Joba Gets Bombed And Not In The Good Way, Yanks Fall To Mariners 7-1

It was a good thing it was Sunday yesterday. I was so disgusted at watching Joba pitch that I had to change the channel. Thank God football was on. I checked in periodically to see if the score had changed and it never did. I wrote yesterday after the 1st inning that it looked like bad Joba was in the house. The 2nd inning confirmed that. He was/is terrible. His ERA is now up to 4.72. Yikes. He's been bad lately. Here's his line over his last 8 starts: 31 IP, 44 hits, 14 walks, 30 ER, and 22 K. His WHIP is 1.87 and his ERA is 8.71. Opponents are hitting .331 against him in those 8 games. You can't be successful in the bigs with numbers like that.

The thing that gets me the most is that Joba doesn't seem to acknowledge his suckinees. I understand being cocky and thinking you're the shizzle, but come on now. Here are some of Joba's comments (from Pete Abe's blog):

“My delivery was great. I threw some great changeups. My slider velocity was great. My fastball velocity was more consistent. … It’s going to take a lot more than this to get my confidence level down, I’ll tell you that much. You can kick me as much as you want but I’m going to come back fighting every time. That’s how I live this life and that’s how I play this game of baseball.”

OK. I can understand thinking you had a good game when you didn't if you think that once. But Joba has made similar comments in the past after sub-par outings. WTF? Is Joba's head so far up his rump that he's oblivious to the fact that he's not pitching very well? Joba isn't doing anything to earn a spot in the playoff rotation. If anything, the opposite is happening. If fans know best, and let's face it, we usually do (sarcasm), Joba wouldn't be the team's 4th starter come October. Pete Abe has a poll up asking the question, Who should be the #4 starter in the postseason. Joba is 3rd in votes, behind Chad Gaudin (1st) and Alfredo Aceves (2nd). Aceves got my vote. I'm not sold on Gaudin. I'm not 100% sold on Ace either but i feel better about him than Gaudin. Both would get my vote over Joba. Looks like Jobamania is dying. Maybe it's even on life support.

I have a feeling that Yankee fans out there are starting to sweat the Red Sox. Don't. I still think there's nothing to worry about. I wish I had something magical to say to calm everyone's fears, but I don't. They've definitely got an easy schedule right now. 6 games with the 2 worst teams in the AL. Not a bad time to face those guys. The series this weekend could be pretty big. The Yankees just need to worry about one thing and that's the Yankees. Don't worry about anyone else. I wrote yesterday that the team that the team probably doesn't care if they win the division or not. I'm sure they care a little. As Jason from Heartland Pinstripes pointed out in the comments, it means no ALDS in Anaheim and no ALCS in Fenway. The Yanks are good on the road but they're better at home. They'd obviously love to finish the season atop the AL. He makes a good argument. But at the end of the day, making the playoffs is the main goal. That's pretty much a given at this point. But I really don't think it's anything to worry about. They just need to win their games. Big start tonight for Andy Pettitte. Hope the wing is working.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie