Question about Joba

Ok, so I’m not particularly inspired to write much about the Yankees this morning, and there’s not any real news to share. So instead I’ll ask a question that I’ve had a tough time answering.

If Joba Chamberlain continues pitching like this over his next two or three starts, is there any chance the Yankees just shut him down? Say he throws three more starts and goes 4, 4, and 5 innings. That’ll put him right around 150 innings. If he’s still struggling, then it would be tough to trust him in a playoff game. So if you can’t trust him in a playoff game, and he’s at 50 more innings than last year, and 30 more innings than the all-time high he set in 2005 (or 2006, depending on how you look at it), why not just have him pack it in?

I hope this is just a mental exercise and that Joba does right what’s been wrong over his past four or five starts. But it’s starting to build up. He’s struggled with command at times, and then when he’s throwing strikes guys are hitting him. Things are not looking good right now, not by any stretch.

I’m leaning towards shut down in the above-mentioned situation. The idea is to balance the short- and long-term aspects of Joba’s development, and if he’s not pitching well then he’s not helping the team in the short term. If he’s not helping the team in the short term and he’s already at so many more innings and pitches thrown over last year, I think the best move is to have him pack it in. Thoughts?