Home
Gallery
Register
Log in
Johnny Damon is first to step up to plate and second-guess Yankee decision on Joba Chamberlain (below). Laham/Getty
You can feel the concern creeping into the Yankee clubhouse. By now the Yankees are practically the home office for slow starts, but the players are all too aware that improved pitching throughout the American League East means it won't be so easy to bludgeon their way to the top this year.
"We've seen that early on this year," Johnny Damon was saying at his locker Tuesday. "It's going to be tough to push across a lot of runs. So every game is precious.
"We've gotta win the games we should win. We didn't do that on the last road trip. We could have been 5-2. Instead, we went 3-4. That's a big swing."
We've gotta win the games we should win.
In the language of ballplayers, that translates to not blowing games in the late innings. Which brings us to - what else? - the Joba Chamberlain debate.
Don't think Chamberlain's move to the rotation isn't being second-guessed in the Yankee clubhouse. Not that anyone doubts he has the goods to be a No. 1 starter. The argument is where he helps the Yankees most right now, and I get the impression that if players voted by secret ballot, there would be a strong majority to send him back to the bullpen.
Damon didn't come right out and say he opposed the move, as he spoke before Wednesday night's 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays. But he made it clear that he feels the Yankees had a better chance to succeed with Joba and Mariano Rivera teaming to lock down games in the late innings.
"I just felt like our bullpen was our strength," Damon said. "I think it still could be, but when you move a guy like that, everyone's trying to find a role. Everyone's trying to replace a guy who was possibly the best in that role.
"I remember the teams the Yankees won (championships) with, if they were winning after five innings, it was pretty much game over. We kind of felt that way this year. If we were winning after six, we had (Kyle) Farnsworth in the seventh, Joba in the eighth, and Mariano in the ninth - we thought it was game over.
"Now, instead, we're trying to find out who's best suited for that eighth-inning role."
Wednesday night it was game over when the bullpen backed up Mike Mussina with three scoreless innings, including one from Farnsworth in the eighth with a four-run lead. Still, Farnsworth's track record indicates he's less than reliable in pressure situations, which is where Chamberlain excelled.
Thus the sense of uncertainty. A couple of other players have offered similar opinions privately. It matters because if players have this in their heads, when a game is lost in the late innings it could weigh on a ballclub.
Damon says he understands the organization's thinking, yet can't help wondering if the Yankee brass is getting ahead of itself.
"We're trying to figure out what's going to be best for the team," said Damon, "and in the long run, that's what they're looking at. You'd have a starting rotation of (Phil) Hughes, Joba, Ian (Kennedy), and Chien-Ming Wang in the future. That's pretty good."
As for the present, Damon believes that in spite of the failures of Hughes and Kennedy, the starting pitching would have been good enough to take advantage of the bullpen strength Chamberlain provided.
"I think we were still getting games into the late innings, and our offense is going to keep getting better," said Damon. "Now, you see what happens."
Damon seemed to be referring to losses in Baltimore and Minnesota on the recent road trip that were decided in the late innings, when the presence of Chamberlain in the pen might have changed the equation.
He also compared moving Joba to doing something dramatic with Derek Jeter in the lineup.
"You don't take Jeter out of the two-hole and put him in the seven-hole just because you're leaving the '4' and '5' guys on base," he said. "You let him do what he does best."
Damon wouldn't go so far as question the organization's intent to win this season. Then again, maybe it depends how you interpret this bit of analysis:
"You understand the game, you understand the cycles," he said of himself. "This team is starting to get some of their drafted players up to the big leagues, and it's been a long time for them. You've gotta understand cycles of the game. This is one of them."
Finally, I asked Damon point-blank if he would have kept Chamberlain in the bullpen.
"You know what?" he said with a smile. "It's not up to me. But I like winning ballgames."
