Tag Archives: Joba Chamberlain

October 3, 2014

No Midges

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Joba Chamberlain tries again this afternoon for the Tigers. This time he gets one out but gives up two more hits and at least one run. He also hit a batter and leaves the game with two on and one out in the bottom of the eighth. The Tigers scored in the top of the inning, and now lead 6-4.

Update: Joakim Soria comes in and issues a walk to load the bases.

Update: Delmon Young clears the bases with a line drive double down the leftfield line on the first pitch. The Orioles lead 7-6 as the Tigers bullpen melts down one more time.

Update: Soria gets out of the inning with no more damage, but the Orioles are three outs away from a 2-0 lead in the five game series.

Update: The Tigers go down in order in the ninth, and the Orioles sweep the games at Camden Yards.

So far, the post season has been a bit higher scoring than the regular season. Four of the five games played so far saw at least eight runs scored in total.

May 21, 2014

Games of the Day

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Chris Young and Nick Tepesch square off in an unusual afternoon game in Texas as the Mariners take on the Rangers. Young is no longer the strikeout pitcher of his youth. His fastball now clocks in at around 85 MPH instead of the 89-90 of his youth. That said, he was never exactly overpowering. He used a 10 MPH difference between his fastball and slider to fool batters. That difference is down to 8 MPH, but he still seems to be fooling batter enough to get weak balls in play. Only 17.7% of the balls in play against him have been line drives, and while he has batters put a lot of balls in the air, most of them come down in the gloves of fielders. That helps him quite a bit in Seattle, where only one of the six home runs against him have been hit. His FIP is much higher than his ERA, but pitching in Seattle probably makes the difference.

Tepesch makes his second start of the season. In his brief major league career, he showed he can blow batters away with Ks, but his walks and home runs still need some work.

Jeff Samardzija

Jeff Samardzija’s concentration on the plate helped him to the NL lead in ERA. Photo: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Whitley and Jeff Samardzija continue the Yankees series at Chicago. Whitley pitched well in his MLB debut, holding the Mets to two hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Samardzjia finds himself in the NL lead in ERA, but an 0-4 record to show for it. The Assigned Wins Tracker has him at 1-3, so he has just not gotten a lot of support in his starts.

Kyle Lohse and Ervin Santana battle in one of the best series for pitching matchups this season, as Milwaukee plays game three of their four game set against the Braves. With four losses in a row, the Brewers lead in the NL Central is down to 2 1/2 games. Lohse has yet to lose on the road despite posting better numbers at home. He’s walked 11 in 30 2/3 road innings, just 2 in 28 2/3 innings in Milwaukee. Santana’s 3-0 mark at home is also a result of great control, just two walks in 21 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers and Mets meet at Citi Field with Hyun-jin Ryu taking on rookie Jacob deGrom. Ryu comes of the disabled list, resting a sore shoulder. He allowed just one home run in 39 innings this season, and CitiField should not hurt that number. deGrom made a high quality start in his first MLB appearance, holding the Yankees to one run in seven innings. Unfortunately, the Mets did not score in the game, so he took the loss.

By the way, how many Dodgers fans are left in the New York area? It’s been nearly 60 years since the team moved out of Brooklyn. I know they had a strong following (unlike the Giants) that remained loyal, but I would think they are starting to die off quite rapidly. There is no doubt some inter-generational fandom, as parents pass their love of a team down to their children. I suspect there are a lot fewer Brooklyn hats at these games then in the past.

Of course, CitiField is a shrine to the Dodgers, so maybe that group will never die out.

Finally, Minnesota visits San Diego with Phil Hughes facing Tyson Ross. The lost Yankees phenoms are doing quite well this season. Joba Chamberlain is blowing away batters for the Tigers, with 24 K in 18 2/3 innings of relief. He’s yet to allow a home run. Hughes equaled his win total of 2013, four, and dropped his ERA 1 1/2 runs. He’s only walked six in 47 1/3 innings with a good K rate, and he’s keeping the ball in the park. Ross gets helped by PETCO Field quite a bit. He allowed two homers in 34 innings at home, helping him to a 1.59 ERA there. On the road, he allowed four homers in 23 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!

December 12, 2013

Half a Win

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I see the Tigers signed Joba Chamberlain for the 2014 season at $2.5 million plus incentives.

To show how high salaries have gone, and how much Joba’s stock has fallen, 2.5 million doesn’t even buy a team 1/2 a WAR anymore.

Detroit employs a number of pitchers who command the strike zone. Maybe Chamberlain can learn a thing or two from them.

