Saturday, September 26, 2009

Life imitates art: How Joba Chamberlain is like Charlie Sheen


How great was it to see Joba being Joba again last night? Gone was that annoying nibbler. Instead, the fierce competitve gunslinger was back. And not a moment too soon.

Chamberlain's performance against the Sox reminded me of Charlie Sheen's Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn character in "Major League II." In the movie, his character gets all yuppified and loses his mojo. But he finally gets it back, and becomes "Wild Thing" again. I was half-expecting  Joba to wear a leather vest and have a zig-zag design in his hair last night!

Maybe it was Joe Girardi reading Joba the riot act this week. Or maybe it was my Squawk yesterday, where I wrote, "I have zero faith at this point in Joba Chamberlain. Maybe he'll surprise me tonight, but I doubt it." I think I did a reverse jinx on him - or at least I hope so!

At any rate,  I'm glad Joba was Joba again.

On the other hand, the Ghost of Jason Varitek allowed seven stolen bases last night, with three by Alex Rodriguez, two by Derek Jeter, and one each by Johnny Damon and Robinson Cano. I don't know what's more amazing - that A-Rod, gimpy hip and all, stole three bases off Varitek, or that Cano stole a base!

A-Rod had a phenomenal night all around, with the stolen bases,  the homer, and the four RBI. And Girardi had a good night, too. I appreciate him having this team be so aggressive on the basepaths. I also appreciate him challenging Joba.

In other news, I wrote last night on Twitter (our address is @subwaysquawkers, if you want to follow us) that I felt bad for Jon Lester getting hit by a line drive, as he's one of the few Red Sox I like. And I asked Yankee fan readers on Twitter and Facebook (my page there is at facebook.com/lmswan if you want to be my Facebook friend) which Red Sox players they liked, or at least tolerate.

So who won? No Red Sox player will really ever get love from a Yankee fan, but Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield.(and their manager, Terry Francona) at least are respected, and liked a little.Victor Martinez got a vote, as did Kevin Youkilis. One fan voted for "the bat boy only," another said "the dead ones" where the only ones she tolerated.


One other thing - I had to get my apartment's refrigerator replaced yesterday, so I didn't have time to do my usual list of predictions. But here are a few:

* Jason Varitek won't be behind the plate again this weekend, unless Terry Francona has completely lost his mind!

* We'll hear about Tim McCarver's new album today on the Fox broadcast. Good grief.

* If Yankees clinch this weekend, Joe Girardi will get a pie in his face. Banana cream. (I saw him mention that preference in a Kim Jones interview, where he said A.J. Burnett has vowed to get him with a pie this year.)


What do you think? Leave us a comment!

5 comments:

The Cycle said...

Yes, Joba finally had a good performance, but the fact that you needed a reference from Major League II to compare his season has to be a negative, doesn't it?

Phil Speranza said...

Coward-tek is suppose to be behind the plate again on Sunday.

Uncle Mike said...

Man: Joba, Girardi for letting him pitch like one, the Yankees who ran on the man in the chicken-wire mask (Vari-dreck).

Less Than Man: Our anonymous correspondent who still seems to think that the Yankees suck. Well, he's entitled to his opinion, but I wish he'd get a better one. Today he came down with a case of acute sabathia.

Tomorrow is it, we clinch. Then... it all depends on who wins the Division Series. We may have to play these bozos 4 to 7 more times. Let's do whatever it takes within the rules -- as opposed to the Sox, who do whatever it takes and hope that Bud Selig continues to look the other way.

Jonmouk71 said...

Hey Cycle, it could have been worse - Lisa could have referenced Major League III!

Anonymous said...

Hey bozo, aka Uncle Mike, aka MINJ, the Yankers do SUCK. I think you better check yourself, it's Bud Selig who looks the other way while the YANKERS do whatever it takes to BUY another trophy. The other 29 teams play within the rules, the Yankers are the biggest cheaters on the face of the planet. But you losers wouldn't know that after being brainwashed by the spin-meisters at the "just say no to YES" network.

Your team is just too pathetic for words.

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