1. In researching this column about whether Joba Chamberlain should start or relieve, I realized something about Mariano Rivera: He not only has been the best reliever ever, he also is among the most durable. It means the Yankees have had his excellence a lot each season, and for a long time.

Rivera has totaled at least 60 appearances in 11 seasons. The record is 13 seasons by Mike Stanton. The only other relievers who have reached 60 in a season more often (12 times) are Roberto Hernandez, Lee Smith, Kent Tekulve and Mike Myers.

Rivera also has at least 25 saves in 12 straight seasons. Only Lee Smith (13 straight) beats that and, remember, Rivera was a set-up man in 1996 and that might have been his best season as a reliever, though he had just five saves. The next highest total of consecutive 25-save seasons after Smith and Rivera is nine straight years by John Wetteland and Troy Percival.

Let us not forget that Rivera also has appeared in 76 postseason games – 21 more than anyone else (that would be Jeff Nelson with 55 appearances).

Sometimes I think even the Yankees don’t realize what a blessing Rivera has been: Great, great in the playoffs and durable. That just begins to speak about how much wear and tear is on him, and how difficult he is going to be to replace.

2. When it comes to Chamberlain’s long-term role a question that is often asked is what is more valuable: 70 innings or 200 innings? I think that is a misleading talking point by those who want Chamberlain to be a starter. Now, keep in mind, I think Chamberlain should be given a chance to start, but it is because I want to know for sure if he is a true front-of-the-rotation starter or not, understanding that you can always take a starter and break him down to be a late-game reliever if his needs or the team’s needs demand it, but you can’t build that guy up easily if you need a short man to start.

Now back to the 70/200 matter. You should really ask who is pitching the 70 and who is pitching the 200? For the champion Phillies, Cole Hamels’ 227.3 innings were probably more valuable than Brad Lidge’s 69.3, but were Jamie Moyers’ 196.3. If you told the Red Sox, they could play this season with either Jonathan Papelbon or Josh Beckett, which do you think they would take? It is not a layup.

In those 200-or-so innings for a starter how many would you define as game-on-the-line high leverage? With someone such as Lidge or Papelbon or Rivera, just about every pitch they throw in a season is in a game-deciding moment. That is why the 70/200 thing doesn’t work for me. I can just as easily say would you rather have a pitcher impact 60 games (like a reliever) or 30 games (like a starter).

Even as a set-up man in 2009, Chamberlain would only be used in the seventh or eighth inning with the game on the line, and so he would have a major significance in 60-70 games as opposed to the 25-or-so starts tentatively diagrammed for him. There is no doubt he helps the 2009 Yankees more in that role because there is a lot more uncertainty in that forum with Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte than in a rotation that (with health) has C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte (a brief aside, it is 8 a.m. and as I look out on the main field at The George there are three people at work: one guy has a small shovel and is re-defining the home plate area, another is grooming the outfield grass, and the third is Pettitte running the perimeter of the field before laying down in right field to do a series of sit-ups).

Again, I want to stress that if I ran the Yankees I would want to see if Chamberlain can join the conversation with Hamels, Jon Lester, Felix Hernandez and Tim Lincecum among the best young starters in the game. But my gut continues to say that the health of Rivera and the success rate of Bruney/Marte have much more to do with Chamberlain’s 2009 job description than anything else.

3. I try to ignore all the conspiracy theories that cloud my brain, but I will share this one with you that keeps popping up over and over: Manny Ramirez will sign with the Dodgers tomorrow. Why?

Two reasons: 1) Scott Boras represents both Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, and I have no idea if Ramirez walking into Dodger camp tomorrow can distract any of the attention away from what will occur at the George tomorrow with A-Rod’s press conference, but it sure might be worth a try. 2) But I am sure that the A-Rod press conference can distract from Ramirez. And if Ramirez ends up signing a contract for the same two years at $45 million range (or worse) that the Dodgers first offered in early November then isn’t Boras going to look, you know, silly? Since Boras reacted to that initial bid by ignoring it and saying dismissively,

“On behalf of Manny Ramirez, we will, for the first time, begin accepting serious financial offers.”