On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
You know, throughout the course of baseball history, there have been plenty of relief pitchers who made the transition to being a starter. Hell, before the specialty roles we've all come to know and love (I heart LOOGYs) started, the bullpen was just a place for managers to park starting pitchers who couldn't cut it.
They didn't want to use them, so they put them somewhere as far away as possible.
Anyway, I'm getting off track, what I was getting at was the fact that the move from bullpen to starter happens all the time nowadays. Just look in Chicago where Ryan Dempster has gone from being the Cubs closer last season to being their #2 starter this season. Boston's Jonathan Papelbon was a starter who became a closer then tried starting again only to return to closing and thrusting his pelvis in any given direction at any given time.
So why is Joba Chamberlain's move from the back of the Yankees bullpen to the rotation such a big deal? I swear to God, you turn to ESPN on any day that Joba is pitching and they're breaking into PTI to let us all know that Joba has reached the fifth inning.
"Not the fifth inning!" you scream from your sofa. "I better tune in to see if he makes it to the sixth, no time to feed the kids now!"
Seriously, the hype surrounding this "big" move is utterly ridiculous, so let's add to it after the jump, shall we?
New York Yankees (44-39) vs. Texas Rangers (43-41) - 7:05PM Est.
So, did you hear that Joba Chamberlain is pitching tonight? He is, I swear. You probably just haven't heard anything about it because you're so busy keeping track of where A-Rod and Madonna are eating lunch this afternoon (they're at Roberto's on Crescent Ave, Alex is having the linguini alle vongole, while Madonna is having water).
So, yeah, Joba is pitching tonight and he'll be looking for his second win in a row when he does so. Joba lasted a season-high 6.2 innings his last time out, and allowed only six hits. Of course, that was against the Pirates and his opponent tonight is a bit more dangerous than the Buccos.
The Rangers will be trying to get to three games over .500 for the first time since they were 77-74 on September 18, 2006 with a win today, and they'll be turning to Kevin Millwood to do so. This probably doesn't make Kevin very happy, because the road has not been kind to him this season.
In his last 28 innings outside of Arlington, Millwood has allowed 24 runs and 44 hits. Kevin is 1-4 in six career starts against the Bombers, but hasn't faced them since 2006.
Chicago White Sox (47-35) vs. Cleveland Indians (37-46) - 8:11PM Est.
Not much has gone right for the Cleveland Indians this season. A popular pick to win the AL Central, the Indians instead find themselves dead last in the division halfway through the year. If there has been a positive for the Tribe this season, it's been the return of Cliff Lee.
After going 18-5 in 2005, Cliff went 14-11 in 06 and got himself a contract extension. Then he went 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA in 07 before the Indians pulled the plug on him. He earned another shot this season, and he's taken advantage of it. A win tonight and Cliff will be the first pitcher in the American League to reach 12 wins this season.
He hasn't faced the White Sox yet this season, but he is 4-5 with a 6.44 ERA against them in 15 career starts.
John Danks will go for the White Sox, who have won five in a row to put a little breathing room back between them and the Twins. What the Sox are hoping to do now is win two more from the Indians and officially bury them at the bottom of the division.
In Danks' career, he's 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in five starts against the Tribe.
Colorado Rockies (32-51) vs. San Diego Padres (33-51) - 9:05PM Est.
Can you believe it was only nine months ago that Matt Holliday was diving face first into the dirt around home plate, and never touching it to send the Rockies into the playoffs and onto the World Series? What in the hell has happened since then?
Both teams are committed to sucking now, and tonight they'll try to see who can suck the most. The Rockies have the market cornered at the moment, as they've lost their last eight games, and will look to Aaron Cook to keep it from hitting nine.
Cook is responsible for about a third of Colorado's victories (he has 10 of them) this season, so the odds are, if the Rocks are going to win they'll do it tonight. Aaron's also facing a team he's owned throughout his career, as he's 7-1 with a 1.72 ERA in ten career starts, including a 5-0 mark at Coors Field.
Josh Banks will go for the Fathers, and he'll be making his first career start against Colorado. Banks was fantastic when he was first called up, allowing only two runs in his first 23 innings, but has allowed nine runs in his last 15.2. He'll need to get back on track if he'd like to make his first shot at the Rockies a successful one.
Everybody Else
- Braves vs. Phillies - 7:00PM
- Orioles vs. Royals - 7:05PM
- Reds vs. Pirates - 7:10PM
- Marlins vs. Nationals - 7:10PM
- Rays vs. Red Sox - 7:10PM
- Astros vs. Dodgers - 8:05PM
- Twins vs. Tigers - 8:10PM
- Cardinals vs. Mets - 8:15PM
- DBacks vs. Brewers - 9:40PM
- Angels vs. A's - 10:05PM
- Mariners vs. Blue Jays - 10:10PM
- Giants vs. Cubs - 10:15PM
