Two days after serving up a fateful meatball to Cleveland’s David Dellucci, Yankee meathead Joba Chamberlain blew the former away to close the 8th inning of New York’s 6-3 win over Cleveland yesterday. After Chamberlain reacted with his customary fist-pumping, Dellucci took exception, the quotes to come taken from the Star-Ledger’s Ed Price :

“If he wants to yell and scream after a strikeout, I guess that’s what gets him going,” Dellucci said. “It’s May baseball. The home run was in a much bigger situation. I didn’t dance and scream. If a hitter did something like that, it would be bush. It’s kind of interesting how a pitcher gets away with it.”

Chamberlain was criticized last month for celebrating a strikeout of Frank Thomas, although Thomas didn’t object.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi defended Chamberlain.

“That’s who he is, and he’s not showing anyone up,” Girardi said. “He’s not looking at Dellucci, he’s looking in our dugout. He’s going to show some emotion. There’s a lot of pitchers, when they get an out, they give a fist pump. To me, the important thing is … you’re not showing someone up, and he’s looking at our dugout.”

After hearing Francesca and Russo tear into Chamberlain for these alleged violations of baseball etiquette, the Journal News’ Peter Abraham responded thusly :

I have an idea: Let™s have the two managers flip a coin at home plate to decide the outcome of games. That way nobody will show any emotion.

The guy was an out-of-shape Division II player a few years ago and now he™s a Yankee and pitching great. How could be not be emotional?

I appreciate Abraham’s comparison to Tiger Woods, though I can’t remember the last time a golf course bitched about being shown up.