Just caught this over at Baseball Think Factory. While many assumed that Joe Girardi pulled Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning of Sunday’s early game because he was trying to protect Mike Mussina’s 20th win, that might not be the whole truth. “Several people” said that Joba admitted his shoulder felt tight. This, of course, comes with the “anonymous source” caveat. One scout speculated that a tight shoulder could have been the reason for Joba’s diminished velocity in September, as well as the reason for his throwing more sliders.
Thankfully, Joba won’t be pitching again until mid-February, so if this is an issue he has plenty of time to deal with it. This winter should be all about conditioning and building strength in that shoulder. Hopefully, Joba can get to the point where he can become a full-time starter in 2009.
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