 Tonight, the Mets will try to leave the past 2 nights behind them and move forward against our beloved favorites, the Yankees. Our boys will be playing with a DH and going up against Joba Chamberlain (3-1 3.79). Here’s an in-depth look at the Blowfish Man…
 According to Mets.com,
Chamberlain followed a fantastic outing in Cleveland with a solid start against the Rays on Sunday. He surrendered three runs in six innings, ultimately picking up a no-decision in a Yankees win. After allowing just one run through the first five frames, Chamberlain gave up a two-out, two-run hit to Gabe Gross, marring an otherwise strong performance.
 The last time Chamberlain faced the Mets was in relief (May 17, 2008). He pitched the 9th and let up 1 run, 2 hits but also fanned 2. Mets(W) 7-4.
 Per Wikipedia,
On the January 27 edition of Hot Stove Chamberlain stated that he would be in the starting rotation at the beginning of the upcoming season. Chamberlain added that he had learned about his role in the Yankees rotation in November, and that knowing about the team’s plans to use him as a starter rather than as a reliever who would move into a starting role at some point in the middle of the season (as was the case in 2008) changes his mental approach to preparing for the season, and makes things easier on him. On May 5, Chamberlain set a career high in strikeouts in a game with 12 against the Boston Red Sox, though he lasted only 5.2 innings. On June 1, he threw a career-high 8 innings against the Cleveland Indians, giving up only 2 runs and 4 hits.
Scouting Report -
When pitching out of the bullpen, his fastball is known to sit in the upper 90′s while occasionally topping 99mph with tailing action. His slider rates over 70 on the 20–80 scouting scale and has caused batters to swing and miss 75% of the time.
When pitching as a starter, he makes use of an above average change-up and a mid to high 70s plus-curve, along with his fastball and slider. His fastball will sit in the 94–98 mph range when Joba pitches as a starter.
Per thebaseballcube,
| Scouting Report | |
| Control: | 74 |
| K-Rating: | 100 |
| Efficiency: | 99 |
PitchFX Type & Velocity (2009) according to fangraphs,
Fastball  - 61.9%, 92.5(mph)
Slider - 16.5%, 84.1(mph)
Curveball  - 14.6%, 79.9(mph)
Changeup – 5.4%, (81.5(mph)
Awards (Wikipedia)
- 2005 3rd Team All-American
- 2005 1st Team All Big 12
- 2005 Big 12 Newcomer Pitcher of the Year
- 2005 2nd Team All Midwest Region
- 2005 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (2005-03-01)
- 2005 National Pitcher of the Week (2005-01-03)
- 2005 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (2005-04-25)
- 2006 1st Team Preseason All-American
- 2006 Hawaiian Winter Post-Season All-Star
- 2007 FSL Pitcher of the Week (2007-05-14)
- 2007 FSL Pitcher of the Week (2007-05-28)
- 2007 EL Pitcher of the Week (2007-06-18)
In 2007, Chamberlain was featured on the cover of an issue of ESPN the Magazine, being named as being “Next”, or being the most likely young sports player to become a star.
24 comments
dirtysanchez
6/12/2009-3:54pm at 3:54 pm (UTC -4)
i love these in depth looks qnz. Good stuff
Well we have our work cut out for us. Gotta shorten those swings up
QnsNative718
6/12/2009-3:58pm at 3:58 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks, Dirty. It’s our first game against him as a starter. Could be a good or bad thing.
dirtysanchez
6/12/2009-4:03pm at 4:03 pm (UTC -4)
well..from what i understand he has not been that effective as a starter…but then again thats against the AL. Tonight he is facing pretty much a AAA team. Gotta score alot..livan is on the mound.
mrbill
6/12/2009-4:21pm at 4:21 pm (UTC -4)
Tonight he is facing pretty much a AAA team.
Are you sure is not a little league team? lol
GravediggerHebner
6/12/2009-4:04pm at 4:04 pm (UTC -4)
I think that whole “Next” thing was the last straw for me with ESPN. I rarely watch their channels anymore, thanks in large part to the MLB Network.
