I had the exact same reaction to Joba Chamberlain's first start as I did to seeing that lousy new Indiana Jones movie.That was it?
All that build up... all the games the Yankees desperately needed a quality arm in the pen but couldn't use Joba because he was becoming a starter... all the hype and interviewers asking former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay how he felt about facing Joba...
2 1/3 innings?
Isn't that a good middle relief outing?
Does the manager tend to say "Go out there and give me three"?
Actually they do... In SPRING TRAINING!
They are so careful with this guy's arm that they won't let him pitch... not out of the bullpen and not in a start!
Did they realize that this divisional game actually counts in the standings?
So naturally they have him not pitch out of trouble in the third (why would a starter need to learn that) and the parade of mediocrity made a 3-2 game into a 9-3 game.
When the Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez and Latroy Hawkins trio were serving pumpkins up to the plate, all I could think was "Man, they should warm up Joba... oh wait."
Soon to be fired Blue Jays manager said it best. "I'm glad to be not facing [Joba] in the 8th inning. I'm happy to be their guinea pigs."
This storyline for Joba (he's a starter... he's a savior in the pen.... he's a set up guy.... he's not available as a set up guy... DON'T PITCH HIM PAST 3 INNINGS!) is harder to follow than The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
But unlike that movie, the bugs crawling on Joba were real not computer generated.
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