Joba Rules

The talk at Spring Training mostly has surrounded around steroids these days. Andy Pettitte reported on Monday and held a one-hour press conference to discuss his use of HGH and Alex Rodriguez showed up on Wednesday and he was asked questions right away (remember, Jose Canseco and John Rocker both have accused A-Rod of using performance enhancing drugs). I am here to change the discussion to something much more positive and much more important. What to do with the amazing Joba Chamberlain? The Yankees have been saying all off-season that he was preparing to be in the starting rotation but just last week a New York newspaper cited a team source as saying Joba would begin the year in the bullpen and later move into the rotation. The Yankees then said, again, he was going to prepare all spring to be a starter and they would make their decision closer to the beginning of the season. This is a decision that could be the key to whether the Yankees make the playoffs or not and it is a very difficult decision to make.

Joba came to the Yankees from the minor leagues in early August and never have I seen a player become a fan favorite so fast. Within weeks people were wearing “Joba Rules” tee shirts and Chamberlain jerseys. It was well-deserved praise for the set-up man with a 0.38 era in his first two big league months. Joba was dominant in his role for the Yankees down the stretch and was as important as any player in their success of making the playoffs. He was able to go one or two innings and take the load off of Mariano Rivera. He also lessened the stress for Kyle Farnsworth, Luis Vizciano and Ron Villone. With his high 90’s fastball and devastating slider Joba, definitely did rule. If he is back in the bullpen this season there is no reason not to believe he won’t do more of the same, his stuff is that nasty. Being in the bullpen this season would also keep his innings down for the future because the Yankees do say, no matter what, one day he will be a starter. And having Joba as the guy handing the ball to Mo makes the Yankees bullpen a strength of the team. This move is safe because the Yankees know what he can do as a reliever but is it the best move for the team, this year or in the future?

Joba Chamberlain has always been a starting pitcher. He has always had the luxury of knowing when he was going to be pitching. He thrived in that role last year in the minors, before the Yankees moved him to the bullpen. Chamberlain projects (from Keith Law of ESPN) to have four above average pitches. He has his great fastball and slider, both of which baseball fans have seen. He also posses a big curveball that he uses mainly to keep hitters off balance and continues to work on his change-up, which is an average pitch as of right now. Putting Joba in the rotation gives you a much better rotation and you don’t have to rely so much on Mike Mussina (who knows what he has left) and Ian Kennedy (who scouts only project to be a number three starter down the road). Using Joba as a starter gives you a nasty 1-2-3 punch of Wang-Pettitte-Chamberlain. It also puts him back to the position he is most used too, starting games. In the rotation you would get around 150 innings from Joba instead of just 60 or 70 if you use him out of the bullpen. Isn’t it better to have your best pitchers throw as many innings as possible? The other argument is that without a quality start there may be no need for the bullpen because you may be losing. Isn’t the bullpen irrelevant if the starter can’t pitch well enough to have a lead in the 5th or 6th inning? As of now the Yankees rotation looks to be very inconsistent and adding Joba too the mix would definitely make them better. I understand a good bullpen is key to a team but how many teams have found lightening in a bottle over the past five years and lucked into a great set-up man. Remember, Hideki Okajima was brought over more to help Dice-K’s move to America and he ended being one of the best set-up men in the game. Also, if the bullpen isn’t working through half of the year, the Yankees have great arms in the minors that they could convert into relievers, much like they did with Joba last season. Humberto Sanchez anyone?

It is a very touchy subject and it seems to me the Yankees are scared about making the wrong choice. If they make Joba a starter and he struggles in his first year people will be complaining that they should have left him in the bullpen, where we know he can succeed. And if they use him as a reliever and the rotation has problems you will be hearing those same people talking about how if Joba was the three starter the problems wouldn’t be there. In the end, it comes down to one thing, who is more important, a number three starter who could be your number one by the time the season is over, or a dominant set-up man who pitches one or two innings every time out. To me it is simple, without a good start your bullpen is useless and the Yankees don’t have the luxury to mess around, they need their rotation to be the best it can be. The offense can only get you so far. If a few games are blown this year in the 7th or 8th inning because Joba wasn’t back there to pitch just think about all the games he starts and the 12-15 games he wins, at least, this year. Joba Chamberlain is more valuable in the starting rotation for the 2008 New York Yankees. Maybe next year they sign CC Sabathia, Pettitte comes back, Wang continues to be great and Phil Hughes proves to be the stud people think he will be, then it is time to think about moving Joba into the set-up role but for now, he should be a starter. When you think about it, this is a good problem to have because wherever the Yankees use him, there is no denying, Joba will rule.

