Cue the James Brown-style funk guitars. Joba Chamberlain threw his first session off a mound this morning and proclaimed himself not only cured, but reborn.Is this the song you were referring to, Wally?
"They fixed what was there, and then Dr. (James) Andrews went ahead and added some extra strength to it," Joba said after throwing 16 pitches off the mound following a couple of weeks of throwing off that oddity known as the half-mound. "It's a new arm, for me, that's how I feel. It's a new year, and it's a whole new chapter of what I would like to accomplish here and help this team."
Anyway, as for his return to the Yankees pen, Joba expects to be back well before the projected date:
"I can tell you it's not going to be three to four months," he said. "Three or four months puts us out a long time. "It's weird because (the ball) comes out of my hand different. Sometimes I blow up Roman (Rodriguez, the bullpen catcher), and he gets kind of mad at me. But I just can't help it. It just happens. I think that's a good sign. It's just coming out a lot more free and easier. I trust myself enough, I trust my arm and my elbow. It's been great for me."However, according to Matthews, the Yankees are already concerned about Joba's eagerness to return and don't want him to rush his comeback. Usually these things take a year to recover, and Joba had his surgery just last June. Either way, this is very good news for the Yanks, who will have a very deep bullpen, even without Joba.