Joba Leaves Start Early With Stiff Shoulder

Joba Chamberlain got hammered last night (and not in a fun, Jake Peavy kind of way), giving up five runs in four and two thirds innings to the Rangers. The good news? No one will remember how he pitched. The bad news? No one will remember how he pitched because he left Yankees fans in a panic by leaving in the top of the fifth with shoulder pain. From Peter Abraham of the Journal News:

Chamberlain said his shoulder became tight in the fourth inning, then worsened in the fifth. "It was something where it grabbed and popped and got stiff," he said.

Grabbed, popped and got stiff? Yeah, that's enough to warrant a closer look. The Yankees have sent Chamberlain back to New York early to undergo more tests. At the very least, he'll miss one trip through the rotation, though considering how careful the Yanks have treated their young ace, it won't be a surprise if he misses more time.

While it's too early to know for sure what's up, Joba did tell reporters that the training staff doesn't believe there's anything structurally wrong with his shoulder. That said, even a realtively minor muscle pull would be extremely inconvenient for the Yankees, who currently sit two and a half games (not to mention three teams) in back of the wild card.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the bullpen blew this game, with Damaso Marte giving up a walk-off grand slam to Marlon Byrd. Granted, the Yanks didn't really deserve to win in the first place given how awful Joba pitched before leaving, but it's more fuel to the fire for anyone who wants to second guess his mid-season transition to the rotation.