Joba needs to step it up

Joba Chamberlain was bad last night. For his third consecutive outing, the righthander failed to make it past five innings of work, as the Angels came back to defeat the Yankees 10-6. He lasted just 4 1/3 innings, and surrendered five runs on nine hits, throwing 94 pitches. The Angles have beaten the Yankees at home 15 of the last 20 games. Joba did nothing to help last night, as he blew an early 5-1 lead given to him by the offense.

If Joba wants to be a frontline starter, he needs to step it up. We've seen the flashes of brilliance, like when he allowed two runs against the Indians in eight innings on June 1st. But more often than not, we see the Joba from last night - the Joba who gets 3-2 on every hitter, and throws 100 pitches by the fifth inning.

What has to be even more frustrating to Yankee fans, is comments like these, from Joba:

"The last two starts, I have had the best stuff I have had all year," Chamberlain said. "That's the frustrating part. It's frustrating and embarrassing, but you can't do anything about it. The sun will come up tomorrow."

If that is the best stuff you've had all year, then perhaps you should go back to the eight inning. On top of those comments, is Yankee manager Joe Girardi. I listened to a radio interview he did with WFAN's Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts on Friday, where he tried to justify Joba's 4.25 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. Basically he said that throughout the season, the Yankees will see plenty of pitchers with worse numbers than that. Huh? How does that justify how bad Joba has been at times as a starter? It doesn't, and Girardi needs to show some accountability. And while Joba is struggling, Phil Hughes continues to blow away opponents in the bullpen, and I have no doubt he could make the transition back into an effective starter.

Perhaps Yankee fans are spoiled, because they saw how brilliant Joba was as a reliever when he was first called up. And maybe at 23 years old, it isn't time to throw in the towel yet. But it's time Joba started giving the Yankees better efforts than the one hes given over his last three outings, or else it's time to put him back in the bullpen.

(Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)