Tyler Kepner Returns to End the Joba Chamberlain Debate

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times is a very good reporter and writer; however, he has to go on vacation sometime. Last week, when he was out, somebody else posted on the Times Bats blog and said that Joba Chamberlain should move back to the bullpen.

Starting with Peter Abraham’s blog, it started a storm of responses and none that I can remember were in support of not Kepner’s view. Apparently, nobody thinks that the best place to use Joba is in the 'pen. After all, we all watched as he anchored the rotation in the middle of the season until missing some time with tendinitis.

Today, Kepner came back from vacation and apparently even he doesn’t agree with his vacation replacement.

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“To me — and to the Yankees, from what I can tell — there’s really no debate anymore about Joba Chamberlain’s role. Look, the Yankees already have a lights-out setup man: Brian Bruney. In 31 games from the bullpen last season, Bruney’s earned run average was 1.95, and opponents hit .153. In 30 games from the bullpen last season, Chamberlain’s E.R.A. was 2.31, and opponents hit .211. So, Bruney was actually better. Besides, if the Yankees make the playoffs, Chamberlain will probably have thrown so many innings as a starter that he’ll have to be a reliever in October, anyway. Chamberlain has the stuff to be an elite starter, and Bruney has the stuff to be an elite setup man — with the top prospect Mark Melancon poised to contribute as well. To me, it’s really pretty simple.”

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Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to consider Brian Bruney a lights-out set-up man, but he is certainly capable of contributing in that role. He also makes a good point about Joba coming out of the 'pen during the playoffs. So those fans who yearn for the days of August 2007 can relive those memories.

This just goes to show that when Kepner is not around, maybe it’s best to stay away from the Times.