November 5, 2013

Free Agent Page

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Baseball Reference posted an excellent page detailing the career numbers of the free-agents on the market, and also shows which one signed.

Update: Note that there are very few free agents in their prime years (25-29). The few that are haven’t performed well in their careers. So most signings will be of a player who likely will decline during the term of the contract.

It’s also a reason to take a flier on Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain. Both will be seasonal age 28 in 2014. Both have decent strikeout rates. Hughes might be the easier fix, since his only real problem is the home run ball. Joba suffers from that, also, in addition to losing his control in 2013. Hughes in San Diego, with the Padres limiting his starts in Arizona and Colorado, might work out very well.

January 23, 2013 October 11, 2012

A Bat Gets Joba

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Matt Wieters singles to left leading off the twelfth, but the bat breaks and hits Joba Chamberlain in his pitching elbow. Joba is throwing on the mound to see if he can stay in the game.

By the way, which game do you think is going to finish first, the game in New York or the game in Oakland.

Joba’s elbow has a huge bruise, and it started to swell, so he comes out of the game. The Yankees and Orioles remain tied at one.

Update: David Phelps comes on in relief.

Update: Phelps leaves Wieters stranded at first. The game goes to the bottom of the 12th, where it ended last night.

August 1, 2012

Joba Returns

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Joba Chamberlain returned to the major leagues Wednesday afternoon, but he didn’t rule. In 1 2/3 innings he allowed a walk and four hits, including a home run, but only two runs. That was okay, as the Yankees led big at the time, so Joba could afford to get used to the big leagues again. The Yankees beat the Orioles 12-3 and extend their AL East lead to 6 1/2 games.

July 10, 2012 March 27, 2012

Joba News

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Joba Chamberlain meets with reporters today to talk about his injury, but it seems we know what he’ll say:

Chamberlain will tell reporters that when he was hurt last week, there was no major blood loss, as has been reported, according to sources.

He will also say that his life was never in jeopardy and unless something unforeseen happens in his rehabilitation, his career won’t be in jeopardy, sources told Olney.

That’s all very good news.

March 25, 2012

Joba Coming Home

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Joba Chamberlain will leave the hospital today, Sunday:

Chamberlain was hurt while playing with his son Thursday at a recreation spot. He needed surgery for the injury in which bone broke through the skin.

Cashman says Chamberlain will be in a nonweight-bearing cast for six weeks. There is no timetable for when the 26-year-old right-hander can resume pitching.

Another article I saw speculated that Joba can’t do weight bearing activity for a while. That means no running, and no weight lifting that involves his legs. If and when he gets cleared to work, his surgically repaired arm might be ready, but his legs will be behind. I hope someone does an article about his rehabilitation, it will be interesting to see how they manage to exercise his legs with out pressure. Bo Jackson ran in a water tank to strengthen his hip. Joba might be swimming a lot.

March 23, 2012 March 23, 2012

Jumping Joba

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It looks like Joba Chamberlain won’t be making an early comeback from Tommy John surgery:

According to the YES Network, Chamberlain had surgery on right ankle Thursday night after injuring it while jumping on a trampoline with his son. The New York Daily News reports he was at a children’s recreation center and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

…

When asked if the injury could be season-threatening or even career-threatening, Cashman told the Daily News, “I’m not in a position to say.” The newspaper described Cashman’s demeanor as “shaken.”

My best friend’s wife is an emergency room pediatrician, and whenever she sees a trampoline in someone’s yard she wants to tear it down.

March 10, 2012

Joba Improves

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Joba Chamberlain stays ahead of schedule as he tries to return to the mound after Tommy John surgery:

Joba Chamberlain’s plan to throw breaking balls from flat ground tomorrow has been scrapped because the Yankees reliever finished a bullpen session yesterday by throwing one curveball and five sliders from in front of the mound to a catcher standing up.

“Dr. Andrews, Larry [Rothschild] and [trainer] Stevie [Donohue] suggested I throw the slider because I had been throwing the fastball and you throw your slider off your fastball,’’ Chamberlain said following the 30-pitch workout.

Throwing breaking balls was the latest positive step for Chamberlain, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery he had in June.

It would be rather impressive if Joba could return in May. As a reliever, he would not need to build the same stamina as a starter.

February 28, 2012

Full Joba

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Joba Chamberlain threw off a full mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery:

“Sixteen pitches, you don’t think that’s much,” Chamberlain said. “But when you haven’t been on a mound since June, your legs get a little tired just from warming up, throwing my long-toss, then my flat ground, before I got on the mound. My legs are a little tired, which is a good feeling. Towards about 10, I could start to feel it. And that’s when you rely on your mechanics and trust your motion. I think I did a pretty good job of that. That’s a part of continuing to build up off the full mound, is getting to 25-30 pitches and getting legs under you.”

