The next great Yankee closer
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by Munsoned
The following article is from my blog Baseball Hot Corner:
The New York Yankees and their fans have been spoiled, for a long time, with a distinguished list of elite closers. Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Dave Righetti, John Wettlend and the GREAT RIVERA have shortened games for decades. Preserving leads and the teams confidence is an essential role.
The recent Yankee dynasty featured defeated opponents with a consistent refrain: "The difference is Rivera." Well, Mariano is 37, and until recently, there was no successor in sight. That all changed when 21 year-old Joba Chamberlain showed up throwing 99 on the black as a prelude to a knee-buckling slider. Confidence is not an issue, as having the audacity to shake off Posada on a 3/2 pitch to his first big-league hitter demonstrated.
The organizations official position is that Chamberlain is a starter. The Red Sox said the same thing about Papelbon, until auditioning the Pinieros of the world, opened their eyes to reality. Joba Chamberlain could buttress the bullpen for many years. He would support and be mentored by a Hall of Fame closer. The rosters Achilles heal becomes a dominant strength.
Chamberlain's coach at Nebraska, Mike Andrews: "He likes to give. He's competing for the Yankee organization. He wants to win for that team." Joba and the Yanks' interests would best be served if he were competing and winning out of the bullpen.
