Joba Chamberlain Archives - Page 3 of 3

So Much For My Being Good Luck

May 7, 2011

I really wanted to win this one tonight. I hated that Colon didn’t have it and allowed the Rangers to jump out to an early lead. I figured we were cooked, but tying it at 5-5 was fun for about a minute. Ultimately, the Yankees stalled, sputtered and conked out.

stalled car — (courtesy: ivydaong4.blogspot.com)

Bright spots?

I’ll single out Jeter for driving the ball. We’ve all been waiting for that to happen.

I’ll tip my cap to Swisher, who did it with his glove and his bat despite having a head cold.

I’ll give a shout out to Joba, who pitched a crisp, clean inning.

I’ll bow down to Cano for that bases-clearing triple.

But otherwise? Eh. Just eh.

Do me a favor, Yankees, and stop letting Michael Young, in particular, keep beating you. Thanks.

Oh, and congrats to Justin Verlander for his second no-no. He just made me covet him for the Yanks even more than I’ve been doing forever.

This Time THEY Left ‘Em Stranded

April 30, 2011

up-a-creek-without-a-paddle-960x447 — (courtesy: synergyalliance.com)

It felt good to see the Yanks knock in runs – very good – and for the Jays to be the ones with the lousy RISP stat.

A.J. is such an interesting pitcher to watch (if you don’t mind gnawing on your fingernails). He can look unhittable one minute and ripe for batters the next, but he wasn’t wild today. And he didn’t melt down. Not a dominant performance by any means, but a nice win for him.

Best of all, in the pitching department, was the trio of Joba, Soriano and Mo. Excellent job, boys.

I could do an entire post about Jeter and how much he seems to be struggling, but I don’t want to ruin my Saturday or anybody else’s. So let’s give him a little more time. He’s still the captain.

derek-jeter-yankees-lou-gehrig-franchise-hits-record-27aad5c4a3b89e4c_large — Photo: Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger

This Time THEY Left 'Em Stranded

April 30, 2011

It felt good to see the Yanks knock in runs – very good – and for the Jays to be the ones with the lousy RISP stat.

Best of all, in the pitching department, was the trio of Joba, Soriano and Mo. Excellent job, boys.

Mo Blows Save

April 19, 2011

Well, it felt like a funeral anyway. Mo is human, I realize that, and he does need to remind us of his fallibility every now and then. But when he does suck it’s very disconcerting.

A.J. was his usual high-wire act self but with a positive twist: he hung in for five-plus without giving up more than a couple of runs. He is so frustrating to watch even when he’s pitching well. He goes to 3-0 counts on hitters, comes all the way back to 3-2 only to walk them. Grrrr.

Dave Robertson was brilliant bailing AJ out of that jam in the sixth – just as sharp as he was in 2009. Joba threw a perfect seventh. Soriano pitched a scoreless eighth. We were on track for the win. Life was good. With Mo heading to the mound for the ninth, I was actually smiling.

And then the unthinkable. Mo wasn’t “on” tonight. But credit also has to go to the Blue Jays for that sneaky squeeze bunt; it was brilliantly executed.

As for Nova, call me a bad fan if you must but he was horrible in the tenth. He’s been horrible, period. Does he have dead arm like Hughes? Does he?

And speaking of horrible, poor, poor, Brett Gardner. I don’t know what’s happened to our little gritty, gutty Gardy.

Gardner.sad — Photo: AP/nbcsports.msnbc.com

Tonight’s Win Made Me Mental

April 17, 2011

Or should I say more mental?

I was up. I was down. It was exhausting! But when I saw Mo on the mound to protect our newly acquired 6-5 lead, I knew all would be well and it was.

Not a pretty game, by any means. We saw lightning, hail, rain and some wretched numbers with RISP.

CC was good enough to finally get a win, but he was not good enough to retire Adrian Beltre.

Joba didn’t help the cause with that leadoff walk on four straight pitches. Ugh.

Luckily, this team seems to hit homers at will, and tonight was no different. Just when I thought all was lost, bam! Another long ball.

Subbing for A-Rod, Chavez acquitted himself nicely, both offensively and defensively. (Somebody on Twitter made the observation that his swing is not unlike that of Mattingly’s and I agree.) But even with our strong bench, the lineup is just stronger with Al in it. I really hope the time off will heal his sore oblique/back/whatever and we won’t even have to whisper the words “disabled list.”

Getting back to Mo, his dominance in the 9th was truly a thing of beauty, especially considering the might of the Rangers’ bats. It was as if he dallied with the hitters – just completely flummoxed them to the point that I almost felt sorry for them. (I said almost.)

Did the series win avenge our loss to Texas in the ALCS? Of course not. Sometimes I think that if we hadn’t gone down in Arlington, Pettitte would still be a Yankee. But winning two out of three this weekend was sweet. It was. Order has been semi-restored.

