Four-Finger Joba Going Today
Via Bryan Hoch -
Joba Chamberlain was flipping a ball back to the infield during batting practice on Saturday when he felt something strange in his right thumb, perhaps from clipping a seam awkwardly.
Though Chamberlain felt no pain, he brought it to the attention of Yankees trainer Gene Monahan, who treated the right-hander for a popped blood vessel and expressed confidence that the hurler would be able to make his scheduled start Sunday against the Orioles.
“He threw a ball in, he looked down at his thumb and felt something,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He popped a blood vessel. But Geno did some treatment during the game and Geno doesn’t think it’s going to be an issue.”
Girardi said that Chamberlain had played catch earlier in the day and was able to grip a baseball with his black-and-blue thumb after the scare with no issues.
But the Yankees won’t be able to fully exhale until Chamberlain actually steps on the mound against Baltimore’s lineup.
Wow…just one week before the birthday of the only thumb-less player who wore his birthday on his back…
O.K., seriously, I’ve done a lot of research on this popped blood vessel in a finger thing today…and, it seems that many people have issues with this injury. And, the general theme is that no one seems to know, for sure, why it happens…but, when it starts, it keeps coming back. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one, for Chamberlain…as it may happen again now.
ya kno, i was standing right behind him when he did that lol…i saw him walk over and hold his hand, but didnt think anything of it…he continued to shag flies after it