Joba Chamberlain
Here is Joba Chamberlain's line this year:
7 IP, 2H, 2 BB and 11K
Even though the sample size is extremely limited, those numbers are nothing short of eye-popping. I am not ready to anoint him the Yankees' savior, although he is an upgrade from the mediocre duo of Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney.
He started the year with the Single-A Tampa Yankees and made his debut on August 7 in Toronto. With the stuff he has displayed sinceand the inconsistency the bullpen has displayed throughout the season it's a wonder he didn't get the call sooner.
The kid from Nebraska brings a heater at anywhere from 97 to 100 mph and a witchcraft slider. The most impressive part of his repertoire, though, is his poise.
He is the first player, 21-year-old or otherwise, I can remember getting his name chanted by the fans for simply trotting to the mound for the first time. That's quite a lot of pressure to put on a young man.
He reacted by slicing through Miguel Tejada, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff in 10 pitches, including strikeouts of Tejada and Huff.
He upped the ante the next time out, dispatching Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in just 9 pitches. Chamberlain got Sheff to pop out a 99 mph fastball, fanned Ordonez on three fastballs; one high, one middle-out and one low-out and pulled the string on Guillen with a sharp-breaking slider off the plate inside.
He's wowed the Yankee Stadium crowd and national media alike and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Remember, though, he is only 21 and will fail at some point. Someone will square one of those fastballs and hit it a long way. How he reacts is the important part.
If he broods and tries to throw the ball even harder, things will only get worse. If he is able to shake it off and continue going about his game plan, then he will have proven that he deserves to be considered one of those "special" ballplayers.
7 IP, 2H, 2 BB and 11K
Even though the sample size is extremely limited, those numbers are nothing short of eye-popping. I am not ready to anoint him the Yankees' savior, although he is an upgrade from the mediocre duo of Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney.
He started the year with the Single-A Tampa Yankees and made his debut on August 7 in Toronto. With the stuff he has displayed sinceand the inconsistency the bullpen has displayed throughout the season it's a wonder he didn't get the call sooner.
The kid from Nebraska brings a heater at anywhere from 97 to 100 mph and a witchcraft slider. The most impressive part of his repertoire, though, is his poise.
He is the first player, 21-year-old or otherwise, I can remember getting his name chanted by the fans for simply trotting to the mound for the first time. That's quite a lot of pressure to put on a young man.
He reacted by slicing through Miguel Tejada, Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff in 10 pitches, including strikeouts of Tejada and Huff.
He upped the ante the next time out, dispatching Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen in just 9 pitches. Chamberlain got Sheff to pop out a 99 mph fastball, fanned Ordonez on three fastballs; one high, one middle-out and one low-out and pulled the string on Guillen with a sharp-breaking slider off the plate inside.
He's wowed the Yankee Stadium crowd and national media alike and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Remember, though, he is only 21 and will fail at some point. Someone will square one of those fastballs and hit it a long way. How he reacts is the important part.
If he broods and tries to throw the ball even harder, things will only get worse. If he is able to shake it off and continue going about his game plan, then he will have proven that he deserves to be considered one of those "special" ballplayers.
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