Yanks Winning the Metaphorical Arms Race, Losing the Literal One

First Joba, now Phil...have the Yanks completely lost their ability to develop and maintain young pitching?  And is Banuelos the next victim?

If one were to analogize 20th century baseball to the Cold War, the New York Yankees would undoubtedly be the United States.  They have accrued more championships, more legendary players, more fans, and more financial resources over that time than any other franchise in the sport, just like...America...er, did...back then.  Frankly, there is no Russia in this comparison.  This arms race isn't even close.

However, over the last twenty years or so, the Bronx Bombers have become more representative of the post-Cold War United States.  Just as our country has gone from the great producer of the world's commodities to the great consumer of them, so to have the Yankees gone from the great breeder of heroic players to the great purchaser.  Of course, this transition from an amateur signing/farm-based franchise to a market-based one didn't occur overnight; the Reggie Jacksons, Catfish Hunters, and Dave Winfields helped pave the way to the contemporary era of pinstripe money ball.  But the focus has shifted drastically in recent times, particularly over the past 9 or 10 seasons.



As a result, it appears that the organization has lost its knack for developing and managing young talent.  Either they lose patience and trade their prospects away, or they bury them on the bench behind older players, never allotting them the necessary playing time to polish their skills at the highest level.  Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera (the latter traded away after his best season...oh, how I miss you, Melk Man) stand as the only exceptions to this rule in terms of position players.  In terms of pitchers?  Not a single young arm has come out of the Yankee farm system in the last 10 seasons that has had sustained success with the team.  In this regard, the pinstripes are literally losing baseball's arms race.





This evokes a slew of concerns:  Has the franchise lost its ability to foster and develop young arms?  Will they continue to allow the free agent market and the whims of players like Cliff Lee to dictate the strength of their rotation?  What is it about the Yankees and their strategy when dealing with young pitchers that has created this issue?





Recently DL-ed Phil Hughes was diagnosed with a 'dead arm.'
Is he destined to become the next Joba?



Let's have a look at the most recent episode in this unfolding narrative.  The team recently placed 24-year old starter Phil Hughes on the disabled list with what they are calling a "dead arm."  This coming after three disastrous outings to start the year in which he has posted a 13.93 ERA in just 10.1 innings.

From the hurler's mouth:  "My arm strength's not there.  My arm feels dead."

Despite an 18-8 record, a 4.18 ERA, and an All-Star selection in 2010, Hughes entered the offseason as somewhat of a lingering question mark. He pitched brilliantly through the first half of last year, then lost some of his edge after the break, before finishing with a disappointing ALCS performance against the Rangers. When scouts and coaches noticed a drop in his velocity at the start of spring training, that question mark grew a lot larger. And instead of allowing him to work through this issue, the Yankees decided to limit his preseason work, thinking that the rest would allow Phil to recover his arm strength.

Wait...this story is starting to sound awfully familiar, no?  Let's continue.

The result?  A #2 power pitcher who has completely lost his power and no doubt some of his confidence.  Had Hughes complained of pain or discomfort in his arm, I would have understood the move to truncate his spring outings.  But as far as I know, this wasn't the case, and instead of encouraging Hughes to throw more to regain his zip, management did the opposite:  they babied him.

New York's two biggest pitching prospects in recent memory have both been subjected to heavy innings limits.  In my view, this has had an adverse effect on their health and their careers, and I'm sure I'm not the only member of the Universe that feels this way.

First there was Joba Chamberlain and the infamous "Joba Rules" that significantly limited his usage out of the bullpen in 2007, his rookie year.  In 2008, he was told he would start the year in the bullpen once again, but due to the insistence of owner Hank Steinbrenner, Joba was inserted into the starting rotation in June.  Naturally, the leash was short; Joba averaged a shade over 5.1 IP and 94 pitches over 12 starts before being bounced back to the pen.


