury.
Last year, the 34-year-old third baseman underwent surgery on his ...
This announcement doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi made it official today, Phil Hughes—not Joba Chamberlain—will be the Yankees fifth starter going into the season.
“I think Joba could do either job,” Girardi said, “but right now we feel Hughes is ahead as a starter.”
The guys who weren’t named fifth starter, Joba and Sergio Mitre, are not guaranteed bullpen spots according to Girardi. That supposedly includes Joba, but it is probably meant more for Mitre who could still be cut in favor of a second lefty ...
The New York Post's Joel Sherman , among others, is reporting that Joe Girardi has officially named Phil Hughes as the Yankees' fifth starter. This has been heavily debated over the course of spring training, but I'm still not sure what the Yankees plan was here.
They have seemingly been building Joba Chamberlain up so that he could have the opportunity to start a full season and pitch 200 innings. Now, when he finally are at a point where Chamberlain is without innings limits, they decide to go another direction and ...
The Yankees cut five more players from the big league camp yesterday: outfielder Greg Golson, righties Mark Melancon and Jonathan Albaladejo, and infielders Juan Miranda and Kevin Russo, according to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger.
The cuts of Miranda and Russo have pretty much cemented the Opening Day bench, ensuring a spot for Ramiro Pena.
Backup catcher possibility Mike Rivera is still in camp, but the consensus has always been that Francisco Cervelli will be the Opening Day backup backstop. Rivera is probably only in camp as the Yankees need the ...
According to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger, the Yankees have released righty Chad Gaudin just two days after they put him on waivers.
Since his contract was non-guaranteed, the Yankees only owe him 25 percent, or about $737,500, out of the $2.95 million he would have been owed had he made the team.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that his days with the Yankees are over as the team could re-sign him and send him to the minors. However, there is a good chance that Gaudin, now a free agent, can find a ...
The Yankees drafted Christian Garcia in 2004 and by the end of that summer the third round pick was already making a name for himself thanks to a mid-90’s fastball and the makings of a nasty curveball.
He started out quickly out of the gate, his stuff was raw, but he showed a lot of promise. In 2004 he was able to harness it while putting up a 2.84 ERA and 47 strikeouts in just 38 innings.
In his next season, things didn’t go quite as well. He had just a ...
One of the best things about being a Yankees Featured Columnist here on Bleacher Report is being able to bring up and address certain rumors that float around.
This will be another story pertaining to one of those rumors currently floating around, which now will be addressed by me, and I'm sure will be addressed amongst the Yankees B/R community here as well. I'm looking forward to it.
Lately, a certain big-named pitcher who will be a free agent pitcher after the 2010 season is now being linked to the Bronx.
The fans ...