Joba Chamberlain was in a Tampa restaurant on May 1, 2007, when Phil Hughes made his second major league start.
Hughes no-hit the Rangers over 6 1/3 innings and Chamberlain, still moving up the Yankees' farm system, tried to put himself in Hughes' shoes.
"I'll never forget watching him that game against Texas," Chamberlain said. "The game was on TV and I saw this young kid, like me, doing something great. I thought, 'Man, I've got a chance to do that.' But I've learned life is never gonna go like it's supposed to."
Hughes and Chamberlain got to the majors only months apart in 2007, a pair of hard-throwing right-handers who seemed capable of remaking the pitching staff for years to come.
Charles Wenzelberg
BETTER DAZE: Joba Chamberlain (left) and Phil Hughes seemingly had bright futures when they celebrated the Yankees' clinching a playoff berth in 2007, but their careers have gone off the tracks and their days in The Bronx could be over by tomorrow's trade deadline.
Six years later, each has battled injuries, inconsistency and failure and could be looking at the end of their careers in The Bronx — either by trade before tomorrow's non-waiver trade deadline or following the season when they become free agents.
While the Yankees continue to search for offensive help, there's been scant interest in either pitcher.
Hughes has struggled with giving up homers once again — with 14 of the 20 he's surrendered coming at home — and Chamberlain has become little more than an afterthought in the bullpen, surpassed by Preston Claiborne and Shawn Kelley.
It's considerably different than when the two were rookies.
"He was setting the world on fire," Hughes said of Chamberlain, who pitched just 24 innings for the Yankees that season, but struck out 34 and had a 0.38 ERA. "They were trying to find a way to make room for him because he was so dominant. He was a rock star, basically. He had that point-whatever ERA and was striking out everybody. I'd never seen anything like that."
Hughes wasn't alone.
"I remember Joba being a big deal in the playoffs that year with that fastball," said CC Sabathia, who was on the Indians when they beat the Yankees in the postseason. "And then the whole thing with the midges. There always seemed to be a spotlight on him. He was a sensation, but you never know what's gonna happen. It's a tough game."
Both have found that out.
"Very rarely is the story written exactly how you'd want it," said Hughes, 4-9 this season, a victim of his own subpar performances and lack of run support. "Sometimes there are things to overcome. You hope it all pays off later."
GM Brian Cashman tried to temper expectations when each pitcher got to the majors, but believed they could both be a significant part of the future.
"We hoped," Cashman said. "They had big arms and so you look at them as potential long-term difference makers. But you realize how difficult it is. Between injuries and the difficulty of trying to perform at a high level, it's almost impossible. Hopefully, we've got more chapters to write with them."
When asked if those chapters could take place in The Bronx, Cashman said: "Time will tell. Their storyline here isn't over."
Chamberlain doesn't spend much time wondering what could have been.
"So much has happened since '07 — good, bad and indifferent," said Chamberlain, who still gets plenty of strikeouts, but gives up considerably more baserunners since returning from Tommy John surgery. "It really all runs together. We've both been through it all, pretty much."
So he looks across town at the Mets' hard-throwing, right-handed phenoms, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, and shakes his head.
"It sounds so familiar," said Chamberlain, who is friends with Harvey. "I've lived through all that, so I know sometimes, things happen. You try to do too much and you get in your own way and you end up trying to get back to where you were."
dan.martin@nypost.com
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