The Curious Case of Joba Chamberlain

Remember in 2007 when the Yankee community heard about this kid in the minor leagues who some dubbed better than Hughes?  

A kid who had a fierce mentality on the mound, whose fastball could hit triple digits, and with a slider that not even Joe Dimaggio could hit?  

His name is Joba Chamberlain, or as most people thought back in 2007, Joe-ba Chamberlain.  

Not very much was known about this young man. We were quickly notified that his name was indeed pronounced Jah-ba, and one can guarantee that the baseball world will never forget this young man’s name.

He was called up because the Yankees bullpen was in shambles. They were fatigued, under-performing, and they desperately needed someone to get the ball to Mariano Rivera. Kyle Farnsworth proved that he could not do the job, and the Yankees needed someone who could come in and dominate.

In comes Joba.

That first game he threw against Toronto was amazing. He burst onto the scene, firing on all cylinders, pumping high octane fastballs past hitters, and sometimes it seemed he was trying to throw the ball through the catcher’s glove. He made quick friends with Kevin Youkilis, and he was a feared pitcher as soon as he came up. 

Whenever the young phenom came into pitch at Yankee Stadium, it was an event. The crowd went wild and viewers at home would stop, just to see Joba pitch.

He made hitters uncomfortable, using his fastball to back hitters off the plate, while still maintaining control on the mound.  

And how can we talk about Joba Chamberlain without mentioning his famous yet controversial fist pump? It not only pumped up the Yankee Stadium crowd to an intense level, it also pumped Joba up to a whole new level of dominance.  Everyone in the country knew who Joba was, and how good he was. 

Joba even had his own set of rules, known as the “Joba Rules,” to protect the Yankees young treasure. For each inning he threw, he had to have that many days off, following the day he pitched. He also was not allowed to pitch back to back days.

Joba was so dominant, that his expectations for success were growing similar to those of his teammate, Mariano Rivera. He finished the 2007 regular season with a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings pitched.

But then the bugs came.

It was during that famous night in Cleveland during the 2007 ALDS that possibly cost Joe Torre his job. On an uncharacteristically warm October night, the Lake Erie Midges rose from Lake Erie and attacked the Yankee infield, causing Joba to lose his focus.

Visibly flustered, Joba attempted to pitch through the swarm, as bugs were seen everywhere, flying into his mouth, ears, and eyes.  These little bugs, no larger than crumbs, got the best of a young Chamberlain, and the Cleveland Indians came back to win the pivotal second game.  

It was almost like a plague destined to destroy the Yankees, or maybe Joba.

Even though Joba experienced tremendous success out of the bullpen, his ultimate home was always the starting rotation. Many questioned the Yankees decision to insert him into the rotation because of his success out of the pen, but the Yankees were sold on developing a front line starter. They felt Joba was their guy.

Many questions arose. Would Joba be the same? Would he still have his nuclear fastball and painfully biting slider?

In 2008, he started the year in the bullpen, but he was known as a starting pitcher. The “Joba Rules” were redrawn to limit his pitch count in games which he started, to preserve the bullets in his young arm.  

He made 12 starts for the Yankees, going 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 100.1 innings pitched. He even out-dueled Josh Beckett at Fenway Park on July 25, going seven innings, allowing three hits, striking out nine and still managing to irritate Youkilis.

Not a bad first year, but he still had his struggles. His stuff was not drastically different, but many still felt that Joba was made for the bullpen, no matter how much success he may have as a starter.  

Then 2009 came along, and Joba’s struggles only grew. It seemed as if the limitations and restrictions had finally got the best of him. His stuff was notably different this year. He just did not look like Joba Chamberlain, with the fire and intensity that made him unique seemingly gone.

He went 9-6 with a 4.75 era in 157.1 innings pitched in 2009. At first glance, it doesn’t look so bad, but this is Joba Chamberlain, and he will always be compared to how he first came onto the scene in 2007.

Enter 2010, and Joba Chamberlain is back in the bullpen. Many words came to mind such as “thank you,” and “finally.”

But, was the decision made three years too late? Even this new Joba out of the pen looks lifeless. He just looks like he is throwing the ball and hoping that it doesn’t get hit. His fastball no longer looks deadly, and his slider is not feared like it once was.

One can make the argument that moving Joba into the starting rotation was not a bad idea. The bad idea was limiting his pitches and telling him that he only had a certain number of pitches with which to work.  

Why not just limit his innings instead? Perhaps if the Yankees chose to limit just his innings, maybe he would have panned out as a starter?

What do the Yankees do now with their enigma?

The solution? The Yankees do nothing. Joba just needs to get angry.

He needs his “Jobaness” back, his edge, his snarl, his growl, his glare, or whatever one may call it. That thing that he had in 2007 is not consistently there. We have seen flashes of it. He just doesn’t look like Joba. He looks like a lifeless zombie on the mound.  

He needs his fire back. I feel that if he can get his fire back, then his stuff will once again do the talking. His velocity is there, his slider is somewhat there, but I want to literally see the blood pumping through him again. He needs something to spark his anger, and let his anger fuel his pitching.  

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