Life in the "City of Losers"

Everything was just perfect around here only two weeks ago, literally. The Sox had won their 2nd title in four years, the Celtics are back and own the best record in the NBA and the Patriots were storming through the NFL on their way to the perfect 19-0 season. It was all going too well. The Boston fans were living the life. They didn't know what to do with themselves, this city has never experienced this kind of success. In the '80's, the best decade for sports in this city, the Celtics were dominating and won three rings, the Pats were a very good team and played in a Superbowl (which they lost) and even the Red Sox were competitive. But to take away from everything this city was doing in the '80's Bill Buckner let that ball slip through his legs in 1986 and basically the city never rebounded from that loss. And when you walked around this city all fall and into the winter you could see the look on people's faces. No one could believe this was happening to their city, their teams. Everything was going great but on Superbowl Sunday everything changed. And now you walk around this city and everything is back to normal. The look on everyone's face is back, this city is again the "City of Losers" and to be honest with you, I think they kind of like it.

Since the day I can remember people who rooted for Boston sports team loved to do one thing, they loved to bitch and complain about sports. The fans around here are like a women who just complains because it's easier then actually doing something. It's funny to watch. I go into the heart of this city everyday for school and it is obvious to see, the complaining is back. My teacher told me the refs cost the Pats the game, classmates said the Giants just got lucky and it would be different next year. And with that everything clicked into my mind, "just wait till next year", their favorite saying was back. The fans were back. And I couldn't be happier.

The Patriots gear went away, I assume it will be back out in August but who knows. The funny part is that I expected to see Red Sox and Celtics gear to come out. The Red Sox report to Spring Training today as the defending champs and the Celtics still have the best NBA record. But it didn't. I was shocked, wouldn't thinking about your other sports teams help you get over a heart breaking loss? I used the Giants season to forget about the Yankees still struggling in the playoffs. But then it hit me again, the fans around here don't want to get over this loss. They have been waiting for this to happen, the wins have been building up for awhile now and the fans around here needed this. Why focus on the Sox or C's when you can sit around and complain about the Superbowl, isn't that more fun anyway?

It's now been a week and a half since the Pats went down harder the Brady getting hit by Justin Tuck. And the fans around here are still loving it, still bitching about the refs, complaining about the offensive line or the defense not being able to get the big stop. This is one city where they have more fun losing. They may not like it as much and of course people around here root for their beloved teams to win every year but when they do loose the fans have more to say. They have more fun and deep down I think they may like it a little bit more. No matter how often their teams win, this will always be "They City of Losers" and if you ask me, that's just perfect for these fans.

Can I get some extra pus in that Mocha Frap?

Many people are anti-Starbucks because they are anti-chain. I get that. You don't like chains, you prefer independent owned coffee houses. If there was a independent coffee house around my neighborhood I would most definitely patronize it. But the fact is that there really isn't, so I end up going to Starbucks to get my biggest weakness, frappucinos.

Frappucinos and other drinks at Starbucks are pricey. But they are so darn tasty, so I justify the cost by assuring myself that they use top notch ingredients, right? Wrong.

Three-quarters of the contents of the average Starbucks drink is milk. Milk that contains Bovine Growth Hormone. Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) contains pus, antibiotics and growth hormones. Starbucks buys 24 million gallons of milk a year that come from cows that have been injected with rBGH. Bovine Growth Hormone is a genetically engineered drug which, injected into dairy cows, forces them to produce more milk but in the process, it seriously damages their health and reproductive capacity. One of the things that happens to these cows is that they become more susceptible to udder infections. When the cows are milked, the pus from the infection gets into the milk. The cows are also having their infections treated with antibiotics. This is how the antibiotics get into the milk. Being frequently exposed to antibiotics leads to the ineffectiveness of antibiotics in humans. Preliminary studies link Bovine Growth Hormone with increased risks of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and hypertension. Every industrialized country in the world, except for the US, has banned rBGH.

Now is the time to speak out. Demand that Starbucks use organic milk for their drinks and demand that they stop buying milk containing Bovine Growth Hormone.

