TAMPA — A somber Joba Chamberlain was wheeled out of St. Joseph’s Hospital and into a waiting SUV shortly before noon Sunday and didn’t have much to say, but his manager sounded confident the 26-year-old wasn’t done for 2012.
“I am optimistic he will pitch for us this year,” Girardi said after the Yankees and Tigers played to a 1-1, 10-inning tie at Steinbrenner Field Sunday. “I saw him Friday. I’m pretty optimistic after talking to him. It’s good to see him doing well.”
The Yankees reliever, who suffered an open dislocation of his right ankle on Thursday while jumping on a trampoline with his 5-year-old son at a Tampa area children’s recreation center, was asked if he was OK and said, “Yeah.”
He declined to answer any other questions, saying, “I’ll talk to you Tuesday.”
Despite Chamberlain’s understandably dour mood, both Girardi and GM Brian Cashman were pleased with the progress he has made since suffering the horrific injury in which the bone tore through the skin.
The Yankees want to get the dislocation reduced and lessen the chance of infection, since that could end his career. With every day that goes by, the odds of him getting an infection subside.
“First and foremost, this was a unique injury,” Cashman said. “The risky stuff on the low end of the spectrum is all we care about right now. After that we start worrying about baseball stuff.”
As expected, Chamberlain will remain in a cast for six weeks and likely won’t be able to do any weight-bearing activity for up to four months.
That setback, combined with the fact that his recovery from last year’s Tommy John surgery is now stalled, has jeopardized his season. But the Yankees have been encouraged by CT scan results that showed no microfractures.
“You know Joba, he is a healer,” Cashman said. “He gets hurt, but his healing process is really significant. We are counting on that. That’s why my gut tells me that he is going to be OK. I hope I am right on that. I can rely on the history.”
The Yankees had expected Chamberlain to be back in the bullpen by June, since his recovery from elbow surgery was ahead of schedule.
That’s part of the reason the GM said Chamberlain is upset about yet another injury.
“He is down, but at the same time he has perspective,” Cashman said. “His attitude is the reality of what has taken place. He has to do what’s necessary to get back to where he needs to be and I think he understands that. He is frustrated and sad. But at the same time he is a man. He knows what the road ahead is and he isn’t afraid of it.”
Chamberlain told Cashman that said doctors told him he could be on a mound as early as July, which is a best-case scenario. Nothing that has happened since has changed that.
“Everything is going as good as expected,” Cashman said. “So far everything looks great, as far as I’ve been told.”
Cashman has called Chamberlain’s absence in the bullpen “a massive loss,” but his concern remains with his overall recovery.
“He told me to tell people thanks for praying for him,” Cashman said.
Additional reporting by George A. King III