How far is too far for Joba?

The official Yankees website has a story on the aftermath of Joba Chamberlain's post-strikeout, fist pump/war cry from Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, and apparently the celebration rankled a few folks.

But it didn't lay too big a hurt on the feelings of Frank Thomas, who was the strikeout victim who ended the eighth inning and prompted Chamberlain's antics. Thomas told YES Network's Michael Kay that if he had gotten a hit, there would have been no celebration from the young Yankee reliever.

But Thomas followed that statement with another: "That's the way the game is today."

Chamberlain's trademark gesture, much like what Tiger Woods does after a long Sunday birdie, has been an issue with me since the first time I saw it. Thomas, and 18-year veteran, has apparently adjusted to how today's young players react to their own success. Good for Thomas, and in reality, Joba's gesture doesn't quite reach the level of showboating, because it never occurs in the direction of a vanquished batter, and it doesn't occur after every at-bat. He seems to reserve it for the tense, inning-ending variety of strikeout, and he directs it to the Yankee dugout and the Yankee fans. And if no opposing hitter's are complaining, why should anyone else?

But you have to wonder if a National League pitcher would do the same thing, knowing he would have to bat, eventually. (Although relievers tend not to bat even in the NL, the mere possibility does seem to check the urge to celebrate openly in that league.)

And you have to wonder where the line is. Last night, Michael Kay, on air for YES, recalled the over-the-top finger-pointing from Dennis Eckersley after he would set down a batter. That was a different era, and Eck got away with it, apparently. But what would happen to a pitcher's teammate -- say, to Derek Jeter -- twenty years ago if Joba were pulling this same stunt against a team from the early-1980s? If Eck got away with a much more offensive celebration, was it because he was in Oakland and not pitching for the Yankees? Is it the Yankee factor that is stirring up baseball observers?

Of course, it doesn't matter what would have happened then; this is now. As a Yankee fan, I get that first rush of excitement at a "Joba moment," but then as a baseball fan, I feel an immediate wince and a sense of uneasy moral relativism. I certainly wouldn't like to see a Red Sox pitcher doing that during a Yankee game.... but since I enjoy Joba, do I have a right to bitch about it now.....?

Screw it.... I'll still bitch if the Red Sox do it. But at least we can hope that Joba keeps it under some measure of control. The last thing Yankee fans should ever be for is an in-your-face kind of attitude that detracts from real performance.

It will be interesting to see how this is handled by the Rays should the occasion occur this weekend. There is already enough bad blood swirling around this interesting series.