The pitcher was spotted tossing back at least two Grey Goose vodka drinks at a friend's watering hole before hitting a topless club, where patrons said he had been enjoying the sights and tipping big - before stomping out early Saturday morning after a customer teased him about the Bombers' poor performance.

"Too bad you didn't play for the Red Sox," the customer said, according to another patron at the club. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here in a strip club in Nebraska."

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Chamberlain rose in anger, but several friends intervened before the tiff escalated beyond pushing and shoving.

A furious Chamberlain left, and moments later, cops nabbed him for allegedly speeding in his 2006 BMW 750i. They hauled him off to a detox center after they smelled alcohol on his breath and saw an open container of alcohol on the passenger seat.

Authorities said Chamberlain, who submitted to a Breathalyzer test at the scene, had a blood-alcohol content of .134 at the time of his arrest, nearly double Nebraska's legal limit of .08.

Chamberlain, 23, was scheduled to appear in court Dec. 17 for a citation on suspicion of drunken driving. Lancaster County prosecutors have not decided on formal charges.

Chamberlain continued to lie low yesterday after issuing an apology a day earlier.

What began as a fun Friday night for Chamberlain sank quicker than the injured Yankee's season after he knocked back two vodka and sodas at Dillinger's, said the bar's co-owner, Mike Figueroa.

"He left at 10:30," Figueroa said. "He left early. I talked to him, and he said he would try to make it back."

Joba never did. Instead, he went to ogle women at the Night Before Lounge, a topless joint in downtown Lincoln.

He spent $45 on drinks and tipped $100, sources said.

"He tipped pretty well, and the girls were excited he was here," one customer said.

Yankee brass said they stand behind their pitcher.

"We're behind him 100 percent," said Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' executive vice president. "He knows he made a mistake. We've always said we're an extended family."

Boston RedSox News News » Report: Red Sox insult preceded Joba DUI
Report: Red Sox insult preceded Joba DUI
Taunts about his team's lousy season prompted Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain to storm out of a Nebraska strip joint just before he was busted for alleged drunken driving, associates said yesterday. More from the New York Post --> BoSox taunt sent Joba off Serby: Can Eli fix Plax problem? Jets ran themselves out of win More from The New York Post