Joba in the pen, please (Rangers 6, Yanks 3)

I said I wasn't going to weigh in on tired subjects. But this is now effecting the team negatively. Below I'll provide the answer to the question, "Should Joba be a starter or should he a set-up man?" But first,

This is a game where the Yankees bullpen simply got out pitched.

The pitching lines tell the story:

Aceves: 2 innnings 3 runs 4 hits
Coke: 1 inning 1 run 1 hit

For Texas,

Jennings: .2 innings 0 runs 2 hits

Wilson: .2 innnings 0 runs 0 hits

O'Day: 1 inning 0 runs 1 hit

The case for Joba to be a setup man:

Joba threw only 84 pitches in just 4 innings of work. After giving up a leadoff homer in the 4th, he retired the remaining Rangers in order. Why, then, wasn't he in for the 5th inning?

Girardi's treatment of Joba has continued to be rather strange. Last time out Joba struck out several hitters in a row...and was then removed in the 6th as boos rained down. If Girardi is so intent on having Joba start, why not give him the innings that a starter gets? Is he so fragile that any overworking will doom his arm forever? If that's the case, then surely he's more valuable in the pen. While Joba may pitch fewer innings from the pen, he will certainly have a lower ERA. And his presence will shorten the game 2-4 nights a week.

Joba does his best pitching when he is able to let go and fire away. This is only possible after his pitch count reaches about 30 or 40. Let's look at Joba's ERA and WHIP by pitch count:

Pitches: ERA: WHIP:

1-15 7.50 2.50 (Consistently starts poorly)
16-30 11.57 1.86 (Still holding back)

31-45 2.46 1.58 (Transitions to power pitching)
46-60 0.00 1.20 (Now at full force, he is dominant)

61-75 1.13 1.25 (Pwnage. Joba's setup potential.)

76-90 2.45 1.09 (WHIP low as domination intensifies)

91-120 0.00 --- (4 inn, 5 hits, no ER)

Judging from this table, Joba is able to deliver anywhere from 45-80 pitches at full force, thus dominating the opposition, every 5 days. The rest of the time, he is mediocre. This means that although Joba's pitch count reaches 90 or 100, his quality pitch count only reaches about 70 every 5 days.

As a reliever, Joba would be throwing at the level he throws when his pitch count is between 31-90 ALL THE TIME. And 70 quality pitches over 5 days is about what you would expect from a set up man, NOT a starter. A starter would throw 100-110.

Joba may learn to start games better. And it's been said that he "has 4 pitches". It remains to be seen whether some of those pitches are overrated. What we do know is that after two months of Joba starting, one thing is clear. The way things are right now, Joba is more valuable to the team as a reliever because he would be making more quality pitches, and fewer mediocre ones.