WHY WE WENT FROM CHAMPS TO CHUMPS

"I was just trying to get out of there before I broke down, I shed a couple tears. (But) you can't let it beat you. You gotta get stronger and get better."
--Joba Chamberlain to ESPN

4 days ago, all I heard about and read about was just how great the Yankee bullpen was. Joba Chamberlain, D-Rob and Mariano, and no one had a cared about Rafael Soriano because we were doing just fine without him. Plus, we had Ayala and Pendleton and Logan who, on occasion, was able to give us an a solid outing. Plus, our starting pitching looked incredible coming into the Bronx after a terrific 6-3 West coast road trip. It was all coming together. Life was good in Yankeeland.

Today, it’s like Armageddon in New York. The last 2 nights our starters couldn't get out of the 2nd inning and now, the latest is a blow to the Yankees bullpen is that will probably put Joba Chamberlain on the shelf for the rest of the year because he has a torn ligament in his right elbow. Many are suspecting...Tommy John Surgery. Damn.(Photo: Daily News)
There are names in baseball I hate to hear. I never want to hear a player when to go see
Dr. James Andrews. That usually means a Disabled List stint is coming or even worse, surgery. I also never like to hear the name Tommy John, unless of course, the actual Tommy John is going to drop by the clubhouse and maybe throw out the first pitch.

Suddenly, Ladies and Gentlemen the New York Yankees need pitching help and while plenty were annoyed with RaSo moving to the DL, many are much more concerned about Joba Chamberlain. Mostly because he’s been solid all year and we all, or at least many of us, root for this guy and we have for a while now. Personally, I’ve been rooting for Joba since Bug-gate in Cleveland. It seems to me that that evening defined Joba’s bad luck run. Since then, he’s been jerked around from relief to starter and back to relief, never complaining by the way, and finally, this kid came all the way back and just dominated so far this year leading our bullpen to whatever victory was needed. Between he and D-Rob lately, it was all coming together nicely. It was the end of the "starting pitching debate" for Joba, he was our relief guy now, and our bridge was sound with him there.

Now, with Joba hurt, D-Rob needs to pick up even more slack, which to me is dangerous because we need him healthy or we’re really in a world of hurt. The last thing you want to do is over work his young arm.

So what does this mean for us in Yankeeland? Put it this way, if Joba needs surgery, Cashman’s got to be thinking maybe getting both a lefty and righty for our bullpen and we’ll probably roll the dice on what we have for the DH Role… Jorge Posada against righties, Andruw Jones against lefties and the occasional Alex Rodriguez when he needs a break from the field. There is no question though, Cashman is on the prowl. Yes, a starter is probably a priority, but with Joba on the shelf, expect relief help too. The question is, who's out there?

Look guys, I hate writing about how tragic this is, but it kind of is. I know the Yankees will survive, but it's not going to be easy. But let me lighten the mood a bit, we have the pitching help in the farm system don't we? What if we need a quick fix, we call up Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos? Nice idea, yes, but some of you are probably thinking a trade is the smarter way to go, right? Or, Should we just deal with what we have in the pen and concentrate on a starter? How about We look for a righty and a lefty reliever for the pen? What about forming a new Three Headed Monster consisting of Lance Pendleton, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera? Check out the poll on the home page of Bleeding Yankee Blue and vote. All are tough choices so choose wisely and while your at it, cross your fingers, put on your favorite Yankees jersey and pray to the baseball Gods, the Yankees need a win tonight, big time.

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