Joba Chamberlain: Permanent Reliever?

Joba Chamberlain, a one-of-a-kind rookie, a cannon-armed God, an amazing athlete, and a possible Yankee legend to stay in the Bronx for a while.

When he came up to the majors, he dominated immediately, pumping 99 mph fastballs past batters. When opposing hitters adjusted to his fastball, Joba would throw his devasting slider that dropped out of anyone's strike zone.

When the season was over, he compiled a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings with 34 strikeouts.

Then when the year ended, Roger Clemens got in some shenanigans and a rotation spot suddenly opened up. Everyone's pumped and excited for the arrival of the messiah, the homegrown hero, the next great thing.

Here's the thing. Woudn't he be better in the bullpen?

I can't imagine anything better than Joba coming in as the setup man to Mariano Rivera, then one day taking over the role of closer.

Think about it: He dominated as a reliever while he was a rookie because he was never seen before, and then when he was, only about 20 pitches for one night of work, then three days of nothing. As a starter, he might be overused, overseen, over-examinated, like a young pornstar.

I was glad when I heard the new and improved Joba Rules, where he'll spend the first two months remaining in the bullpen, then going to the minors before making his way up.

Worst case scenario, he'll bomb a little, maybe be used sparingly like the inconsistent bastard Kyle Farnsworth, then come back up after giving his arm a rest. Besides, I believe that giving Ian kennedy and Phillip Hughes a chance to shine in the Big Apple might be a better idea anyway. Also, look at the projected starting rotation:

1. Chien Ming-Wang

2. Andy Pettite

3. Phillip Hughes

4. Mike Mussina

5. Ian Kennedy

Looks like a pretty healthy rotation — assuming Moose's back doesn't flare up. So why not keep it the way it is.

I like the mix of veterans, rookies, and the in-his-prime ace — Chien Ming-Wang. In two to three years, would you rather have Joba Chamberlain closing games in front of a sold out, new Yankee Stadium, or some Joe Schmo blowing games for us after Mo retires?

Joba is best described as an enigma, something nobody can quite decide on whether to see as the future or just another short fuse. Sure he seems like he's a Yankee, even buzzing back Red Sox's Kevin Youkalis twice to send a nice message.

But it could also all be flash — here for now but gone after the weardown of a long MLB season. So, it would be better to take it slow with the kid, and see where it goes.

After all, for the Yankees, the future is now.