Email Starbucks Now!

or snail mail Starbucks Corporate at:

Starbucks Corporate Headquarters
P.O. Box 34067
Seattle, WA 98124-1067

Weekend Entertainment

This weekend started out great- We went to D. Rowes to eat with our friends J-Dog and M-P and had a delicious meal. I LOVE the waffle fries at Rowes, they are the best in Columbia. H-girl didnt like the salmon very much, but I thought it was delicious. I ate a little of hers, but I had fish and chips for my meal. J-dog loved the beef brisket and M-girl raved about the veggie fajita she ordered.

After dinner, we went to the new Vince Vaughn Movie which was HILARIOUS! Vaughn is the man and we laughed the entire movie. The comics that came with him on tour were awesome because they were different in their own unique ways. It was an excellent ending to a great evening.

It was an awful sports weekend for me personally. I am not a NASCAR fan so I really didnt watch Dayton and Dale Jr.'s rode to victory. I cant get into college basketball yet uts too early in the season and so much is undecided about the post season and March Madness. The NBA is not something I am into right now either. So sports sucked this weekend.

H-girl and I went to see another movie last night, called Fools Gold. It wasnt great by any stretch of the imagination. This was a movie you can wait to see on DVD when it comes out.

That leads me to the question of the day and today its for Cramer- If Clemens is Gay, than due to his witness to a cock fight, Pedro Martinez is gay to, guilty by association! Witnessing a cock fight may be the gayest thing an athelete can do, its gayer than sticking a needle in your butt.

Heres my view on life right now- Life can be better, its cold in Missouri and I would rather be somewhere warmer- Sometimes I just dont understand why drivers in parking lots and merging into traffic swear and curse at either you or each other! Whats the deal with that? This stupid driver came up behind me and H-girl this past weekend and began honking and swearing, I didnt cut this person off- I just dont understand people sometime- Perhaps we need to let some people (The stupid people) out on Odd days and the Smart people out on even days, than just have ONE day to mingle and share stories- The fact is, people would have to clean up the mess the stupid people made the day before.

Thats all I got read me later in the week!

Feelings....

So, I've been feeling pretty crappy since last Friday! I went to the Dr. on Monday b/c I was having trouble breathing Friday night and then Sunday was waking up every hour or so sweating and then getting cold ect. so I went to the Dr. and found out I have an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection...although I could've bowed out of work that night with a doctor's note but I went anyway. Man, after work I was EXHAUSTED and I didn't even do much...Daniel came over and took care of me that night and Tuesday (which is my day off) But, I didn't get much of a day off b/c I had to pay rent and get my antibiotic and other things so I only got to relax for about 5 or 6 hours that day and then had to get up this morning and go to church for ash Wednesday. The mass this morning was pretty good. It gave me a sense of enthusiasm about Lent plus Daniel came with me and got ashes so that was fun! Then I went to work and got dizzy during my second class...all in all I just feel like crap! So, I called off for tomorrow and will make up the classes on Tuesday morning, no biggie, when I'm feeling better~ Anyway, enough of all this, I'm done---

Roger Clemens Might also be Gay

(Editors note: Cramer is not "Gay" he likes to use "gayness" to parody many serious topics of sports, he is getting married this summer and of course I am his best man...)

After witnessing Roger getting ready for his five hours with Congress, one could not help but notice the haircut he most likely received from a loving mother getting their son ready for the first day of school. This also helped me to realize that this whole situation is gay, as well as Roger himself. If one was to look back at Roger's Career they would notice a turn around after he met Mcnamee. Some say HGH and Roids, I think motivation and inspiration from a new found love. This of course was only to be complicated by a relationship later between Clemens and Pettitte. Could it be that Mcnamee in his jealous rage has named both of them for illegal drug use in order to feel he in the end has the upper hand for a desertion from a man who changed his life entirely. Many like to bring up Clemens roid rage events, on how he swung a bat at Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Now looking back at the situation is it not too hard to believe that one golden tipped hair catcher may have not felt a Yankee was worth his time. Clemens having been denied could not handle it and did what all of us make sure to avoid, he brought the relationship to the workplace. It's all too hard to say for now, but one thing is for certain.... If Roger Clemens isn't Gay then it must be the roids.

Hello World...

Whats up? This is my first created blog for a purpose. The purpose is to gain a screen/play writes novel full of material from posts by me, my friends and strangers. This blog will contain friends, family, newcomers as well as my viewpoints on the world and life. It will be a wide array of topics- As life has variety, so does this blog.

SO without further ado- This is ME:















Yes I look very excited- maybe because I am in class and BORED- I look forward to seeing posts by more people from my life very soon-