Takin' a T/O With BT: Sorry About Your Luck Joba Chamberlain

Well that was fun wasn't it? I mean, I was looking forward to watching the New York Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays in hallowed Yankee Stadium last night, with Roy Halladay on the mound, and possibly looking for the Woz in the stands.

Then we got bombarded with the fact that it was Joba Chamberlain's first career start—not first game, or first appearance amongst the ranks of Major League Baseball—but his first career start.

Needless to say, I'm sick of it already.

From the outset, it seemed that the sky was falling on poor Joba. He couldn't find the zone, he looked uncomfortable out on the mound for all but the second inning, and nothing was working out for him (aside from getting out of the first inning with only surrendering one run).

He was forced to throw 38 pitches in the first inning, which essentially sealed his 70 pitch-limit fate for the rest of the evening, and he was mercifully pulled after two-and-a-third innings.

And all of the sudden, the world seemed to cave in for the Yankees.

I'm not talking about the fact they couldn't score on Roy Halladay for the rest of the game, or the unfortunate (for them) six run seventh which seemed to seal the Bronx Bombers' fate, or the fact it took the Yankees six pitchers to get through the night.

I'm talking about poor Joba Chamberlain.

For a kid who had grown accustomed to coming out of the bullpen in his brief time in the Majors, the transition to becoming a starter was bound to be different and difficult—no matter how many "adjusted" starts the Yankees provided him with.

When you go from minor league starter to Mariano Rivera's possible replacement to major league starter, there's going to be a few hiccups—just ask Josh Towers what the difference is between starting in the minors and the majors.

So was anyone surprised when the kid fell flat on his face in his debut as a starter despite the all important fact that "his first appearance and his first strikeout came against these same Blue Jays"?

Maybe a little bit, but you can't tell me that it was a huge shocker for you.

If anything, this year's installment of the Yankees is a perfect sample of how "great young pitching" can hit a road block, either because of injuries or ineffectiveness.

Joba was just simply ineffective in his first try as a major league starter.

Can he get better? Sure he can, but in watching him pitch both as a starter and a reliever, I would lean towards agreeing with the argument that he's better in the bullpen.

I mean, the list of Joba Chamberlain Statistics That I Grew Tired of After the First Inning Last Night included:

-The aforementioned fact that his first appearance, strikeout, and save came against the Toronto Blue Jays.

-He hasn't started a game since July of last year

-He jumped three levels in one season

Sidenote: That's not to say jumping three levels of professional ball isn't amazing, because obviously not everyone can. I'm just wondering when the novelty of it wears off. Am I the only one getting tired of this? It was nice when we heard about it last year, but over a quarter of the way through this year we're still talking about it? Super.

What happens if Joba crumbles and becomes a journeyman reliever? Does he become known as Three Levels Chamberlain just for kicks? If he gets inducted to the Hall of Fame is he going to attribute it to jumping three levels in the span of a year? I'd rather still be talking about the bugs in Cleveland than this...I think.

-That the Yankees were 15-5 when Joba came out of the bullpen

-That in comparison with Joba, the rest of the Yankees' pitchers suck in the eighth inning (It was a split-screen stat on the telecast, but I can tell you that the ERA of the rest of the roster was much higher, and while Joba's strikeout to walk ratio rang in at 21/7, the rest of the staff came in at 27/13—take from it what you will).

Needless to say, the lack of familiarity Joba had with opponents, the better he was. Granted, to say that after only one start is like saying that Eiffel 65 was going to end up winning a boatload of Grammys over their careers after the success of Blue.  But, as the score stands now: Joba as a reliever: 1 vs. Joba as a starter: 0.

Sidenote: Despite the tag of 'one hit wonder', Eiffel 65 still has the best song about a color. It beats Yellow by a long shot. Yellow Submarine is still the best song that incorporates a color and an undersea vessel though.

If Joba wants to be successful as a starter, then he needs the fans' support and patience. If the Yankee faithful jump on him after another crummy start, he may not even have the confidence to return to his familiar eighth-inning role.

The expectations are lofty for him, but the fans need to remember that he's still adapting to the major league game—and that there are going to be bumps in the road. Prodigy or not he's still human.

Needless to say, a win is a win. As a fan of a team that's a division rival I'm ecstatic.

As a fan of baseball, I'm worried that a raucous crowd and lofty expectations could end up engulfing a promising career.

We'll see what happens in four more days.