Around the Majors with Buster Olney
May 18, 2009
Chamberlain Making Critics Forget Cashman Mis-Steps
New York, NY -- Brian Cashman passed on Johan Santana in hopes of having Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes in his rotation instead. As May passes the mid point, neither Kennedy nor Hughes has yet to throw a pitch, but much of the criticism has been muted thanks to the pitching of phenom Joba Chamberlain.
Despite losing his last start, Chamberlain is an incredible 9-1 in 10 starts this year, leading baseball in wins for the second place Yankees (29-17, 6 GB AL East, 1st WC).
Early AL Cy-Young Contenders:
Code:
Joba Chamberlain 9-1, 3.18 ERA, 16.3 VORP, 63 K's, 8.02 K/9, .225 OAVG, 1 SHO
Tim Wakefield 7-0, 2.39 ERA, 20.8 VORP
Ervin Santana 5-0, 2.02 ERA, 23.2 VORP, 1.59 BB/9, 4.91 K/BB, .98 WHIP, 9.10 Runners/9
Kevin Millwood 5-0, 2.43 ERA, 24.6 VORP, .226 OAVG
Roy Halladay 3-4, 2.38 ERA, 24.4 VORP, .12 HR/9
"Joba is definately a name to watch, but be weary of his innings. In 2007, he threw just about 90 innings in the minors and 24 in the majors," a rival scout noted. "He's already thrown 70 in 10 starts, he'll burn out eventually."
Still, it is quite a remarkable transition for Chamberlain, who came to the public's attention last season with the "Joba Rules" in the New York bullpen, but now is the Yankees #1 starter.
- 1. Chamberlain
- 2. Dan Giese (3-0, 1.27)
- 3. Chien-Ming Wang (2-3, 5.06)
- 4. Mike Mussina (4-2, 4.45)
- 5. Andy Pettitte (2-4, 5.47)
"They are struggling with injuries to their kids, that they are the backbone of Cashman's plan," one NL General Manager said. "New York always will have the room to go after that missing piece in June or July, but right now, it looks like Cashman might have gambled wrong."
With Boston (Matsuzaka, Lester, Buccholz), Tampa Bay (David Price, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson, Matt Garza, and James Shields), Toronto (Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum) and Baltimore (Radhames Liz, Garret Olson, and Daniel Cabrera) all developing young arms in the majors right now, the Yankees will need to get their development into gear to keep up in the new baseball landscape.
Around the Major:
- Jim Leyland's no-nonsense approach might be wearing thin on today's players. Leyland's former team, the Detroit Tigers, saw their ERA drop from 5.37 with him to 5.02 without, while the Blue Jays, 2-3 in five games under Leyland, have seen their team ERA rise from 4.57 under John Gibbons to 4.98 under Leyland.
- Doug Mientkiewicz, a World Series winner with Boston, might be out of a job soon in Pittsburgh. With Adam LaRoche on the 15-day DL, the Pirates (25-20, 2nd NL Central, -4.5 GB) are giving the slick gloved first baseman a long look, but the results (.159 avg., .528 OPS) haven't been there for a team in surprising contention early.
- The Atlanta Braves disabled list may be able to defeat some teams on their own these days: SP J. Jurrjens (1 week), SP J. Smoltz (8-9 months), CL M. Gonzalez (4 weeks), 3B Chipper Jones (7 months), SS Y. Escobar (7 months), and LF M. Diaz (1 week).
- Jeff Salazar's move from Arizona's crowded outfield to San Diego seems to be paying off, as the veteran's batting average is up from .243 to .364 with the Padres.