Waiting for Joba's future hurting Yankees' present

NEW YORK -- The view from the new Yankee Stadium remains fabulous. The Bronx is not in mourning after Monday's loss. It hasn't even asked its doctor for Prozac to combat depression.

Right now, staring at a 3-2 World Series advantage over the Phillies, there are only two ways Team Steinbrenner could kick this thing away.

Not enough oats for the plowhorse trio of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, and pitching on all this short rest causes them to curl up and wither away.

Not enough decent bullpen options to fill the gap between an overworked starter and The Sure Thing, Mariano Rivera.

There is an answer to each of those issues, of course, and his name is Joba Chamberlain.

At least, that was the answer once upon a time back in April. And May. And June.

By September, the Yankees had screwed this up six ways to Sunday. Now, Chamberlain is the answer to neither of those issues.

At their most crucial point of the season, the Yankees somehow have mismanaged things to the point where Chamberlain is neither a trustworthy starter nor a dependable reliever.

Manager Joe Girardi told us all we need to know the other day in Philadelphia when someone asked him to assess Chamberlain's season.

"I think Joba has had a season that has been written a lot about and talked a lot about," was the way Girardi began his answer.

As opposed to, say, "Joba has been a dominant force in our rotation."

Or, "Joba really made progress as a starter this year."

Or, "Joba's development in the bullpen makes Jonathan Papelbon look like a rank amateur."

Now granted, Girardi was speaking less than 24 hours after watching Chamberlain give up a two-out rocket to Pedro Feliz in the eighth inning in Game 4, a game-tying homer that momentarily tripped up the Yankees before they scored three in the ninth to win 7-4.

But all these months later, questions still surround Chamberlain that shouldn't.

"A season that we saw a lot of good things and a season we saw at times him struggle," Girardi continued. "And a season in which he's thrown more innings than he has in his professional career.

"We knew there was an innings limitation going into the year and we were going to stick with that, and we were allowed to design it how we thought it would work out best."

Clearly, the design -- or aspects of it -- was flawed. The result clearly is a pitcher who is not throwing with the confidence he had two years ago during his breakout run as Rivera's set-up man. And it is a pitcher who continues to face a future that is more mystery than clues to solve it.

"As a competitor, it gets frustrating because you want to be out there every fifth day and do those things," Chamberlain said. "But I also understand I want to play this game for a long time."

Chamberlain, 24, started 31 games this season and worked in one more as a reliever. His 157 1/3 innings pitched were a career high. Including this postseason, he's up to 162 2/3 innings pitched.

But as his innings pitched ascended, the Yankees put the handcuffs on after the All-Star break. As opposed to, say, the way Detroit brought along rookie Rick Porcello, 20, spreading out his innings pitched more evenly during the season and giving him extra days' rest between several starts.

Through one late August/early September stretch, Chamberlain was held to three innings in four of five starts. After getting shelled for seven earned runs over three innings on Sept. 20, the kid's confidence shattered, Girardi pulled him aside for a talk in Anaheim.

Chamberlain's ineffectiveness, as much as his workload, has kept him in the bullpen this postseason.

"He's done a good job with it," Sabathia, who has become something of a mentor to Joba this season, told me Tuesday. "It's a tough thing to do.

"He understands he'll get his chance."

The Yankees can't trust Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen or rotation. (US Presswire)

This postseason can't be helping his frame of mind while he waits. As Girardi continues to maneuver his bullpen more carefully than a bomb squad member opening a strange and suspicious box, Chamberlain has allowed eight hits and a .348 opponents' batting average over 5 1/3 innings.

So much for the Joba who went 2-0 with an 0.38 ERA in 19 games down the stretch during his first taste of the majors in 2007. What the Yankees mostly are thrilled with now is that Rivera, even at 39, is capable of completing the vaunted two-inning save.

"The fact that he can go two innings still is huge," left fielder Johnny Damon gushed Tuesday.

For a team with a $200 million payroll, it shouldn't be that way. Truth be told, for a team with a $100 million payroll, it shouldn't be that way. Rivera should have some sort of help.

Or the Three Amigo starters should have some sort of backup.

"I like [Joba] in the bullpen," catcher Jose Molina offered, emphasizing that it's not his call. "The toughness he has on the mound as a reliever. When he comes in, it's almost like, 'I own this.'

"How many more wins could he save as a reliever than he could get as a starter?"

"He wants to start," Sabathia said. "He knows [the bullpen] right now is for his own good.

"They're protecting his innings and bringing him along slowly."

Meantime, in both effectiveness and confidence, Chamberlain has regressed. As things stand right now, that's a pretty big issue for both him and the team heading into 2010.

But if the Yankees somehow blow this World Series because four dependable pitchers -- Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte and Rivera -- aren't enough, it is an enormous issue now.

And it is inexcusable.

"It'll be another offseason full of questions," Chamberlain said. "It's something we're prepared for. Right now, we're just focused on trying to win.

"It's something that we're probably going to talk about in the offseason and go from there. But like I said, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's the only thing I have done. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it in the offseason."