Frequent role switches and strict usage limits hurt
 the once unlimited potential of Joba Chamberlain



Flash forward to 2009, the Yankees alerted Joba that he would be a full-fledged starter well before the beginning of the season.  The theory was that with plenty of time to properly prepare for his role in the rotation, Chamberlain would have a better chance of succeeding on the bump.  However, it appeared that the physical and psychological damage had been done.  Joba struggled with his consistency throughout the regular season, ending with a 4.75 ERA through 157.1 IP.  Though he pitched well as a reliever in the playoffs, the drop off in his control, movement, and velocity from his debut campaign was tremendous, if not depressing.

Flash forward once again to 2010.  Chamberlain is now told that he is competing for a spot in the rotation with none other than Phil Hughes.  If he doesn't win it, it's back to the pen.  Let's recap: you burst onto the scene as an unhittable set-up man, then you're converted to a starter mid-season, then you're crammed into the rotation the next season, then you're thrust into a competition for a spot with the other young power righty on the team the season after that.  And all the while as you're being bounced back and forth from season to season, the organization is babying your arm, never allowing you to build the kind of arm and body endurance that you need in order to succeed in this league.  I'm sorry, but you're not going to convince me that this kind of extreme protectionism is benficical long term.

Now it appears that Phil is suffering a similar fate.  Unlike Joba, Hughes began his career as a starter, and the Yankees never seemed to waver in their intention to use him as a starting pitcher long-term.  He was moved to the bullpen in 2009 (a move that admittedly worked to perfection), only becuase the team needed to make room for Chien-Ming Wang.  When he returned to the starter's role last year, the Yankees undoubtedly placed him under stringent pithcing limits, in what was an undivulged version of the "Joba Rules."  Is it true that Phil has been injury prone throughout his young career?  Yes, but none of those injuries involved his arm.  Yet the Yankees babied him, just as they did Chamberlain, and the year after he's pitched his first full seasonas a starter he suddenly has a "dead arm" issue.

How is it that both Joba and Phil suddenly lost their arm strength over the course of a couple seasons, during years that they are supposed to be in their physical prime?  Could it be that the obsession with their pitch counts, innings totals, and all those skipped starts actually weakened their arms, their stamina, and their psychological rhythym, especially in Joba's case?

The most incredible part about all this is that while the Yankees have been overly protective of their young starters, they have been overly liberal when it comes to using effective relievers.  Scott Proctor (83 appearances in '06 and'07), Paul Quantrill (86 in '04), and Tom Gordon (80 in '04, 79 in '05) stand out as sad examples of pitchers who had every last ounce of juice squeezed out of them by former manager Joe Torre and his managerial staff.

This issue was dug up a couple of weeks ago after GM Brian Chasman came under fire for his comments about how it was unfortunate that the Mets burnt out reliever Pedro Feliciano.  When the media cited these relievers as evidence of Yankee hypocrisy, Cashman was quick to push Torre off the subway platform and under the 4-train.  Mysteriously, Torre had no comment about the matter.  Not so media friendly now, are you Uncle Joe?

So Joe Torre burned out relievers, Joe Girardi babies young starters, and the happy-medium lies...where exactly?  Girardi, while he has yet to approach the gross overusage of the Torre regime, seems to be leaining on the JoSoMo trio quite heavily so far this year.  He pulled bonafide ace C.C. Sabathia from a 4-0 game in the seventh inning, despite the two-hit masterpiece he was spinning.

His excuse?  It's early April. It's cold. Besides, Soriano is my eighth inning guy.  Oh boy.  Here we go again.

It should be very interesting to see how Girardi and the franchise handle Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances, the Yankees two top pitching prospects, assuming they don't trade them away.  Will they be babied into injury and mental fragility?  Or will the Yankees actually allow common sense and the natural trajectory of their progression to determine how they incorporate these youngsters?  My money is on a trade for some washed-up former "ace" at the deadline.  Hey, gotta keep pace in that arms race, right?