It was Jobastartamania Part Deux in the Bronx today, and Joba did not disappoint: He threw 78 pitches in 4 1/3 innings, allowing 2 ER on 5 hits and 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. It wasn't perfect, but his stuff was solid; he was throwing more curves than last week and consistently hitting the mid-90's with that mean fastball. Best of all, he was still throwing a 90-95mpg fastball in the fifth inning, showing no signs of the fatigue you might expect from a guy who was throwing to just a few batters a couple weeks ago. He likely could have gone deeper into the game safely, but Girardi and Eiland had his limit set at a strict-ish 75 pitches and so his day was done. He will probably be cleared to throw around 95 next time around, and after that the special treatment will cease - he'll be a rotation regular throwing as many as he can/as many as it takes.

Obviously, there was a lot of hoopla and debate when the Joba-to-Starter Metamorphosis was first announced. Some of y'all were bracing yourselves for disaster or his arm blowing out from overuse (how could you worry about that? Joe Torre is 3,000 miles away) while others were convinced he was going to waste in the bullpen and could contribute much more in the starting role; we also had a lot of concern about how the bullpen would shape up without him there for that 8th inning magic. Now that we've seen him pitch in two mini-starts and seen how the Joba-less bullpen has fared without him, how are you feeling about his spot in the rotation? Has your mind changed?