The age of media saturation brings all sort of bombastic narratives. Usually, top prospects for every team are hailed as the “next big thing.” We are guilty of this more so in New York than anywhere else. The last twenty years has seen Brien Taylor, Generation K, Alex Escobar and Joba Chamberlain, to name a few, billed as the next great phenom.

Sports Illustrated released their annual “Overrated Player Poll,” which is voted on by the players. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Joba Chamberlain topped this list. Chamberlain has been a frequent name we have seen in any “overrated list,” especially those where the players are the sample size. To Joba’s credit, he doesn’t care, preferring to focus on his retirement. This list got me thinking if there ever has been a more disappointing prospect in this town than Joba Chamberlain?

To be fair, not all of this is his fault. The Yankees completely botched his development; shuffled him between the rotation and bullpen; and created a ridiculous set of rules that set him up to fail. They took the “pitcher abuse concept” and bastardized this in a way that made Joba looked foolish in September of 2009. Those little league starts did him no justice. Unfortunately, no one could tell that Chamberlain lacked the mental makeup to be a starter. Additionally, how were they to know he would fall into the “too comfortable to want to succeed” category.

Chamberlain’s ascent into the Yankees bullpen coincided with the explosion of new media. How many kids get t-shirts named after them with just 24 big league innings? The blogs, message boards, and Twitter “lite up” with fans debating his role. You heard about the “greatness of Joba” in dozens of debates. This is not his fault, but this discussion about a player being overrated, not whether he was responsible for the hype.

The sad part about this is Chamberlain has developed into a decent middle reliever. Nothing special, but decent. I liken him to Kyle Farnsworth. He will put up good numbers, dazzle you with his stuff, but don’t fall in love with him too much. If you do, there is a heartbreak meltdown on the mound just waiting to happen. Joba is the player that will always tease you with his potential, but give you fifty cents on the dollar with results.

Anytime you dismiss mental makeup look at how lesser prospects like David Robertson and Ian Kennedy have put together more successful careers to date than Chamberlain. Kennedy was beaten up more than any of the Yankees prospects when he was here. He’s had to overcome his own issues, including an aneurysm that could have ended his career. There were no special rules for Ian Kennedy, and he’s proven he didn’t need it. As for Robertson, if I were a betting man, it will be him, not Chamberlain that succeeds Mariano Rivera one day to be the Yankees closer. I like his stuff, but more importantly, he pitches with a certain confidence on the mound.

By all accounts Chamberlain is a great kid to cover. It’s how he approaches his career that is infuriating. When you factor in all the hype it’s hard to find another prospect that has been predicted more, and produced less, than Joba Chamberlain.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees, Sports Illustrated Overrated Player List