Heard this: If all goes well in spring training for the Yankees, Joba Chamberlain is likely to start next season in the Yankees’ bullpen, as part of the team’s effort to limit his innings. Chamberlain will go to spring training and, at the outset, prepare to pitch out of the rotation, along with five other rotation candidates: Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, Mike Mussina and Ian Kennedy. Assuming that none of the other five has a physical or performance breakdown, Chamberlain would then open 2008 in the bullpen, as a set-up man, for at least the start of the season — under the Joba Rules.

The Yankees want to restrict the number of innings Chamberlain throws, and working him out of the bullpen for at least a couple of months will allow them to do that. Chamberlain may return to the rotation sometime in the middle of the season, depending on the Yankees’ needs. (Source: Busta Onley’s Insider Blog)

First, we can all agree that the Yankees do need to find a way to limit innings not only for Joba, but for Hughes and Kennedy as well.

Is the best way to do that by starting the season with Joba in the pen? I don’t think so. How does that do anything for Hughes and Kennedy? Joba isn’t the only young pitcher on this team.

An easier way to do this would be to have a six man rotation and skip guys, but that may not be an option if Moose is forced into retirement after April via being terrible at pitching a baseball.

Also, what does Busta mean by ‘heard this’? The Yankees have an owner who will tell you exactly what they are thinking/about to do in the front office, why doesn’t he just ask him?