DETROIT — Joba Chamberlain’s senses have been dulled during the first month of the season, though he’s not complaining.
The veteran right-handed reliever has only appeared in three games, pitching 2 1/3 innings without giving up a run. His lack of usage has been a byproduct of the starting staff’s ability to go deep into games. Chamberlain has gotten up numerous times in the bullpen but mainly, he’s enjoying the view.
“I’m just hanging out, watching these guys throw eight innings,” he said. “It gets kind of boring down there sometimes. I got up six days in a row but that’s no big deal. It’s been fun to watch, that’s for sure.”
Chamberlain got into a pressure situation on Monday, inducing Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to bounce into a double play with runners at the corners and one out.
“I’ve faced Jacoby a lot,” Chamberlain said. “It’s one of those things where he knows what I’ve got and I know what he has, so I wanted to be aggressive in the zone and try to keep the ball out of the air.”
Chamberlain has to be ready for just about any situation after serving as the eighth-inning setup man to Joe Nathan last season. Nathan went on the disabled list during the first week of the season and Joakim Soria took over closing duties but that had little effect on Chamberlain’s status. He’s pitched fewer innings than anyone on the active roster.
He’s just content to be back in a Tigers uniform. Chamberlain signed a one-year free-agent contract with Detroit prior to last season with mixed results. He posted a 2.63 ERA prior to the All-Star break and a 4.97 ERA after it.
He re-entered the free-agent market again after the season and got a cold reception. Chamberlain wound up waiting until the start of spring training before signing another one-year contract for $1 million plus innings-based incentives.
Though there were no reported multi-year offers, Chamberlain claims he came back to Detroit because it was the best fit.
“You can’t put a price tag on happiness,” he said. “For me, it was basically what I felt comfortable with. I turned down more money to go other places but this was great for me. I had a chance to sit down with Carter (his son) and ask him about some things. It’s crazy to ask an eight-year-old but this is the only life he knows as well.
“The first part of the offseason went by really fast and the last three weeks of it was probably the slowest three weeks of my life,” he added. “At the end of the day, I want to win and you can’t put a price tag on that.”