Tonight's Win Made Me Mental

April 17, 2011

Or should I say more mental?

I was up. I was down. It was exhausting! But when I saw Mo on the mound to protect our newly acquired 6-5 lead, I knew all would be well and it was.

Not a pretty game, by any means. We saw lightning, hail, rain and some wretched numbers with RISP.

CC was good enough to finally get a win, but he was not good enough to retire Adrian Beltre.

Joba didn’t help the cause with that leadoff walk on four straight pitches. Ugh.

Luckily, this team seems to hit homers at will, and tonight was no different. Just when I thought all was lost, bam! Another long ball.

Ready Freddy

April 16, 2011

Who needs to worry about pitch counts, rainouts and days between starts? Not Freddy Garcia, apparently. The has-been-turned-wily-veteran stymied the Rangers today and I, for one, was amazed. Never mind the kids. Just bring on more Garcias and Colons! Let’s raid a nearby facility for the aged! After all, Mo is no spring chicken and he’s got, like, 100 saves already.

Well, OK. One of the kids deserves mention. Joba was great. He seems to be back to his 2007 self, so whatever he’s doing differently I hope he keeps it up.

Soriano, on the other hand….There I was, thinking we had this one in the bag (silly me), when Sorry Sori nearly coughed up our 3-0 lead. I’ll chalk it up to the cold weather, since he’s the fragile type.

Speaking of fragile, weren’t we all saying how healthy A-Rod has looked, how spry, now that his hip is no longer an issue? So how come he’s got a stiff oblique/back? Maybe if he’d worn long sleeves like the rest of the players…..

Anyhow, we won the game and have tied up the series. Let’s get CC a win tomorrow night. He’s earned it.

The Happy Dance Lady Is Back Tonight

April 14, 2011

And so, of course, is the spectacle of A.J. darting onto the field with a towel full of this.

It’s been awhile since we’ve scored in the late innings (as ladyjane has astutely pointed out on this blog), but tonight’s win against the O’s showed there’s life in the bats in extras.

My highlights:

Those catches by Granderson and Swisher. Sweeeet.
A-Rod getting our first hit on a night that was starting to look bleak.
Colon’s innings that kept the O’s from running away with it.
Joba’s tag of Pie at the plate and his excellent work on the mound.
Mo. Enough said.
Posada’s homer that gave us a chance to come back.
Swisher’s sac fly that earned him the messy face.

As much as I love 10-run blowouts, this was an extremely satisfying game to win. The Yankees hung in there, despite another disappointing (I’m being kind) performance by Hughes, and scored when they needed to.

Before I leave the subject of Hughes, Kaye and Leiter discussed what the Yanks might do to get him back on track – from sending him to the minors to putting him in the pen. Neither option seems viable. I think the Yanks will let him continue to take his turn and keep working with Rothschild and see what happens.

Meanwhile, Feliciano. Seriously. The guy pitches his arm off for the Mets and we won’t see a second of him this year. Did he catch the Damaso Marte Bug? The Nick Johnson Bug? The Carl Pavano Bug?

P.S. Jeter got another hit, so we’re at #2936 for you contest entrants. Somebody’s gonna win that book soon.

Super Nova!

April 4, 2011

For a couple of innings tonight I thought we were watching greatness. But I’ll dial it back a little and just say Nova was impressive against a pretty formidable Twins lineup. He essentially had one rough inning and he came back strong (retiring Mauer in that last at-bat was no small feat). He can be my #4 pitcher any day, especially when he gets to sit in the dugout and watch Joba, Soriano and Mo take care of the rest of the game. What a luxury to have the bullpen we have. Seriously, people. My doubts about Soriano? This tidbit via LoHud reassured me:

Here’s something else you might not know about him: He’s a strong clubhouse presence. According to Girardi, Soriano has “a sense of humor (and) he wants to teach as well. Those are the things you don’t know about a guy.”

OK, he’s probably no Henny Youngman (for you younger readers, how about Stephen Colbert?) but I like that he’s making friends and playing nice with his teammates.

Was that a shot by A-Rod or what? And I guess Jorge is more than simply adjusting to the DH; he’s thriving. I was nervous when Tex got hit in the foot – why does he always get hit in the foot? – but he seems fine. Better than fine.

Jeter didn’t manage any hits, for those of you who entered the contest for the book, so we’re still at 2928. Last call for entries at midnight tonight.

To sum up, watching the Yankees is fun right now. I hope it stays that way.

Update: Courtesy of YankeeCase, who was at the game, some video of “Jorge Juices One.”

Pee-Euww

April 3, 2011

woman-holding-her-nose — (Courtesy: clearseptic.com)

Not such great pitching performances by the Yankees in today’s loss to the Tigers in the series finale.

