During yesterday's Yankees-Red Sox game Joba came in to get the final two outs of the 8th inning. He struck out Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew to end the frame, touching 96 MPH on the gun. He is still falling short of his 2007 bullpen stint when he was hitting 98-100MPH with his fastball and throwing his nasty 93MPH slider, but that should come as he re-adjusts to life in the bullpen and establishes a routine.
If you watched last nights game Joba had the look in his eyes again. The look that says I am coming in and you aren't hitting me. That's what we need to see from him, along with that fist pump at the end of the inning. If Joba is going to be successful he has to do his thing. I don't care what Fatty Francesa or anyone else says, it's not disrespectful, he is not trying to show anyone up, it's his raw emotion that allows him to perform at a high-level.
If he continues to improve the Yankees will have the 8th and 9th innings locked down. This is what allowed them to be so successful last year once Hughes claimed that role.
For more on Joba transitioning back to the pen and how John Smoltz may be helping check out this blog post from Greg.
