Johan Santana or Mariano Rivera?

Who would you rather have on your team: Johan Santana or Mariano Rivera?

The debate of Joba Chamberlain's role is ironically not about Joba Chamberlain.  He is such a rare breed that he has the potential to be an ace of a rotation or a lockdown closer; it’s just a matter of your overall pitching strategy for a team.

It is not an easy question, especially if your team is in need of both roles.

Why he should start:

• Career ERA as a starter:  3.06 and a K/BB ratio of 2.58
• Possesses four quality pitches: fastball, slider, curveball and changeup
• A starter in general is more valuable to a team because he pitches approximately three times the amount of innings a closer does
• Keeps the bullpen fresh if he can go deep into ballgames

He showed last night he can throw all four pitches effectively.  Give him a few years as a starter, and he could attain a lot of confidence in all four pitches at any count.

Why he should close:

• Career ERA as a reliever:  1.53 and a K/BB ratio of 3.90
• Reaches 100 mph with his fastball and slings a nasty slider
• A closer in general is more valuable to a team because a great one can essentially shorten the game to eight innings
• Eludes the team from enduring heartbreaking losses

A flamethrower reliever like Joba only needs two pitches to do well, so he wouldn't need his curve or his change.

My side:

There is no doubt in my mind that Joba could be the Yankees' best chance at duplicating Rivera, but I think he also could develop into a front-of-the-line starter like Santana.  I have always said a starter is more valuable to a team, and I am sticking to it.

Don't let the big difference in numbers deceive you, because they are actually fairly similar to what a good starter's and closer's ERA are.  Relievers tend to have lower ERAs because they usually are pitching one inning in a night and can throw as hard as they want.  That reason in particular affects Joba because he will lose 6-8 mph off his fastball when he starts.

Also, the Yankees have two 24-year-olds Andrew Brackman and Mark Melancon developing that could potentially replace Rivera.  However, eventually people will realize that a guy like Rivera does not come along every year.