I know it’s only the beginning of the season, but Hughes is reminding me of the Bad Phil of the past. Remember that version? The one without much velocity who threw 50 pitches in two innings and never seemed to get through five without giving up a bunch of runs? Yeah, that guy. Calling Larry Rothschild.

Colon? So far this new arrangement isn’t working out. A “long man” is supposed to eat innings while keeping the opposing team from scoring more runs. Mission not accomplished.

Joba looked like he was getting squeezed a bit by the ump, but still. The Yankees offense had a chance to get back into the game and he didn’t help matters.

On the positive side, who isn’t loving our bats? I mean, Tex. Seriously. Russell Martin, clap clap clap. Swisher, way to join the party. Cano too. And great job adapting to the DH, JoPo.

It would be nice to see Brett Gardner not strike out at the top of the order, but maybe Girardi will move him back to the #9 spot and slide Martin up.

Meanwhile, Jeter’s hit total remains at #2928 – just 72 away from 3,000. So let’s talk about the Derek Jeter Countdown Contest, the winner of which will receive a copy of Derek Jeter: From the Pages of The New York Times.

As I wrote here the other day…

Culled from the pages of The New York Times, the book draws upon more than 5,000 news articles and features from the paper’s superb sports reporters, columnists, and photographers, past and present, including Dave Anderson, Fred R. Conrad, Jack Curry, Chang Lee, Buster Olney, Barton Silverman, and George Vecsey, as well as Tyler Kepner, who has written the introduction. The pages are filled with entertaining stories, penetrating insights, and the voices of not only Jeter, but also George Steinbrenner, Joe Torre, Alex Rodriguez, and a host of players. In lively words and action-packed photographs, the volume covers Jeter’s rise, his playing style, his best moments on (and off) the field, his character as a teammate and a leader, and his place in Yankee history.

The book is a really great keepsake item, in other words, and it’s all yours, courtesy of the publisher, if you answer this one tiny question correctly. Ready?

Here it is: When Will Jeter hit #2938?

That’s 10 more hits than he has right now.

I’ll need the following in your answer: the Day and Date he gets #2938 as well as the Opponent (the team, not the pitcher).

Got it? Leave your answer here in a comment by the end of the day on Tuesday. Who knows? If he goes 5-for-5 tomorrow and Tuesday, he could reach the goal before the deadline. So don’t wait if you want this book, people!

One more thing. Has everyone read about Bill White’s new book? Nice piece about it in the NYT.

White had a signing yesterday at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ, and Friend of the Blog, Roseann, was there with her sister.

You know who else was there? Joe Pepitone. Roseann said he was his old flirty self.

She also said White spent a lot of time talking about the book during a Q&A with the crowd and remarked that his years in the broadcast booth with Rizzuto were “probably the happiest of my life.”

Thanks for the pics, Roseann. I would loved to have been there too.

What Was Not To Love About Today?

March 31, 2011

Nothing, that’s what. From start to finish it was a great day. My highlights:

My Extra Innings cable package giving me the YES Network even though the game was on ESPN too.
Seeing Mussina throw out the first pitch to Jorge, who at least got to catch a little.
Watching CC bend but never break – the mark of a true ace.
Cheering for Russell Martin after he got the first hit of the game and his first as a Yankee.
Cheering for Russell Martin after he stole third; we now have a catcher that can run.
Cheering for Curtis Granderson’s amazing, Willie Mays-like catches, all of them.
Cheering for Tex’s shot to right. No slow start that I can see.
Cheering for Granderson’s shot off Phil Coke, a lefty.
Cheering for A-Rod’s continued hot streak; that double sure looked like it was going out.
Cheering for the trio of Joba/Soriano/Mo; if they pitch like that over the course of the season the Yankees will be formidable.
Beating a great pitcher like Verlander.
Winning the first game of the season.

And if all that wasn’t enough, I took the rest of the day off and went with Michael to the beach. It was in the ’80s here this afternoon – very odd since it’s been rainy and cold these last few months. We packed up our folding chairs and umbrellas and towels and joined the crowds who had the same idea. It felt like summer.

I hope everybody enjoyed their day as much as I enjoyed mine.

Is It Me Or Are The Yankees’ Doctors Really Slow?

March 15, 2011

According to the media, Joba had an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his oblique strain. It’s now Tuesday night and there’s been no word on the test – not a diagnosis, not a result, not a peep.

Are the doctors the Yankees consult sworn to secrecy?

Are they too busy performing delicate life-and-death surgeries to report back to Cashman/Girardi?

Or are they just incredibly slow when it comes to reading MRIs because instead of discussing their findings they’re debating the state of the Yankees’ starting rotation?

All I know is that every time I’ve had an MRI I’ve gotten the results the same day or the next. Just saying.

Is It Me Or Are The Yankees' Doctors Really Slow?

March 15, 2011

Are the doctors the Yankees consult sworn to secrecy?

