I can't be the only one to see this...

On my commute to work this morning I started to see the parallels between Joba Chamberlain and Devin Hester. I am certain I am not the first person to make this comparison. If anyone knows of an earlier comparison leave it in the comments so I can give proper credit.

Here's are the parallels

1. Devin Hester - Chicago Bears. Three years ago he was one of the most exciting kick returners in the history of the NFL. He broke off long returns. He had multiple kick returns for touchdowns. He was in the pro-bowl. He opened the Super bowl with a kick returned for a TD. Teams had to change their game plan when playing the Bears. No one wanted to kick to this guy. He was a special teams game changer. Then the Bears got greedy. They took the best kick returner in the game, some say ever, and forced him into a roll as a wide receiver. In 2007 he was a part-time receive and part-time kick returner. The results were mixed. Then last year he served as a more featured receiver. He went from 20 receptions to 50. However, his return yards went from over 600 to just under 200. Congratulations Bears you took the best kick returner in the game and now you have a very average receiver.

2. Joba Chamberlain - New York Yankees. Two years ago the Yanks brought up a young flame thrower named Joba. He slid into the 8th inning role bridging the gap between Mariano Rivera and the starting pitchers. He was unreal. I hate the Yanks, but this guys was lights out. People will remember him for locust night in the playoffs at Jacob's field, but he was a great great reliever for a rookie. He became the heir apparent to Rivera. Then in 2007 Hank Steinbrenner decides Joba should be the starter. Since Hank had run Joe Torre out of town, he had some pull over his manager Joe Girardi. Girardi caved and the Yankees converted Joba into a starting pitcher. As a starter Joba showed some promise. An ERA under 3, but he averaged under 6 innings. To make matters worse he became injured due to the increased work load. This year Joba is projected at the 5th starter for the Yankees. The Yanks bought Burnett and CC. The have Wang and Pettite following. And they have Phil Hughes, who they refused to trade for Johan Santana, ready in the minors. To me, this is just like the Hester situation. They have taken a guy, who was a dominant reliever, and made him the 5th starter on their team. They have gotten greedy and I think its going to blow up in their face.

Which scenario do you think is more likely in 2009? 1. Joba is lights out, wins 20 games and a Cy Young award.
2. Joba is solid if not flashy. Can pitch 5-7 innings a game. Has a record of 15-10 or so. And Rivera, who is 39, gets hurt and now this billion dollar rotation has Demasco Marte closing games.