In addition to the long slog Joba games have become, it's getting frustrating seeing him give up a big hit right after somebody makes an error. It seems to happen every game Chamberlain pitches these days.
But what's nearly as frustrating as Joba's pitching are his delusional postgame comments. Each time he has one of these lousy outings, he tips his hat to the other team, and insists his stuff is terrific. And bet your bottom dollar, he will tell us about how the sun will come out tomorrow. For the second start in a row, he channeled Annie:
"There's no excuses, but what are you going to do about it?" Chamberlain said. "You can't change it. The sun will come up tomorrow and I'll be the same person I was the day before."
That's what I'm afraid of!
Unlike other young players, who seem to - shocker - learn from their mistakes, Chamberlain seems to have regressed this year. And what makes it all the more disturbing is that he seems to think he's doing great.
And no matter who is doing the catching, whether it be Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, or Jose Molina, Chamberlain seems to do the same annoying nibbling. Good grief.
In the second inning, Chamberlain threw (29!) pitches, but didn't seem to think it was a big deal:
“In the second, I mean, they only scored one run,” he said. “I think I walked one guy that inning. They just went deep in the count and they put their plan together.”
What's Chamberlain's game plan, other than nibbling and being in denial? He needs a new one, and soon.
Speaking of Yankee disappointments, What's up with Brian Bruney? He's been horrible since coming back from the DL.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
4 comments:
I think it's a good thing that joba still believes he has good stuff when he loses. We don't want him to lose his confidence. Think how bad he would pitch if he thought he sucked.
Lynn
Joba Chamberlain, bringing crazy back
We have come to a crossroads with Joba Chamberlain. He has half of a great attitude: He still thinks he can win. But the other half is equally important: When you lose, you have to take it as unacceptable, and don't rationalize, "Well, I pitched well, the other guys... "
To hell with that! When you accept losing, you accept losing. (Yogi Berra meets Vince Lombardi.)
It's time for Captain Jeter to do what Captain Munson would have done: Get in this kid's face and say, "Shut up and pitch, kid."
We may have to start calling Joba "Nuke," as in Tim Robbins' "Bull Durham" character: If you win 20 in The Show, you can do weird things and have quirks, and the press will think you're colorful. Until you win 20 in The Show, it means you're a slob!
Ask Jim Bouton: When he won 21 games in 1963, when he won 18 in 1964 plus two more in the World Series, he could talk about liberal causes and do his impression of Frank Fontaine's "Crazy Guggenheim" character, and they laughed with him. In 1965, he hurt his elbow, went 4-15, was never the same again, and he became "Commie Bouton," and they treated him as not funny anymore. In the end, he had some last laughs on baseball, but it still doesn't change the fact that you can pull the stuff Joba pulls if you're as accomplished as Bouton was in '64. Joba hasn't even done that much!
(The previous comment was mine, but I had to delete it, as there was a major misspelling that would have had you all going "Huh?!?")
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