The Most Anticipated Start of '08: Joba Chamberlain's Short but Sweet Outing

New York — No more than a few innings after his debut abruptly ended, I got my first text message bashing Joba Chamberlain’s start. The text was basically Joba’s line for the night, highlighting the fact that he didn’t survive past the third inning.

The text didn’t bother me, nor did Joba’s start, since I knew the real reason why he only threw 62 pitches. It was the plan all along, and manager Joe Girardi stuck to it.

I understand converting such a valuable asset from one position to another must be dealt with by using extreme caution. Joba Chamberlain is clearly the most electrifying player on the New York Yankees, and if the early success that he displayed was any indication of what is possible for this young phenom, then by all means take your time with him.

The Yankees did. As soon as Joba Chamberlain was announced as Tuesday’s starter, the limit of 65-70 pitches was saddled on his back along with the pressure of giant expectations and perpetual criticism.

To the disagreement of many others I have spoken with, I do believe making Joba Chamberlain a starter is the right thing to do. The inadequacy the Yankees will have toward the back of their bullpen is less a matter of losing Joba than it is giving Kyle Farnsworth the ball in any important situation.

The truth is, if this was a matter of Joba closing the game or starting it, I can see the argument against it. However, this is solely for the eighth inning, a time in which the Yankees may not even have a lead to protect, seeing as this push to make Joba a starter is based greatly on need in the rotation.

I was pleased with Joba’s start; it highlighted his imperfections and showcased his determination. He is considered a “strikeout pitcher”, and by virtue of that, he will run his pitch count high.

He does not pitch to make contact and get outs via his defense unlike Chien-Ming Wang, instead Joba barbarically attacks the batter until someone loses the battle. Therein lies the criticism of last night’s start.

As a Major League pitcher, Joba Chamberlain was expected to do one thing: get through one or two innings without relinquishing the Yankee’s lead by any means necessary. He usually didn’t need more than 30 pitches to complete two innings, but there was never the limit held above his head.

Now as a starter, Chamberlain is expected to live out the mantra of all starting pitchers, “give my team a chance to win.” This means outs, not strikeouts, and more importantly, innings, not pitches.

Immediately from the time Joba was burdened with a pitch limit, there was no way he would be able to meet New York’s extremely high expectations for his first start.

Realistically, for Joba to even be eligible for the win, he would need to have pitched five complete innings, while keeping his pitch count below 70. To do that, he would have needed to average 14 pitches per inning, and less than five pitches per out.

So of course the natural reaction that I have gotten from everyone, including the “professional” writers was about Joba’s “so-so” debut with “mixed results”. They see the short outing as a sign of failure, something that is true of most pitchers in most situations. They see the four walks as “lack of control” rather than Joba trying to be the perfectionist we have expected.

Joba Chamberlain’s debut, above all, was hopeful. He was not happy with his results, but he usually does not seem pleased with his performances unless they are perfect.

Joba’s next start will be this weekend against Kansas City, where he will be allowed to throw up to 80 pitches. With more leeway and the experience gained from Tuesday’s outing, one can guarantee Joba Chamberlain will have a different approach to his next start.

He will have to pitch to the bat and allow the defense to help him. In Tuesday’s game, he allowed only one hit and one run over his few innings of work. If this were a normal Joba Chamberlain outing, it most likely would have been enough to get to Mariano Rivera with the Yankees either leading or tied.

Chamberlain now will have to work on going deep in the game rather than master every single at bat. Contrary to New York’s attitude, it is acceptable for Joba to give up hits and, dare I say, runs over the course of a game.

Had Joba pitched Tuesday’s game brilliantly over the course of, at most, six innings, he would have to repeat that performance every time in order for him to be considered successful, and any deviation would deem him a bust. He now has faced adversity brought about by his early success and has to fight through extremely strict pitch counts to succeed.

Because of Tuesday’s one hit performance, I am excited to see how Chamberlain will react and basically reinvent his attitude as his transformation continues from superstar reliever to a potential ace.