MLB Player of the Week: Week 1

The staff here at the blog has decided that we will write a post every Friday about our pick for the MLB player of the week. The player of the week will not only be judged on his playing ability and performance that week, but also his general attitude and demeanor towards other people. Some of the chosen players may be our attitude towards life that week.

As many of you know, I bleed Milwaukee blue and Boston red through and through; however, this week, I'm bleeding the pin stripes of Yankees' pitcher Joba Chamberlain. Not only does Joba have some of the nastiest pitches in the majors, but he boasted a sub 0.500 ERA in twenty-four innings. Here is his complete line from last season:
a

2007: W 2 L 0 S 1 HLD 8 ERA 0.38 IP 24 K 34 WHIP 0.75
a

He got that line last year with a fast ball that consistently clocks in at 100 or 99 miles per hour, and a sick snapping slider at 87 mph. On top of those two pitches, he has added a new change up to his arsenal that has been freezing batters all spring. Now, a lot of other pitchers in the majors have pitches just like that, so what makes Joba so special? He is the youngest, calmest, cold blooded, bull dog in the majors. He steps on the mound and knows that he is going to strike you out. Granted he has the benefit of not having to face the likes of Rodriguez, Jeter, and Cano, but when the Red Sox came to town, Joba said, with no words, "I'm not scared of you, get the f*** out of my house," to Kevin Youkilis with two straight pitches at the head. Call me insane, but I love this kind of stuff in baseball, especially if it knocks my previously humbly cursed Red Sox off their new high horse. Now don't get me wrong, I would love to see Joba come to Miller Park and clean house for the Brewers, but for now, I don't care who he plays for, I'm Joba's biggest fan.
a

The man reason Joba is the player of the week is because of what he has done off the field, because it shows that he knows when to turn the bulldog on and off, or at least stay inside the yard. Joba was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, and bleed Cornhuskers Red. He was raised in poverty by he single father, who is paralyzed on his left side from polio and worked as a counselor at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. When Joba was seventeen years old, after graduating from high school he didn't go to college but worked in the Lincoln City Maintenance to help his dad pay the bills. To put this in perspective that was four years ago...Eventually Joba attended a State college and later transferred to Nebraska to play baseball for the Huskers. in 2005 he posted a 10-2 with a 2.81 ERA, with five double digit SO games, to help the Huskers win their first ever College of World Series win. In 2006, he was drafted 41st by the Yankees, and entered their farm system in the beginning of the 2007 season. He sped through the farm system and was promoted to pitch his first game in the majors of August 7, 2007 against the Blue Jays. He struck out his first batter, and went on to pitch two scoreless innings and striking out one more. Maintenance man to star major league pitcher in four years...that's amazing. What's more amazing is his humility. During ESPN's annual weekend soiree at Disney Land, Joba showed his true colors in the what he did and said. Watch the video.

a

Joba Brings a Family Together

a

I should mention that I am a proud fantasy owner of Joba, and am happy to have his demeanor of the humble bulldog on my team.