Joba and Other Stuff

Let the pundits go at it again. The Yankees made it official last night, Joba Chamberlain is now in the transition phase of becoming a starting pitcher once again. What this means is that Mike Francesca will make your ears bleed for 5 hours today talking about what a mistake it is. Steve Phillips will go on the Michael Kay radio show and disperse his usual incorrect information. And the newspapers (Joel Sherman, Bill Madden, will go on about it for several days.

It's clear that this had to be done. Just how many 8th inning leads has there been to protect this year? The team is barely treading water and just because they've recovered the past couple of years to make the playoffs, doesn't mean it will happen this year. And if they do and make another quick first round exit will it even be beneficial to be a playoff team? With Phil Hughes struggling and injured, with Ian Kennedy unable to retire t-ball hitters, and Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina getting old and creaky, it was a move that had to be done.

Much to everyone's surprise Joe Girardi revealed that Joba will NOT be sent to the minors at all in the attempt to stretch out his arm and assist in the transition. Conceivably, Joba could become the long man in the pen until he's ready for more innings.

In more nonsensical news, the NY Post has a blurb stating that Derek Jeter's latest catch is Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly.

Don't have a cow man. Both of the scheduled starters, Chien-Ming Wang and Felix Hernandez, for Saturday's Yankees-Mariners game are iffy with mild calf strains.

The Yankees will be ending their 11 year sponsorship deal with Adidas at the end of the season. They've signed a new 5 year mega deal that with Nike that will kick off in '09.

As part of their coverage of Asian Heritage Month, NY1 has a feature on Johnny Damon's work in the Asian community. Damon's mom is of Thai heritage and the Yankees left fielder takes pride in his background. He hopes to serve as a role model and wants to encourage Asian youngsters to play baseball. That being said, this quote almost sounds like he's stereotyping his own culture.

“I can spread the word and people are seeing now that an Asian ballplayer can be in front of a mic and when he talks people listen,” says Damon. “Asians who look at me probably think I talk well in front of a camera and hopefully it just gives them the courage and the confidence to do it themselves.”

While we appreciate Damon's heritage and his pride, he's never come across as particularly articulate or bright. His quote kind of backs that up.