Angsty Joba
Let me start with the bad news.
This sums up this afternoon’s game quite nicely, I think.
Throughout this season, Joba Chamberlain has displayed a Burnett-like tendency to either be lights-out dominant or really, really awful. There were many (myself included) who thought during Spring Training that Chamberlain, and not Phil Hughes, was the wisest choice for fifth starter and would be wasted in the eighth inning role. So far, while sometimes we have seen flashes of the raw stuff and command that would constitute a top-flight starter or reliever, we have seen maddening inconsistency and a tendency towards total meltdown.
Today, unfortunately, we were faced with very, very Bad!Joba.
CC Sabathia was unspectacular against the Cleveland Indians, but the bats of Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano have been on fire and we went to the 7th inning holding a 10-5 lead. David Robertson recorded an out, hit a batter, gave up a double, and was removed with stiffness in his lower back; Sergio Mitre, inexplicably used for only one batter, issued a walk; Damaso Marte retired the one lefty he faced, and then Joba came in with a 10-6 score, two runners on, and two men out.
Joba, while sporting a fastball that touched 97 mph, not only allowed the two inherited runners to score, but gave up four more of his own before recording the final out with the Yankees down 12-10. The final score was 13-11, as the Yankees lost a crusher.
As to more bad news, early in the game Alex Rodriguez lined a double off the skull of Indians starter David Huff. It was scary, but Huff apparently never lost consciousness and gave the crowd a thumbs-up as he was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Beyond all that, however, there is Good News.
- After losing an embarrassing series to the Mets, the Yankees took two of three from Minnesota, winning two one-run games on strong pitching performances from AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte (who sports a 2.62 ERA in addition to a 6-1 record). Mariano Rivera recovered from a few hiccups, saving two tight games (1-0 and 3-2) in the span of a few hours.
- Phil Hughes also recovered from two consecutive sub-par starts to strike out eight Indians over seven innings in the opener of this series, running his record to 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA. (Yankees won 8-2.)
- Curtis Granderson is back.
- Robinson Cano is a beast of a ballplayer. He hit a grand slam yesterday, drove in three runs today, and now has a .359/.403/.604 triple slash with a team-leading 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
- Nick Swisher’s getting married to actress girlfriend Joanna Garcia. Doesn’t have much to do with baseball, per se, but it still makes me happy.
Too frickin’ cute, right? Congrats to Swishalicious!
Anyway, the Yankees, still holding onto second place in the East, look to continue righting their ship and take their second series in a row.
Record: 29-20.
Next up: Justin Masterson (Cleveland) vs. AJ Burnett, Sunday, May 30, 1:05 PM.
Till next time,
Ana
Now Playing: Tightrope – Janelle Monae
Well Struck, Sir! 
Eager to hear of your view of our NYY from NYC.