I’m very interested to see if Joba returns to close to his 2007 form with his arm fixed.

June 14, 2011 June 9, 2011

Joba Done

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Joba Chamberlain suffered a torn ligament in his elbow:

“My guess is he probably is going to have to have surgery,” Girardi said.

Girardi thought Chamberlain would likely have Tommy John surgery, which would mean he would be out for the rest of the year.

That’s tough. Joba seemed to settle well into his relief role this season. We may not see him until 2013. It looks like the Yankees will need to call on their minor league depth soon.

June 8, 2011

Yankees Lose Chamberlain

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The Yankees placed Joba Chamberlain on the disabled list due to an elbow injury:

The Yankees will be without Joba Chamberlain for at least the next three weeks after he was placed on the disabled list with a strained flexor muscle in his right elbow.

Joba was pitching well with 24 K and seven walks in 28 2/3 innings. Those numbers are tough to replace. The Yankees now have their setup man, and the setup man’s setup man on the disabled list.

April 1, 2011

Embracing the Hut

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Alex Belth changes his mind about Joba Chamberlain.

At this point, the writers seemed to have gotten the Joba Chamberlain story wrong this spring. He came in heavy, and initial conclusion was that he was fat. In reality, he seems to have put on a layer of muscle, and he’s throwing hard again. I actually like the way Brian Cashman played this as well.

“He’s heavier, we’ll just leave it at that,” Cashman said.

Told that Chamberlain said he packed on muscle, Cashman said: “He’s obviously heavier. That’s as much as I’ll say.”

Asked if he expected Chamberlain to be lighter by camp’s end, Cashman declined comment.

“He’s heavier,” Cashman said.

Brian’s job is know if his players are fat or muscular. Cashman was perfectly fine letting the media think something was wrong here, so Joba could surprise people. Here’s his fastball velocity from yesterday:

Joba Chamberlain fastballs March 31, 2011

Joba Chamberlain fastballs, March 31, 2011

Those look pretty close to 95 MPH to me. Whatever he did over the winter, whether he was lifting Twinkies or weights, seems to have worked.

Thanks to Baseball Analytics for the heat map.

March 31, 2011

Perfect Pen

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The Yankees bullpen worked perfectly today, with Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera retiring all nine batters they faced, striking out three of them. The Yankees win the game against the Tigers 6-3. With a pen this strong, New York hopes to shorten games to six innings, and they did that today. Chamberlain gets the win thanks to a Curtis Granderson homer, and Rivera earns save 560. All in all, it was a good day in the Bronx.

March 23, 2011 February 26, 2011 February 15, 2011

Joba Speaks

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One thing I like about Joba Chamberlain is that he tends to say the right things:

Asked about Cashman’s comments, Chamberlain said, “As far as what he said, that really doesn’t mean anything to me. That’s the approach that we should all have, that we have to earn it. Not only all of us, but coaches included. They have to push us to make us better and I think that’s a goal we all have.

“Nothing is given to you in the game of baseball,” he added. “If you have 10 years or whatever, you have to take the opportunity you have to pitch for any team – especially this team – and try to make the best of it. We all have to prove it, day in and day out.”

Through the whole starter/reliever controversy, Joba always said he would do whatever the Yankees wanted. Chamberlain has his faults, but being a public pain to management is not one of them.

February 14, 2011

No Pressure

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Brian Cashman talks about Joba Chamberlain’s place on the roster:

As pitchers and catchers get set Monday to report in Tampa, Cashman said the right-hander, who already endured four difficult years in New York, would remain a reliever — if selected.

“Anybody who has [minor league] options is not a lock for anything,” the GM said Sunday. “Any player with options has to re-earn everything. You earn more or you earn less — New York or Scranton.”

I would guess that statement will get the pitcher’s attention.

January 14, 2011

Joba’s Job

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Mike Axisa opines on what the Yankees should do with Joba Chamberlain now that Rafael Soriano is the setup man:

Before the Yankees started screwing around with Joba’s innings limitations in 2009, he was fantastic as a starter. The guy made 34 full starts from June 2008 through August 2009, meaning he wasn’t pulled early and was allowed to empty the tank. In those 34 starts, he had a 3.54 ERA (3.97 FIP) with 8.50 K/9, 3.84 uIBB/9, and 0.92 HR/9. Opponents had .329 wOBA off him during that time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say Joba was some kind of ace caliber starter during this time, but good grief, he was 23 years old basically the whole time. He was better and younger than Phil Hughes was in 2010. If a young kid performs like that in the AL East, you don’t stick him in the bullpen, you keep him in the rotation because at worst, he’s a mid-rotation starter. At best, he’s on his way to becoming something more.

