Joba's start last night was good and bad. Good that he dominated a tough Red Sox lineup for 5.1 innings, and bad because before that first 1/3 of inning was recorded, he had given up 4 runs, five hits, including a three run homer to new Yankee killer Jason Bay.

Chamberlain eventually settle down, and proceeded to pitch great baseball, striking out 12 Red Sox batters in those 5.1 innings after the first out in the first inning was recorded. Amazingly, 8 of those whiffs were looking! Doesn't anyone want to swing the bat anymore?

The night before Phil Hughes wasn't that much better early in his game against the Red Sox. Hughes needs to continue in the rotation, though, because he doesn't have much more to prove in AAA. Although Hughes wasn't sharp in that weather, I give players the benefit of the doubt in terrible weather. Baseball isn't a game which is conducive to wet grounds and pouring rain**. Players are tentative in their motions, the game is not crisply played and people are worried about getting unnecessarily injured.

**I remember one time we were playing in a college level wood bat league a few years ago. It was raining really hard and I was playing second base, when a high popup was hit just behind my position. I remember looking up at the ball and settled underneath it while hundreds of raindrops were pelting me in the face. I caught the ball for the third out, ending the inning, and the umpires called the game. It's not fun playing baseball in the sloppy weather, and too many players get hurt in the slop, like Jorge Posada did the other night.

Again, Hughes needs to be in the rotation. I called into the Evan Roberts - Joe Benigno show on Monday and spoke with them about why I believe Joba will eventually be back in the bullpen this year. I wrote about this last week. Evan didn't agree but when interviewing WFAN Yankee beat reporter Sweeny Murti about an hour later, Evan said that a caller (me) had brought up a good point on how Joba would get back to the bullpen this season.

And later in the day even Mike Francesca was even spewing his Joba to the bullpen in August talk. Like Francesa ever had an original thought that did not include the 1989 Seton Hall Pirates college basketball championship game run.

To repeat: 

Although I have been a big proponent of the Joba being a starter (and he will for his career), the Yankees WILL switch him to the bullpen in 2009.

Why? The dreaded innings limitation. Remember, the Yankees are big on the Tom Verducci innings limit from one season to another. Verducci believes that if a young (under 25) starting pitcher increases his innings by 30 or more from one year to another he is ripe for injury or reduced production in that next season. His theory is working regarding Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, but I guess it is not for Chad Billingsley or Tim Lincecum.

Joba will likely get only 150 innings this season and currently he has 28.2 in the books. If he makes 22 more starts at 5.2 innings per (his current average per start), that will get him to 151 innings, the high mark of the supposed limit. And the next 22 starts, assuming no skipped starts, will take 110 days or clear through the end of August.

Can you see the scenario now? Joba will be a starter until mid to late August and the Yankees, assuming they are still in the playoff chase, will convert Joba to the bullpen to finish ou the season. But this will get Joba over the 150 innings limit. The Yankees may even cut off his starts in early August to not let Joba go over 150-160 innings.

This scenario is similar to how the Yankees worked Phil Coke last season. Coke was a Double A starter, reached his innings limit (Why an innings limit? Coke was 25 last season, past the Verducci threshold), and was converted to the pen. I really think Coke was converted because he was originally part of that great Nady trade, was reportedly hurt, and the Yankees got scared and moved him to the pen.

But after 2009’s conversion, Joba will be a starter again for next season with the innings limits pushing 180+.