Joe Girardi has announced The Joba Rules, Version 3.0.
After watching Joba Chamberlain’s ineffective start on extra rest this week, the Yankees are now moving the fragile right-hander back into the regular five-man rotation.
The innings limit for the season will remain, though, and Chamberlain will be pulled after just a few innings in several of his upcoming starts.
“The bottom line is for us to win games and get the best out of players,” Girardi said. “In evaluating what happened, it looked like it was working great. He came out of the break and was lights out. But we think that a change needed to be made. We were listening to him and talking amongst ourselves.”
The Yankees had been giving Chamberlain extra rest between starts in an effort to keep his workload below a team-imposed innings limit, which Girardi revealed is 180, including the playoffs.
The Rangers roughed up the 23-year-old up for seven runs in four innings on Tuesday, leading Girardi to tweak the plan.
The Yankees manager talked with pitching coach Dave Eiland and general manager Brian Cashman after Tuesday’s game, mulled it over then told Chamberlain of the change before tonight’s game with the White Sox.
“We’ve always had a plan back and forth,” Chamberlain said. “We tried it. It didn’t work. We’re going to try this and I think it’s going to be great. It’s something that I’m looking forward to.”
Chamberlain has pitched 130 2/3 innings this season. He probably has six or seven more starts in the regular season. Girardi said the team feels there’s a “danger” to pitching him more than 180 innings. With that in mind, Chamberlain will probably be limited to three innings in his next few starts, then the workload will be increased as team prepares him for the postseason.
“The important thing is to make sure by the end of [September] that he’s extremely ready to go,” Girardi said.
The adjustment to the plan comes with rosters set to expand on Tuesday, giving Girardi more relievers to work with. The team hopes to have him at 100-110 pitches by the end of the season. Once the playoffs come Girardi said it’s, “all hands on deck” and the limits will be off.
Chamberlain has had three rough outings. The start against the Rangers came on eight days’ rest an ended with him throwing 44 pitches in the fourth inning.
Chamberlain is 8-4 with a 4.34 ERA this season, his first as a full-time starter.
The Yankees have handled Chamberlain with kid gloves since arrival in August 2007, hoping to avoid the arm injuries that have derailed other young pitchers.
“I’ve learned to be very patient in the three years I’ve been here,” Chamberlain said. “The Joba Rules are still going strong. I still see the T-shirts every once in a while. But it’s better. It’s going to make everything better in the long run.”
Girardi said he does not feel handcuffed by the innings limit and everyone in the organization believes this will help Chamberlain in the future.
“The overall concern is not just this year,” Girardi said. “It’s his long-term future as a starter. We had to weigh the benefits of that. We feel, for the player, we think we’ll get more out of him this way.”