It doesn't mean the Yankees have a mutiny in the clubhouse, or that they still can't reach the playoffs for a 14th straight season. But it could mean the front office, at least for the moment, has stolen a bit of belief from its own players.
jharper@nydailynews.com
You can feel the concern creeping into the Yankee clubhouse. By now the Yankees are practically the home office for slow starts, but the players are all too aware that improved pitching throughout the American League East means it won't be so easy to bludgeon their way to the top this year.
"We've seen that early on this year," Johnny Damon was saying at his locker Tuesday. "It's going to be tough to push across a lot of runs. So every game is precious.
"We've gotta win the games we should win. We didn't do that on the last road trip. We could have been 5-2. Instead, we went 3-4. That's a big swing."
We've gotta win the games we should win.
In the language of ballplayers, that translates to not blowing games in the late innings. Which brings us to - what else? - the Joba Chamberlain debate.
Don't think Chamberlain's move to the rotation isn't being second-guessed in the Yankee clubhouse. Not that anyone doubts he has the goods to be a No. 1 starter. The argument is where he helps the Yankees most right now, and I get the impression that if players voted by secret ballot, there would be a strong majority to send him back to the bullpen.
Damon didn't come right out and say he opposed the move, as he spoke before Wednesday night's 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays. But he made it clear that he feels the Yankees had a better chance to succeed with Joba and Mariano Rivera teaming to lock down games in the late innings.
"I just felt like our bullpen was our strength," Damon said. "I think it still could be, but when you move a guy like that, everyone's trying to find a role. Everyone's trying to replace a guy who was possibly the best in that role.
"I remember the teams the Yankees won (championships) with, if they were winning after five innings, it was pretty much game over. We kind of felt that way this year. If we were winning after six, we had (Kyle) Farnsworth in the seventh, Joba in the eighth, and Mariano in the ninth - we thought it was game over.
"Now, instead, we're trying to find out who's best suited for that eighth-inning role."
Wednesday night it was game over when the bullpen backed up Mike Mussina with three scoreless innings, including one from Farnsworth in the eighth with a four-run lead. Still, Farnsworth's track record indicates he's less than reliable in pressure situations, which is where Chamberlain excelled.
Thus the sense of uncertainty. A couple of other players have offered similar opinions privately. It matters because if players have this in their heads, when a game is lost in the late innings it could weigh on a ballclub.
Damon says he understands the organization's thinking, yet can't help wondering if the Yankee brass is getting ahead of itself.
"We're trying to figure out what's going to be best for the team," said Damon, "and in the long run, that's what they're looking at. You'd have a starting rotation of (Phil) Hughes, Joba, Ian (Kennedy), and Chien-Ming Wang in the future. That's pretty good."
As for the present, Damon believes that in spite of the failures of Hughes and Kennedy, the starting pitching would have been good enough to take advantage of the bullpen strength Chamberlain provided.
"I think we were still getting games into the late innings, and our offense is going to keep getting better," said Damon. "Now, you see what happens."
Damon seemed to be referring to losses in Baltimore and Minnesota on the recent road trip that were decided in the late innings, when the presence of Chamberlain in the pen might have changed the equation.
He also compared moving Joba to doing something dramatic with Derek Jeter in the lineup.
"You don't take Jeter out of the two-hole and put him in the seven-hole just because you're leaving the '4' and '5' guys on base," he said. "You let him do what he does best."
Damon wouldn't go so far as question the organization's intent to win this season. Then again, maybe it depends how you interpret this bit of analysis:
"You understand the game, you understand the cycles," he said of himself. "This team is starting to get some of their drafted players up to the big leagues, and it's been a long time for them. You've gotta understand cycles of the game. This is one of them."
Finally, I asked Damon point-blank if he would have kept Chamberlain in the bullpen.
"You know what?" he said with a smile. "It's not up to me. But I like winning ballgames."
It doesn't mean the Yankees have a mutiny in the clubhouse, or that they still can't reach the playoffs for a 14th straight season. But it could mean the front office, at least for the moment, has stolen a bit of belief from its own players.
jharper@nydailynews.com
