Joba Chamberlain hopes the training wheels are taken off next season. The Yankees' young right-hander said Friday he understood the team was pacing him for his own good with the so-called Joba Rules, but the competitor in him just wants to let loose next season.
"I hope the Joba Rules shirts, hopefully, can be gone for a while," Chamberlain said, referring to the T-shirts that are popular among Yankee fans. Chamberlain spoke to reporters at Yankee Stadium briefly after Friday's tickertape parade.
"I know what it takes to be successful in this game and I want to do it for a long time. As a competitor, it's frustrating sometimes but you also know it's for the better. The organization's done great by me, they've been tremendous through the last couple of years and I can't thank them enough.
"But at times it gets frustrating."
Like the plans with Wang mentioned below, I'm also not sure what the Yanks plans are for Joba. He looked very sharp coming out of the pen that last few times out this October and I'm sure there are a few people within the organization looking to keep him there. Personally I don't really care what they decide. I still believe he can be a good starter, and I know he can be a good reliever. Whatever they chose is fine with me, especially if it leads to some more rings.
But regardless of their decision, the most important thing to do is make that decision and stick with it. If he's a starter he's a starter, and if he's a reliever he's a reliever, nothing in between.
