Great retort! Not!

When they have 6 functioning pitchers it will be something to worry about. They don’t, so I won’t.

Fact is, they switched him mid-season last year – a very atypical move – and he got hurt and it was his throwing shoulder no less. Why should they repeat that experiment again?

@ 44

They could have been waiting to see if Joba would come through his bullpen and start okay.

Btw, how do you propose to deal with six starting pitchers? (I’ll give you a heads up here and remind you that I’ve made my argument explicitly stating multiple times this is all in the case that Wang isn’t shot and Hughes remains at least as viable as Chamberlain.)

Interesting point about Chamberlain’s health – now that you bring it up, I think you’re wrong. I think we should be concerned about it – it’s not theoretical at all. In fact it happened last year. I’m not sure it was the very logically and scientifically-named “herky-jerky of the different roles”, but maybe it’s true..

Because he though they had a shot at winning the game?

[24] He did in the mLs. Despite that accomplishment, he has been given very little opportunity to do anything in the MLs.

[10] Thanks, Diane. Apparently, there are other factors that explain Texas’ improved DER.

Isn’t so much arguing as presenting information. As for Burnett’s contract, I’m not going to blast it yet, there’s a long way to go, in both the contract as well as this season. The Golebiewski part I referenced to see if there was something we could see behind the numbers. He hasn’t lost velocity, but he’s not striking out as many batters, and is walking more batters. And hitters are making more contact.

By the way, this argument started with the pen. They wouldn’t have that problem if they signed Looper and were ready to move him to the pen for Hughes.

They wouldn’t have the problem either if the pen replicated their performances from last year. Even so, I’m not ready to give up on guys like Robertson and Melancon. Regardless, they had too many starters, so even if the pen performed to their potential, we’re still looking @ the same problem with the Yanks trying to find innings for all the young arms on the staff. Instead of doing it with the parent club, they’d be doing it in the minors.

As for Looper, we don’t even know if he would consider NY, given his last go round with the Mets. Given that he started the past two years, and is a FT starter with the Brewers, I don’t think he’d want to come to NY as a swingman. And I don’t see NY taking interest in him as a swingman given the other options they had (Aceves, Giese)

In the end, these pitching logjams usually work themselves out, due to injury or ineffectiveness.

Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. Trade 6 innings a week of guaranteed high leverage work (you know when the score starts tied) for maybe 2 to 4 innings of the same. I know you math isn’t too good, but surely you know that 6 > 2 and 6 > 4, right?

If him being the second-best starter is “highly debatable” then debate it. Too bad there’s nothing to debate though. Pettitte isn’t better. Burnett isn’t better. Not Wang. Not Hughes. So who’s better? The Amazing Emaciated Fucking Toad Kei Igawa?

From Goldman yesterday:

“American League pitchers make a quality start just under half the time this year — the rate has stayed fairly constant since 2005.”

Relievers are a dime a dozen. Crappy, inconsistent starters get $80M. And Joba’s not either.

Go call in to Fat Slob Mike. He’ll love your logic. But people here who love actual logic know there’s nothing to the argument. Worse for your case, the kid hurt his shoulder last year with all the herky-jerky of the different roles. Nah, but why worry about something so theoretical as the health of young pitcher?

Whether or not Chamberlain is the second-best starter (which is highly debatable) with just half of his starts being so-called “quality” starts, he’s not exactly tearing it up out there. Again: Too many starters + too few relievers = Chamberlain to the pen.

Burnett sucks. And at $16.5 M, he royally blows.

By the way, this argument started with the pen. They wouldn’t have that problem if they signed Looper and were ready to move him to the pen for Hughes.

IIRC, he also softened his stance on Burnett.

Hughes: $200K
Burnett: $1.8M

Lee Sinins’ RSAA totals

Hughes: -6
Burnett: -4

Of course, it should be noted somewhere that Burnett has double the innings than Hughes.

CC Sabathia : 3.42
Andy Pettitte: 4.78
Joba Chamberlain: 4.91
A.J. Burnett: 5.28
Phil Hughes: 5.83
Chien-Ming Wang: 10.33

Burnett and Hughes aren’t as close as I thought, I looked at the wrong colums

I like me stats normalized:

Burnett = 87 ERA+
Hughes = 89 ERA+

The difference is negligible. But Burnett is still the worst.