Are they too busy performing delicate life-and-death surgeries to report back to Cashman/Girardi?

Or are they just incredibly slow when it comes to reading MRIs because instead of discussing their findings they’re debating the state of the Yankees’ starting rotation?

All I know is that every time I’ve had an MRI I’ve gotten the results the same day or the next. Just saying.

Hip Hip Jorge!

February 26, 2011

No, not that one. This one.

If you watched the game today – how cool was it to see the Yanks in action for the first time in months? – you saw the monster shot hit by Jorge Vazquez, a minor league infielder signed out of the Mexican League. He also had a single, btw. Is he the guy who could spell A-Rod at third if Eric Chavez doesn’t make the team? Probably not. And one spring training game doesn’t tell us much. But I liked his plate presence all the same.

Let’s back up and talk about the pre-game ceremony to honor The Boss. I loved how Tino, Gator, Gossage, Girardi and Jeter took turns reading from the plaque. Very classy. And a nice moment with Steinbrenner’s wife and daughters. (Apparently, Hal was there but where was Hank? Out having a smoke?) Hailey Swindall continues to do a good job in the singing department (Christina Aguilera should take a page out of her playbook).

Colon? Eh. Not horrible. Not great. A couple of innings of so-so.

Joba? I liked it. Three up, three down. No futzing around. And, if the radar gun was accurate, he was at 93-94. And what was all that business about his weight? He looked just about the same as last year except for the longer hair. Talk about much ado about nothing.

Cervelli was impressive and made a statement that he was not interested in getting in line behind Montero or Romine. Good for him.

I didn’t love when Tex got hit on the foot by a Hamels pitch, but he seemed fine. Way too early in the season for an injury.

I couldn’t see any difference in Jeter’s stride, could you?

A-Rod was swinging the bat well.

Anyhow, it was just fun watching our guys shake off the rust. Baseball is back. Yay.

The Boys Are Back! (Except Cano)

February 19, 2011

I absolutely loved reading about the position players showing up for spring training today. Hearing that Tex has been working hard to get off to a faster start, that Brett Gardner is all healed up, that Swisher is telling Chavez how much he’ll love playing in New York (if he gets the chance). It all makes me wish I could be there as their Welcome Lady, complete with a Welcome Cake for everybody.

Come to think of it, I bet the Yankees could use someone like me for the job. I’d be there to greet the players, escort them to their lockers, help them unpack, introduce them to the new guys, hold their hands while they have their physicals (okay, maybe not) and then make sure they’re all settled in. The Yankees wouldn’t even have to pay me. I’d do the job for free. All I’d need is room and board, preferably at Jeter’s house or the Vinoy Hotel in St. Pete, and meals with the boys. What fun we’d have! I don’t speak Spanish, but I’d find a way to talk to Colon and Soriano. I’d tell Joba how svelte he looked. And I’d ask A-Rod if he really did buy that apartment at the Rushmore overlooking the Hudson River.

Rushmore — Photo: Daniella Zalcman/Wall Street Journal

Doesn’t every team need a Welcome Lady? I’m too late for this season, but I wonder if they’re taking applications for next year.

I Say Leave Joba Alone!

February 16, 2011

Is he bigger this year?

If so, how much bigger?

Is it fat or muscle?

Did he pig out on cheeseburgers or work out in his home gym?

Is it upper body bulk or a beer gut?

These are the pressing issues of the Yankees’ spring training camp today. According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch:

Chamberlain’s weight became the talk of Yankees camp on Wednesday, as general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that there were additional pounds on Chamberlain’s 6-foot-2 frame. He officially remains listed at 230 pounds.

Joba told the media – and he made it clear it was the last time he would address his weight – that, with the okay of the Yankees’ training director, he went out and bought a lot of fitness equipment and installed it in his new gym. Why would he lie about that?

I care if he came to spring training out of shape. I care if he thinks he should look like Bartolo Colon. I care if he doesn’t feel the need to perform at the highest level. But I think I’ll reserve judgment until I see how he pitches in actual ballgames this season. Isn’t that what really matters?

Yes, he’s made mistakes in his young life. Yes, he’s been jerked around by the organization. Yes, he’s underachieved, given his blazing 2007 debut. All that’s in the past. Now it’s time to give him a break, the benefit of the doubt, the chance to work with Larry Rothschild and hone his craft – and stop talking about his poundage.

Here’s what I tweeted earlier today:

“I don’t care how big Joba Chamberlain is as long as he does his job. Do employees in other businesses get weighed?”

I got some interesting tweets back. It seems that jockeys get weighed. So do the Rockettes. And flight attendants used to; nobody’s sure if they still do. I bet astronauts do too. But here was my point….I’m glad publishers don’t weigh authors before giving us contracts to write books. I would feel like a bag of broccoli.