I’m not asking for a miracle here, just give the guy a chance to start again in Spring Training. There’s basically no downside. If he gets hurt and his days as an effective pitcher come to an end, who cares? All the Yankees would be losing is a seventh inning reliever. If it works, well then geez, you’ve got yourself a young big league starter, something the team could really use right about now. It’s Spring Training, just try it. That’s all I’m asking. Just make an effort, give him the same kind of rope they gave Hughes this past year.

I tend to agree with Mike, although I expect Joba to regress to his FIP in 2011, which would make him look like a much better pitcher. In that case, the signing does help the rotation, since the back of the rotation starters just need to worry about pitching five or six innings and letting the offense and bullpen take care of the rest.

October 16, 2010

Joba Earns a Hold

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Superstition trumped mother nature in the Yankees clubhouse:

Chamberlain, who made his first appearance of the postseason in relief of CC Sabathia, said he was up in the clubhouse. As Brett Gardner reached on his infield single and Derek Jeter followed with a RBI double, Chamberlain and some of the Yankees support staff were watching on TV. Once the rally started, it was decided that no one would move from their positions until the inning was over. To do otherwise might throw off the Yankees karma.

There was only one problem. “I had to pee really bad,” Chamberlain said. “It was getting to the point where” – he paused for a second, searching for the right words – “I was going to have to figure something out,” he finally said without an ounce of apology.

The team winning trumps everything when you’re in distress.

October 6, 2010

The Joba Rank

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Kerry Wood comes in to pitch the eighth for the Yankees with a 6-4 lead over the Twins. I guess that shows Joe Girardi doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Joba Chamberlain at this point.

Update: Wood records two outs, but puts two batters on and that’s enough to bring in Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.

Update: Denard Span get ahead of Rivera 3-0, but grounds a 3-2 pitch to shortstop for the third out. The Yankees take a 6-4 lead to the ninth.

September 3, 2010

Evil Player

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The Evil Player program selected Joba Chamberlain as Friday’s evil player. What can you say about the dastardliness of a player named after a Star Wars villain?

This year, Joba’s evil comes in drips and drabs however. His high strikeout rate is not reflected in a low batter average. He likes to make life tough for himself with a .365 OBP allowed with none on and none out. His home runs tend to come with men on base. Batters hit him well with two out and men in scoring position, so just when you think he can get out of a jam, POW! He hasn’t pitched well at Yankee Stadium, so fans get to see him at his worst.

Still, his three true outcomes are very good, so I feel there is still good in him. He just needs to turn away from the dark side.

August 31, 2010 July 6, 2010

Struggling Duel

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Javier Vazquez and Ben Sheets both pitched well Monday night as the Yankees defeated the Athletics 3-1. Vazquez only struck out two, but he kept the ball in the park. Oakland batters put the ball in play 22 times, but managed just three hits.

Sheets walked none and struck out four. He allowed one home run in his 7 1/3 innings of work, so his home run rate remains high. Still, if Sheets can give Oakland starts like that more often, he should win more of them than he loses.

Joba Chamberlain also pitched well, striking out two of the three batters he faced. In 35 1/3 innings pitched, he’s struck out 40 while walking 13 and allowing one home run. His 5.09 ERA is well above his FIP of 2.35. This highlights one of the problems with relief pitching. Joba’s pitched a few bad innings. Over four different appearances, he allowed 14 runs in two innings. If a starter does that, he gets to pitch a lot more innings to even out those valleys. A reliever’s ERA is stuck with them. In Joba’s other 33 appearances his ERA is 1.62. When I see 40/13/1 in 35 1/3 innings with a 5.09 ERA, I think bad luck. It’s the modern curse of relievers, that individual great years and poor seasons are often the result of small sample sizes distorting the data.

May 29, 2010

Lucky Sevens

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The Cleveland Indians score seven runs in the seventh inning against the Yankees to take a 12-10 lead. The Yankees scored six runs in the fourth to build a 9-3 lead, but Sabathia and the bullpen frittered that away. Joba Chamberlain was the biggest arsonist in the inning, giving up four hits and a walk with two outs, and getting four runs charged to him.

Despite 22 runs in the game, no one has homered. The Yankees are batting in the bottom of the seventh.