The Yankees aren't in the playoffs, but Joba Chamberlain's shoulder continues to haunt the headlines!
George King III reports in today's New York Post that Joba left his final outing of the season on Sunday feeling tightness in his right shoulder. Although he didn't complain of any discomfort before last weekend, it's possible this has been plaguing him for a while:
According to a scout who recently tracked Chamberlain, tightness could be why his velocity was down during the final two weeks of the season. "He was throwing 91 mph and a lot of sliders," the scout said of Chamberlain, whose fastball was clocked at 97-98 mph before he spent almost a month on the DL with rotator-cuff tendinitis.
The ailment isn't considered to be too serious, but it's still a disheartening way to head into the offseason, especially considering the Yankees had toyed with the idea of letting him pitch winter ball to rack up a few more innings. Now, it seems like the prudent move would be to tie him up in bubblewrap and send him home for the winter.
