Joba transition and Posada return

The New York Yankees have been on a tear the last few days, winning five of their last six, but the team continues to be a work in progress. The transition of Joba Chamberlain from set-up man to a starter will continue. In addition to that, Jorge Posada continues to rehab from a shoulder injury and has begun to play in extended spring training games. So here’s an update on both players situation and what it means for the Bronx Bombers.

First, Joba Chamberlain. The process continues of stretching out the hard throwing reliever into a multi-inning starter. Chamberlain last threw Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, tossing 40 pitches over 2 innings. The plan was originally for 45 pitches over 3 innings, but you know what he did just fine he got just about all of his expected work in. Pitch count is more important then inning length right now. Joba will next be appearing against the Baltimore Orioles, most likely Wednesday. He’ll have a 55 pitch window that day. Andy Pettitte is starting that day, so you will most likely see Andy go six innings, and Joba throw the final three for another Yankees win.

The problem in stretching Joba out, is how do you get him to around 70-75 pitches without sending him to the minor leagues. There are a few was the team can go about it, and you know the Yankees they have it all planned out. The easiest scenario would be a blow out loss, where Joba could entire a game in the 4th or 5th inning and then just pitch to his limit. That would be the worst-case scenario, obviously. The best case scenario is a blow out win, where the Yankees jump out to a very early lead in the first couple innings. They could remove the starter after five, and then let Joba throw his heart out.

The most likely, the Yankees are in a close game, and Joba comes in as a middle reliever in say the 6th inning. He would then pitch a inning or two, and then be removed from the game for more rested bullpen guys. He would then head to the bullpen and rest while the Yankees bat, then make pitches in the bullpen as if he were the guy in the game. If after the inning, he’s still not at his 70 or so pitch count, he’d rest again till the team is done batting. Not a bad idea actually, good job Joe Girardi, hopefully it works. After throwing 70 in relief, Joba would then be allowed to make a start at the major league level.

And now a Jorge Posada update. Posada expects to rejoin the team in New York on their next homestand, starting June 3rd. Jorge made his first minor league appearance today in an extended spring training game against a group of Philadelphia Phillies minor leaguers. He spent five innings behind the plate, and had five plate appearances. He had two plate appearances from the left side going 0-1 with a walk, including a pretty hard one-hopper to first base. From the right side, he went 0-4 striking out one, a warning track drive to right field (opposite way), and a pretty hard line drive to center. Sounds like he’s close to being locked in at the plate, but his real value is at catcher. The question is when can he throw a runner out? He can’t catch till he can throw. Posada wasn’t allowed to throw at any base runners in today’s game, and he won’t be allowed to till the end of the week. “Probably Thursday or so I’ll start throwing again,” Posada said. “I feel good enough to throw right now, but I’m taking one step at a time. First of all, get my legs underneath me and then get ready to catch, throw and doing all that.”

Like I said the Yankees are on a mini-tear right now but still a work in progress. As a Yankees fan it will be nice to see what takes place once these guys are back in their roles.

Here’s a link to the New York Post, with some Yankees notes.

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Tags: MLB, New York Yankees