Results Are In!

Hey readers, hope everyone out there is staying safe in all this snow! I would like to thank all of you who voted in my most recent poll. I appreciate the consideration on the topic.

I don't know about everyone else, but I thought the Yankees need for middle relief last season was a blessing in disguise. Joba was touted as one of the next great starting pitchers for the Yanks, but lack of pitching in the bullpen forced him to change roles. This change was supposed to be temporary, but the rising star excelled in middle/late relief. He was phenomenal in the set-up spot for Mariano... I even dare to say he looked like Mo himself. Not physically of course, Joba looks more like I do than he does Rivera. But let's not forget that Mo auditioned as the set-up man before becoming the closer, perhaps the same way Joba has... just something to think about.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, understand that this theory all depends on Mariano. He will be the closer for this team as long as he can pitch. If Mariano plans on pitching another 2-3 seasons, then Joba will have to move back to his original destination in the rotation. I love Joba out of the pen, and I think he'd make one hell of a closer, but Joba is far too talented to keep as a set-up man for too long. Once he hits full stride in the bigs, the Yankees have two choices... starter or closer. Anywhere else is much too unimportant for an arm of Joba's caliber.

Moving on to the poll question. When the Yankees revealed that Joba would be starting the season out of the pen, I had mixed emotions. Part of me was disappointed that we won't get to see Joba as a starter just yet. The other part of me believes that Joba belongs in the bullpen for now. The Yanks have a pretty solid rotation as is (talented enough to win 90+ games in my opinion). They also have a monster advantage over just about any team when it comes to late relief. The Joba/Mo combination usually slams the door shut in the 7th... I don't know of any other team that can say they have relief like that. My point here is that for now, the Yankees might be better off as a team with Joba being a set-up man for Mo. It appears as though the majority of you out there feel the same way, with "reliever" receiving 78% of the votes.

Thanks again to everyone who voted! Keep tuning in, new poll coming soon!