Helluva Job(a)

First, the best thing that happened in Yankeeland today was Joba Chamberlain's outing at Trenton. The big fella went 7 innings for the Thunder striking out 9 while allowing only 3 hits and a walk. He was unscored on, lowering his ERA to 2.08 on the season. I watched the game via the magic of Comcast's CN8 coverage online. Nice to get a glimpse of our prospects up close and personal. Joba's fastball has nutty velocity, but what makes it effective is his ability to spot it on the outside part of the plate, low. His curveball is low and tight and looks just like the fastball until the last second. Very deceptive and tricky. His pace on the mound is also very good. He gets the ball and throws it. No messing around. One of the sure signs of impending doom, even for a gifted arm, is the kind of mental makeup that makes a young pitcher fidgety on the hill. If the guy twitches, messes with his jersey, paces around, takes a long time to deliver, or makes a lot of faces when things don't go perfectly, I don't want him. Joba is the antithesis of that. He's a rock.

The Yankees pulled out a win against the Devil Rays, weathering Chien Min Wang's shaky first inning. Damon looked good and Abreu continues his latest hot streak. The only real troubling sign today was Torre's use of Farnsworth in the 8th inning. Why Lord? Why? I could bang my head against the wall for a million years trying to figure out why Joe thinks Farnsworth will ever be a solid setup man for Mo.

Just keep winning fellas. That's it. See you tomorrow. Go Yankees.