NOW that Andy Pettitte is signed, sealed and finally delivered, it’s time the Yankees throw a high, hard one at the opposition. Forget about Joba Chamberlain being in the rotation – he needs to go back to the bullpen. From Day 1 of spring training. No ifs, ands or bugs.
This is a complete reversal for me. Last season, I was adamant that Chamberlain should be in the starting rotation, because that was where he was needed most. That was before CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett signed with the Yankees, and that was when Chien-Ming Wang was injured.
With a top three of Sabathia, Burnett and Wang, and with Pettitte on the back end, Joba is most needed in the bullpen now, especially since Mariano Rivera is coming off shoulder surgery.
This way the Yankees can keep Joba’s innings under control, and if Rivera needs a little extra time to be ready for the season, Chamberlain can be the emergency closer. If Rivera is right for the start of the season, then Chamberlain has the eighth inning and the Yankees are that much more of a force.
An eighth-inning dynamo is much more important to the Yankees now than a back-end starter, and besides, the Yankees have candidates for that fifth spot, including Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves.
There are some people in the Yankee front office who are convinced Chamberlain is best-suited for the bullpen anyway because of his emotional makeup and arm. Many scouts I’ve talked to say the same thing. In some ways, Chamberlain is like Jonathan Papelbon in makeup and talent. He lives for the competition every night.
When you are a starter, you have four days to kill between starts. When you are in the bullpen, you have to be ready to go every game.
This way Chamberlain can basically be a two-pitch pitcher, slider and fastball. He can mix in the curve, but he does not have to depend upon it as much as a starter, who needs three pitches to work the lineup, and this would mean less stress on his shoulder.
Chamberlain can just roll out of the bullpen and be that Raging Bull that Yankee fans have come to love. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, and when you step back and look at the situation now, Chamberlain looks great in the bullpen.
When I asked Brian Cashman about the situation yesterday, he said, “It’s not something on our radar. Our plan is that Joba’s still a member of this rotation, and that’s how he’s prepared this winter and that’s how he was told to prepare and that what he’s excited to do.”
Cashman left some wiggle room for a move to the bullpen, saying the Pettitte signing, “Certainly provides Joe Girardi and [pitching coach] David Eiland things to think about as the season unravels.”
The Yankees should plan on it now. Joba is the perfect fit for this bullpen.
