Usually I will never write a blog immediately following a Yankees game, win or loss, simply because my emotions are still running high and I am unable to coherently piece together my thoughts to formulate any sense of rational thinking. Well, in life there are exceptions. This being one of them.
After the latest poor outing from Joba Chamberlain, I've come to realize that he cannot keep himself composed on the mound and that greatly affects his performance. Last Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, Chamberlain gave up 8 runs (3 earned) in 3.2 putrid innings. Everything unraveled for Joba in the 4th inning after third baseman Cody Ransom made an error. Once the error occurred, Joba lost his composure and promptly got pounded out of the game by an offensive onslaught from Toronto. Following that performance, Joba went on to say;
"I felt like I did a good job today. They're great hitters. I threw good pitches and they put good swings on it. They've been doing it all year. And they're going to continue to do it."
Then there was tonight's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Staked to a 4 - 1 lead, in the 5th inning, a close (but blown) call at second base by umpire Brian Gorman, an error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez and once again things completely spiraled out of control for Chamberlain. He promptly let up a 3-run game tying home-run to Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, then a rocket double to Designated Hitter Mike Napoli and was promptly pulled from the game. And how did he feel his outing tonight went?
"I felt I've been better in the last two (starts) but we came up against some good ball clubs. They hit mistakes and that is what they're supposed to do. You have to work your tail off, but the sun will come out tomorrow. I'll be the same person I was before."
Frankly, I've grown frustrated with his constant deflecting of his pitching and trying to put a positive spin on his outings. You cannot let up 13 runs in your past two starts, never pitch past the 5th inning and declare them "your two best starts of the season." I'm sorry, it just doesn't work that way. Not now, not ever.
Just once I would like Chamberlain to own up to his failures and struggles and say "you know what, I just plain stunk tonight." A.J. Burnett has done it, so has Andy Pettitte. Why can't Joba?
I think we've finally reached the point where something needs to be done about Chamberlain's ineffectiveness. Somewhere along the way he has lost his 97mph fastball and filthy slider with tremendous bite on it. I happen to believe it's because he's simply out of shape and needs to get better lower body conditioning done. (Felix Hernandez had the same problem, lost 25lbs in an off-season and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season). I'd like to think it could be something as fixable as that.
But, whatever it is, the Yankees cannot continue to run Chamberlain out there, only to see him labor through 4+ innings, then afterwards put the "they're a good team and they just put good swings on it" routine. I think the time has come that the Yankees need to send Mr. Chamberlain on a bus to Scranton and let him get some work in at the minor league level.
People tend to forget that a) Chamberlain is only 23 years old and b) he never had to earn his job in the rotation. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were handed jobs in the rotation last year and were absolutely killed anytime they pitched. This season? They both started the season out in the minors and had to earn calls back up to the big club. With Chamberlain, even despite a rocky spring training (where Phil Hughes out-pitched him), he had a guaranteed spot in the Yankee rotation.
I think that went to his head. Chamberlain has gotten FAR too complacent with his spot in the rotation and at times seems like he forgets that he's not a 10 year seasoned veteran, but is in fact a young, 23 year old hot-shot pitcher, with tremendous talent, but has yet to put up the consistent stats to back up his immense ego.
The fact that Chamberlain allows a bad umpiring decision, or a defensive miscue to rattle him so much, that it causes his entire game to spiral downward, shows a clear lack of maturity on the mound. Obviously it's because he is a young pitcher and the ability to compose one self will come with experience. That being said, Chamberlain lacks the same mature presence on the mound his younger teammate Phil Hughes possesses. Is that through any fault of Joba's? Not at all. I'm just simply stating that Chamberlain isn't as mentally prepared as Hughes. Chamberlain is still functioning with a rookie mind-set, while Hughes is walking around with a veterans swagger. Hughes has the utmost confidence in his ability and has begun to let his pitching do the talking for him.
With Joba, it's still all in the talking phase. His pure stuff and glimpses of greatness can sure talk the talk, but he's yet to consistently string it together and 'walk the walk' so to speak. He's lost the hunger he once had. The same hunger that Phil Hughes now brings with him to the mound every time the bullpen phone rings.
It's time something is done and I think that something is a short stint in the minor leagues. It wouldn't exactly be the worst thing that could happen to the Yankees or to Joba Chamberlain. He may simply need a few weeks just to get his game together, both mentally and physically and fine tune his mechanics.
Make him earn his job back. We forget that it was handed to him right out of Spring Training like it was some sort of divine right. I think that went to his head. Hell, it would go to my head too. I'd be the cockiest, most arrogant SOB around if that happened to me. Joba needs to be hungry. Let Kei Igawa or Sergio Mitre take his spot in the rotation for a couple weeks, they can't possibly do any worse at this point than Joba has recently. And frankly, they've both at least earned their shot to get a crack at the big club. (Igawa especially, he's been biding his time for well over a year).
It's not out of the realm of normalcy for a highly touted pitcher to be demoted to the minor leagues and need to work on his mechanics or fine tune his skills. Roy Halladay, arguably the best pitcher in the American League had to do that at the age of 24. After the 2000 season, (when he was 23, Joba's current age) where Halladay posted a 4 - 7 record with a 10.64 era, he was optioned to the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays (the lowest level of the minor leagues) to rebuild his delivery. All of the adjustments and tinkering Halladay worked on in the minor leagues proved successful. After six weeks he was promoted to class AA Tennessee and 4 weeks later to class AAA Syracuse. By the all-star break he had rejoined the Blue Jays rotation, where he posted a 5 - 3 record with a 3.19 era and he hasn't looked back since.
If a pitcher with the talent and make-up of Halladay can be sent back down to the minors to be entirely rebuilt as a pitcher, why can't Joba be sent down even for a momentary mental breather just to work some stuff out? It's clear to me (and probably anybody watching him pitch) that he clearly is lacking confidence in his pitches and is tentative to be aggressive early in the count, which is why he's constantly battling and works every batter into a full-count. Am I naive to think that sending him to the minors for a few weeks and have him work on being more aggressive to hitters would be a bad thing? Please, somebody stop me if I'm not making sense or completely being ridiculous right now.
I still believe that Chamberlain can piece it all together and be that pitcher that I and the rest of the Yankee universe hope he can become. But, it's not up to us. There's nothing Joe Girardi or Dave Eiland, or even Derek Jeter can say to him. It's all up to Joba now. Does he have the maturity to buckle down and do what he needs to do in order to harness his talents? That's a question we cannot answer. Joba has all the talent in the world built up in that right arm of his.
Now is a turning point for the young man's career. Either he'll build on that talent and develop the mindset of a major league pitcher. Or, he'll just turn out to be another great talent who couldn't live up to the hype. The ball is in your hands kid. Do you want to be remembered as the Phenom Joba Chamberlain? Or do you want to be just another forgotten memory of Yankee lure?
Only time will tell. But, with each continued poor outing and every post-game interview where you don't own up to your failures, the clock tolls for thee. People are losing faith in your abilities. Don't make me feel foolish for having believed in them for so long. You and you alone have the power to end this.
Will the real Joba Chamberlain, please stand up?
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