All Worn Out by Jobamania in the Bronx
October 1, 2009 · Dan Hanzus · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I just don’t.
I’ve already done it here, and here, and here, and here. It’s all too much at this point.
But I don’t have a choice. I write a Yankees Web log and Joba Chamberlain is the biggest story about the Yankees as the postseason approaches. I am tied to him, and he is tied to me. I kind of feel like Whitney Houston in the Bobby Brown Era.
Here’s the thing: there was actually progress on Wednesday night. Joba finally admitted he’s terrible. It’s obviously ridiculous to applaud that, seeing as he’s allowed 89 baserunners in his last 45-2/3 innings, but Joba spent the last two months denying that unequivocal truth.
On Sept. 20, for instance, he allowed seven runs over three innings against the Mariners and later said this: “My delivery was great,” he said. “I threw some great changeups. My slider velocity was great. My fastball velocity was more consistent. …It’s going to take a lot more than this to get my confidence level down, I’ll tell you that much.”
This is the equivalent of the guy at the Tamagotchi factory telling you that business will pick up any day now.
Thankfully, Chamberlain made no excuses on Wednesday. He was booed off the mound in the fifth after a downright offensive 91-pitch effort against the lowly Royals. “If they want me to fold towels (during the playoffs), I’ll fold towels,” Chamberlain said afterward.
Sadly, I don’t even know if he’d do that well at this point. If I asked him to fold seven, he’d probably only finish four of them. Maybe four and two-thirds.
He’s so fouled up, you have to wonder if Joba is a lost cause at this point…in terms of 2009 anyway. Because, let’s face it, there’s absolutely nothing special about him right now. He’s a right-handed pitcher who can go about five innings, throws a 91-mph fastball and has trouble locating his breaking ball.
You know who else that describes? Brett Tomko. Sergio Mitre. Tim Redding. David Bush. Kit from A League of Their Own.
You get the idea.
The Yankees will undoubtedly take the longer series to avoid having to throw Joba in the ALDS. If they were to advance, there’s a distinct possibility that Joe Girardi will roll the dice and give him one last shot at redemption in the ALCS. They’ve simply invested too much time and effort in him at this point to give up.
This won’t be the last time I’ll write about Joba this season. I just wish it was.
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