The Good, The Bad & The Fist Pump

I loved seeing Joba Chamberlain pitch with confidence last night. He was out there fist pumping and yelling like the Joba we used to see setting up for Mo. I've always said that Joba needs to be more demonstrative on the mound. He's taken criticism for it, but if that's you and it gets you pumped...then Joba, you do you. The opposition may not like it, but if you win, they'll fucking have to respect it.

All that being said, Joba needs to find a way to start the game with the same intensity, command & velocity he's been able to eventually show the past two starts. The way he pitched from the 2nd inning on last night was one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a starting pitcher in a long time. Of the 14 outs he recorded after the 1st inning, 12 were by strike out. He was hitting 96 with the fastball and both his slider & change-up were unhittable. He was hitting the corners with everything. And he was working fast. You could tell that he knew he had all his pitches working, and he just couldn't wait to throw the next one.

However, he looked terrible in the 1st inning giving up 5 hits including a HR, while striking out no one.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that Joba is trying to pace himself to be able to pitch longer into the game. But I'd rather Joba go out there and dominate for 5 innings then pitch 7 innings with mediocre stuff. And in reality, if he is trying to hold back, he won't last 7 innings most nights anyway because he'll get hit hard early or his pitch count will still be too high from nibbling, trying to make the perfect pitch.

Hopefully, last night Joba learned the lesson that he's good, but he's not that good that he can get major league hitters out without bringing his best stuff, from pitch #1 to pitch #101.

But that's the point. Joba is still learning lessons every time out. He's basically learning how to be a major league starting pitcher in front of our eyes. He spent a total of 1 year in the minor leagues. In his entire professional career he's pitched a total of...get this...241 innings. He's started a total of 32 games, major leagues & minor leagues combined. So far, in his major league career, Joba is 7-4 with a 2.47 ERA with 181 SO's in 153 innings.

Hopefully, those numbers are just a preview of a long & successful career.