The (George) King of dumb

George King is stupid. Anyone who has ever read one of his columns knows it. Recently, he took his idiocracy to dangerous new levels:

Moving Chamberlain in front of Rivera was not only the right move for 2008, but forever. Finding somebody to dominate the seventh and eighth innings is harder than discovering a fourth and fifth starter.

This is so ridiculous, it's almost not worth ripping apart. To call Joba a fourth or fifth starter is borderline insanity. Were he starting for the Yankees this year, that might be his role; in the future, however, he projects as a dominating, shut-you-down ace. He's drawn comparisons to Justin Verlander in terms of stuff. A player like that has way more value in the rotation throwing 200+ innings a year than in the pen throwing 70.

Many top-flight relievers are failed starters; Eric Gagne, K-Rod, and Mariano Rivera come to mind immediately. Players that succeed in the pen after flaming out as starters do so because they lack the stamina to go deep into games, they only have one or two good pitches, or because their velocity increases in short stints. Joba doesn't suffer from any of these problems. He can go deep into games while maintaining his velocity (reports have had him hitting 97 in the 7th), and his change and curve show the potential to be plus pitches. He should be given the chance to fail as a starter before settling into the bullpen.