LIFE has been good to the Yankees this season with all the walk-off wins and simple fly balls splashing into the seats at Yankee Stadium for those dramatic home runs.
And yet, Joba Chamberlain’s terrible outing Wednesday night could be one of the best things to happen to this team all season.
How’s that possible, you ask?
Joba’s dreadful performance against the AAA Royals could work in the Yankees favor because now it gives Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi the perfect opportunity to build that lockdown bullpen the Yankees will need to win their 27th World Championship. Joba to the pen again is a no-brainer.
I don’t want to hear the Yankees need two pinch-runners for the postseason and one less arm. That’s crazy. Take 11 pitchers to this first dance. If you insist on taking only 10, make sure one of them is Joba the Reliever. It’s time to adjust.
If the Yankees need a stolen base late in the game that’s why Brett Gardner is around. Don’t over-think this too much. The better your pitching, the fewer stolen bases you will need.
I don’t want to hear anything about Chamberlain not being on the postseason roster for the first round. Here’s the perfect role for Joba in the ALDS.
It’s called pitcher.
If the bullpen has the likes of Mariano Rivera, Phil Hughes, Chamberlain, Brian Bruney, a couple lefties in Phil Coke and shaky Damaso Marte, plus Dave Robertson and Alfredo Aceves, that gives the Yankees Strength of Pen that is needed for October.
They’ve been down this postseason road before with a strong bullpen. You can’t have too many big arms, especially for those pre-Mo innings. Remember when John Wetteland, Rivera and Jeff Nelson matched up so well against opponents.
Chamberlain is so messed up right now, so confused, his only salvation is to go back to the bullpen where life is simple. There is no arguing with Jorge Posada over pitch selection, no stalling and walking around, endlessly licking your palm and rubbing up the baseball as you try to figure out what to do next.
How about just rearing back and firing the baseball?
As a starter, Chamberlain appears to be second-guessing himself before and after each pitch. He’s lost his rhythm and his fastball command as a starter.
All the pitch counts, the innings threshold, the depth of learning that is involved in becoming a knockout starter has his head spinning. The Yankees have tried to do the right thing by protecting Joba’s arm, but in the process they’ve messed up his head so it doesn’t look like the same arm that it was when he first arrived in the major leagues.
You can just see Chamberlain over-thinking every pitch. Girardi can put his mind at ease by putting him back in the bullpen and telling him, “Joba, when the gate opens, just come in and let loose.”
October baseball is all about getting back to your roots.
Fire the rock and every once in a while mix in a killer slider.
All the other stuff Chamberlain is working on now as a starter can be worked on next spring in Tampa. There is no time to think in October. There is only time to do.
In the sequel “Bullpen II,” Chamberlain doesn’t even have to worry about being the setup man for Rivera. That job is in the capable hands of Hughes, and Hughes loves every minute of that role. Remember, Phil Hughes was supposed to be that young stud starter. Sometimes this game figures out what’s best for you.
All Joba has to worry about is firing the baseball when Girardi calls for No. 62.
Life is simple, again. C’mon down and get somebody out.