He also told the newspaper that the team is going to delete the "Joba Rules" from the baseball vocabulary. The pampering is over and Joba Chamberlain will be treated no differently than any other pitcher when he competes for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation.
The Yankees had been overly protective of Chamberlain, who they view as the potential top-of-the-line starter. "The kid gloves are off, and he's just going to go out and pitch and he knows that and he's going to come in and be all geared up to win that job, as are the other guys," Eiland said.
"He's not going to have any restrictions, so Joe (Girardi) and I are not going to have to go into the game thinking, 'Oh, he's got 85 pitches or six innings or whatever comes first.' We don't have to game plan it out. The kid gloves are off, and he's just going to go out and pitch and he knows that and he's going to come in and be all geared up to win that job, as are the other guys. Competition should bring out the best in everyone," Eiland said.
Eiland said he believed the close management "probably did" weigh on the Chamberlain, although the 24-year-old never knew exactly how many pitches or innings he was allowed in a given start.
Immediately after the All-Star break this past season, Chamberlain started off extremely dominant, pitching 21 2/3 innings, giving up eight hits and two earned runs, while walking eight and striking out 19. That's an ERA of 1.20. Granted that was only three starts, but for the erratic season that Chamberlain had as a starter, a string of three straight outstanding starts means something.
Props to the Yankees for finally realizing that Joba doesn't need these dumb rules/restrictions. That is what killed him last year, as he was never able to get a real rhythm on the mound and was always thinking if he messed up one inning it could be the end of the game for him. I still think he projects better out of the bullpen, and I've made that argument numerous times. Anyone else agree with me and Joel Sherman?
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