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/12/2009-4:12pm at 4:12 pm (UTC -4)
same here I can get everything from SNY and MLB
dirtysanchez
6/12/2009-4:20pm at 4:20 pm (UTC -4)
Tell me about it. I cannot tell you the last time i saw ESPN. Thank god for the MLB Network!
GravediggerHebner
6/12/2009-4:11pm at 4:11 pm (UTC -4)
Another key point with Joba is that all his stats improve as the game goes on. His 1st time facing a batter in a game his stats are worst, then they get better the 2nd time and even better the 3rd.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=chambjo03&year=2009&t=p#times
Also from pitches 1-25, his stats are worst. 26-50 gets better and 51-75 even better. Only after that does he decline again, but still not as bad as 1-50.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=chambjo03&year=2009&t=p#pitco
Got to get to him early.
DNDJohan aka kistics
6/12/2009-4:14pm at 4:14 pm (UTC -4)
Isn’t that kinda Mets offense theme this year and last year? LOL
GravediggerHebner
6/12/2009-4:17pm at 4:17 pm (UTC -4)
Yup. Could play right into our hands (until the offense shuts down and they come back).
QnsNative718
6/12/2009-4:22pm at 4:22 pm (UTC -4)
Very good info…
smooth
6/12/2009-4:22pm at 4:22 pm (UTC -4)
the yankees bullpen is garbage, i expect to win 2/3 this weekend.
mrbill
6/12/2009-4:23pm at 4:23 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, Mariano is terrible!
QnsNative718
6/12/2009-4:25pm at 4:25 pm (UTC -4)
Clearly sarcasm but the bridge leading up to Mo is garbage. Mo isnt who he was 10 yrs ago but he’s still the best closer ever.
GravediggerHebner
6/12/2009-4:29pm at 4:29 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, I finally know what Led Zeppelin meant when they asked “Where’s that confounded bridge?”
metsfan4decades
6/12/2009-4:44pm at 4:44 pm (UTC -4)
LOL – good one!
There's Always '09
6/12/2009-4:25pm at 4:25 pm (UTC -4)
Ugh, it is horrible. Aceves, Coke, and Veras don’t scare me one bit. Yank fans are all clamoring to get Bruney back because he is lights out. That would be like me saying Parnell is lights out. Not many guys are “lights out”. Joba in the 8th, Mariano in the 9th,a closer in the NL East not to be mentioned because of fear of jinx. Those guys are lights out. Bruney is not.
GravediggerHebner
6/12/2009-4:25pm at 4:25 pm (UTC -4)
Finally Beltran and Wright together again!
Cora, ss
Martinez, lf
Beltran, cf
Wright, 3b
Church, rf
Sheffield, dh
Murphy, 1b
Schneider, c
Castillo, 2b
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2009/06/fridays-subway-showdown-lineup.html#ixzz0IFX3V8DR&D
dirtysanchez
6/12/2009-4:35pm at 4:35 pm (UTC -4)
hm…i like this lineup actually. Finally some sort of commitment to getting churchy going.
CaseStreet
6/12/2009-4:37pm at 4:37 pm (UTC -4)
that’s true
CaseStreet
6/12/2009-4:36pm at 4:36 pm (UTC -4)
So Castillo does an awesome job leading off and you bat him 9th?
I know, he only bats leadoff once in the game, but still Castillo-Cora-Beltran worked nicely.
dirtysanchez
6/12/2009-4:38pm at 4:38 pm (UTC -4)
Did matt C ever have sport spyder on his site…this thing is great!
mrose
6/12/2009-4:39pm at 4:39 pm (UTC -4)
any ny based fans goin to a bar tonight? i’ll be at Dalton’s on 9th btwen 43rd and 44th
smooth
6/12/2009-5:16pm at 5:16 pm (UTC -4)
Milton bradley just had a Benny Agbayani moment. He threw the ball into the stands after making a catch but forgot it was only the 2nd out. LOL a run scored