Chamberlain wows 'em in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- First came the collective, ahhhhh, when Joba Chamberlain entered the game in the eighth inning and fired a 99-mph fastball. Then, after the big right-hander struck out two of the Orioles' most dangerous sluggers -- Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff -- the 54,398 in this House That Ruth Built embraced the one wearing No. 62 with a standing ovation and chants of "Joba! Joba! Joba!"
That's how Chamberlain introduced himself and his slingshot of an arm to New York. It was his first time pitching in Yankee Stadium.
Joba, the Big Apple is happy to meet you.
Chamberlain has followed in the footsteps of another homegrown Yankee, Shelley Duncan, quickly entrenching himself as a fan favorite by way of instant results.
Armed with a fastball approaching triple digits and a slider that can border on unfair, Chamberlain has the tools to be a big part of the Yankees' bullpen down the stretch. Still, Jorge Posada knew Chamberlain would be running high on adrenaline in his first home appearance, and he made sure to tell the rookie to stay within himself.
"You know, the crowd gets involved and you want to throw 1,000 [mph]," Posada said. "But the biggest thing is to throw strikes, and that's why I went out there before he even threw."
The Yankees have made no secret of their plan to not over-extend one of their most coveted organizational properties. They do not plan to pitch Chamberlain on back-to-back days. If he is stretched out to two innings in an outing, the big right-hander is slated to have at least two days of rest.
Given Saturday and Sunday off following his two-inning shutdown of the Indians on Friday night, Chamberlain had met the prerequisites to get into the action against the Orioles. After fanning Aubrey Huff with a nasty slider to end the eighth, Chamberlain pumped his fist and yelled with excitement.
"He was trying to keep himself in touch with the rubber out there," manager Joe Torre said after the Yankees 7-6 victory. "I think he was really pumped up."
Despite his amped up presence on the mound, Chamberlain didn't pitch like a rookie with jitters on the big stage. He threw 14 pitches in the frame, including nine for strikes.
Chamberlain has walked two and struck out eight in five innings since being called up. He said after Monday's game that his slider remained his most unpredictable pitch.
"It does whatever it wants to do sometimes, and so as long as it keeps getting outs and I keep getting confidence in it, I'm just going to keep going on."
Chamberlain hasn't been afraid to call on his veteran teammates for questioning and advice. Mariano Rivera -- who blew his first save since April 20 after following Chamberlain into the game on Monday -- praised the rookie for his openess with teammates.
"It's interesting," Rivera said. "Like I said before, it's unusual that he comes to you and asks you. I love it. Aggressive. I love his aggressiveness."
"He wants to learn and he asks a lot of questions," Jason Giambi said. "Even when I was down there [at Triple-A], he sat next to me and asked me, 'What's it like facing guys up there?' It's kind of fun to watch and reminds me of what I was like, trying to pick everyone's brain. He's going to be a phenomenal player. He really has a ton of talent but he really wants to learn."
Chamberlain's willing to learn, and he's certainly teaching American League hitters that he's capable of jumping into a pennant race without missing a beat.
"The kid is going to be good," Bobby Abreu said. "God bless him."
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