Yankee Stadium's Misfits of Row X

Knicks - Season Opener..

D'Antonio straight talks on Curry

JOBA drinking and driving: Watch your step

Joba Chamberlain was arrested on Saturday, blowing a blood alcohol level of .134, the legal limit is .08.  Joba also had an open container of beer in the car, which to me is just plain bold stupidity. Its bad enough to drink too much and then get behind the wheel - but to add a potential slap in the face to a police officer who "may" later pull him over by having an open container? - C'mon man.

It wasn't even a year ago that Jim Leyritz drinking and driving was all over the papers for killing a woman married with children.

STUPID STUPID STUPID

Whats going on Joba? Please, get some help.

Addictions - any and all of them - can be deadly. I am not saying the kid has a drinking problem. This is JOBA's first strike, lets hope that he gets some help.  But for someone who is born of a parent with alcohol problems(his mom), once the seal is broken, things can get very dicey. Thats just "ADDICTION 101".

I think he is a good kid, and sounds sincerely contrite, and best of all, he sounds embarrassed. His fear of the police, and the fact that I believe he is embarrassed should help him learn to say no and make better decisions in related situations.

As a fan naturally I am dissapointed, and slightly surprise, but as a person I am concerned. Considering that alcoholism and substance abuse are internal processes born largely from DNA, and his mother deals with those issues, there is cause for concern. 

Lets say he got lucky this time and now will receive preventative help and be watched closely for future signals of transgressions

To Hank and Cashman: TAKE THIS JOBA and SHOVE IT!

It wasn't bad enough watching IAN KENNEDY and PHIL HUGHES fall flat on their faces last year in a role that should've been assumed by Johan Santana. Now, to make matters worse, word has come down that Joba Chamberlain is going to be in the starting rotation in 2009, which in my opinion, increases tremendously the chance of injury for him.  Last year's wave of a mistake in not grabbing Santana is now loudly rippling into 2009.

As brilliant as Joba could be as a starter he does little help to a postseason push if he cannot be there for the full season. My contention is that he will break down - again - when placed in a starter's role.

There is a point in Joba's delivery after he releases the pitch and brings his arm across his body that makes his shoulder very susceptible to injury.  You can freeze frame a picture at the point when his hand is followed through as far to his glove side as it goes - and you can see his shoulder bullwhip back. 

For the record, I shared this point of view with several peers in July of 2007 after I went through a few pictures I took at the game. I have no MLB pedigree, and just as Rocky called himself a "ham and egger" when they asked him to spar with Apollo Creed way back in the Academy Award Winning original ROCKY, I am aware that I don't have the 'on paper' credibility of a Major League Pitching Talent evaluator - BUT NIETHER DO ANY OF THE PEOPLE IN THAT ROOM!!  I know pitching basics, and a little beyond, and I see a significant mechanical vulnerability. I hope I am wrong.

Joba is in freak peak physical condition, is very young, but still saw significant time on the DL last year because of what they called shoulder tendinitis.  Tendinitis happens from muscle imbalance and overuse. When joints don't move perfectly, or smoothly they are taxed - Joba's violent finish taxes his shoulder.  He finished the season on the disabled list with 100 innings pitched, and had started 12 games? 12 starts - thats about 1/3 of what he'd be expected to start over a full season.

This is why you can't have baseball incompetents runnning a team and making the big baseball decisions.

Among those in attendance at the meetings were Hank and fellow co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine, COO Lonn Trost, general manager Brian Cashman, assistant GM Jean Afterman, vice presidents Mark Newman, Gene Michael and Felix Lopez, and advisers Reggie Jackson and Tino Martinez. The meetings lasted into the night and are expected to continue Friday.

There is not one single pitcher in that group, (I don't believe that Mark Newman was a pitcher in his day). Suits and nepotists Hank, Hal, Levine, Trost, Cashman, Lopez, and Afterman make up 70% of the decision making group. 70%!!! The other 30%, albeit good professional baseball people, were not pitchers and I just can't imagine them having the necessary breadth of pitching knowledge to appreciate the finer nuances of why asking Joba to throw 200 innings is asking for trouble.

Tell me why - out of that hat full of people - you could possibly expect an intelligent decision to be made on a pitcher? YOU CAN'T!! I realize that they may not have been the only ones there, but I can't imagine there being many more than 10 people there.  Why no old-timer pitchers, old timer catchers? Why wasn't Pat McMahon from the SI Yankees there, whom, to my knowledge has an excellent background in pitching?  Tom House has an entire computerized analaysis program with electrodes and everything for measuring and evaluating mechanics and efficiency of motion.  How about Dennis Eckersley who did time in the pen and as a starter? 

If the system that you are using to make big decisions on pitchers and pitching consistently fails you need to alter your process, anything less is uncivilized.

Trust me, there is at least one extremely knowledgeable and useful resource out there who could use a few bucks.

How about Gossage, he is merely a Hall of Famer? Whitey Ford? Or call in a renowned College Pitching coach like Derek Johnson at Vanderbilt University, he had 6 pitchers drafted from his 2008 team. Bring in some people who are actually getting results instead of just using charts with names. stats, and salaries like the big one Brian Cashman has up across his office wall.

The Yankees continue to have the absolute most resources in baseball - but produce nothing but garbage from their pitching lineage. The good ones? - Mariano Rivera, Wang, and Andy Pettitte over the last 25 plus years, and now Joba whom they are setting up for failure. There are easily 10 teams in baseball whom have produced more home grown pitching over the same time period.

$200 million and they cannot come up with a better team for evaluating pitching talent. Stupid is as stupid does.

This Yankee organization is doomed as long as the current baseball decision-making hierarchy is in place. They can't make a right decision.  Thank you Yankee organization for continuing your systemic destruction of what was once a hopeful Championship team.

Baby Hughes-eee garners very relevant award in Arizona Fall League - I know I feel better

Torre reminds us of postseasons past

Stringless Marionette Meacham Finally gone, takes oversized helmet with him

D'Antoni's straight talk for the crooked walk