The transition is complete. The new "Joba Rules" are simple: he's a starter working on the same 100-pitch count as most other major league starters. With that process completed (and completed seemlessly), and with the 20-20 perfection of hindsight, is there any more use in debating Joba's best role with the Yankees now and in the future? He's a starter, ladies and gentlemen. And he's going to develop into a damn good one, one that will make Hank's comparison's to Josh Beckett look pretty smart. But he's also so much more than that.
Listen to or read Kid K's interviews: he knows his business. He's aggressive in the way that Kennedy and Hughes were not this season. Joba's reponse to a reporter's question about how he will handle a Pirate's team (6/25, 7:05ET start) he's never faced was simple: he'll challenge them with his best stuff. He knows--as every good pitcher must--that he cannot get beaten with anything less than his best pitches. And when your best pitches are as dominant as Joba's, you don't figure to lose too much. Not convinced of his value in the Yanks rotation? Ask yourself this question: is there a starting pitcher on the Yankees' roster to whom you'd rather hand the ball for 100 pitches and 7 innings?
It was May 21st when Cash and Hank declared Joba's new role and set the process in motion. The Yankees are 21-11 since that day. Of course, some of that also coincides with A-Rod and Posada returning, but the pitching over that time has been stellar (starters and the Joba-less bullpen). 135 runs in 32 games--or about 4.2 per game earned AND unearned.
Thumbs up for Cashman and Hammerin' Hank. Now, Brian, let's talk about Pavano, Johnson, Vazquez, Weaver, Igawa, Brown...
