When Joba Chamberlain first came up to the big leagues many Yankee fans thought that he was the heir apparent to surefire Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. Yet after last night's appearance against the Red Sox, in which he gave up the winning run after a borderline call, it's possible that Chamberlain has seen his last action in a crucial situation for the Yankees.
The Sox had a 7-2 lead going into the seventh inning when the wheels came off. A tired Jake Peavy let the first two guys reach base and eventually the Yankees would score six runs to take the lead. Rivera blew his 15th career save against his rivals in the ninth and Girardi sent Chamberlain out to a tie game in the 10th, according to ESPN.
With one out and Jacoby Ellsbury on second Chamberlain threw a 2-2 slider and Shane Victorino tried to hold up his swing. On appeal umpire Joe West decided that Victorino didn't swing, on replay it looked like he might have. On the next pitch Victorino hit a go-ahead single that would end up being the difference in the game.
Chamberlain was none too pleased with West's call and proceeded to yell at him on his way off the mound, continuing his tirade in the dugout until West had enough and tossed the Yankee pitcher.
"Y'all saw the replay, it kind of speaks for itself," Chamberlain told ESPN.
"If I see the barrel of the bat at me, I kind of have a pretty good idea (the batter swung)," Chamberlain told the New York Daily News. "Obviously, you execute the way you wanted and it doesn't go your way, it's extremely frustrating."
When asked what he said to the first base umpire to prompt his ejection Chamberlain answered, "Enough to get ejected."
Chamberlain has a 4.38 ERA on the season and has performed especially poorly in late game situations when he is expected to be able to hold a lead. Chamberlain is a free agent after the season and in the eyes of many Yankee fans he should prepare for a life out of pinstripes.
"This drum, this dead horse, this whatever you want to call it, has been beaten for months, and I don't care," Jesse Schindler of the Yankee blog Pinstriped Bible said. "Last night's loss further proved Joba Chamberlain does not belong on this team, and if they want to see October, they must immediately release him and move on."