Girardi and Discusses Joba's Transition

From Brian Heyman:

Chamberlain threw 35 pitches over two innings in step one when the Yankees beat Baltimore 8-0 on Wednesday at the Stadium, and Girardi said before last night's series-closing, 2-1 Yankees win that the plan is to next use him tomorrow here vs. Seattle. The 22-year-old righty estimated that he will throw about 10 more pitches this time.

Girardi said the timetable to join the rotation is more than two weeks away, but he wasn't specific. It would figure to be sometime in June.

Girardi also said the plan to stretch him out is flexible in case a starter is cruising and doesn't need to call it an early day. Girardi indicated that if Chamberlain is getting hit hard in relief, he may finish running up his pitch count afterward in the pen. It figures to be the same thing if he's going well and doesn't get to his pitch count.

"It's going to take some time," Girardi said. "If you look at the normal progression of a starter in spring training, you're talking about 35, 50, maybe 65, 80, 95. You're talking about five starts. We're going to do it a little bit different because he's not in a five-man rotation. But he's ahead of where someone would be (at) start one."

Girardi left open the possibility of a 70- to 75-pitch start here when he's at that point. It might have been easier to just have him make starts at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre except the Yankees can't afford to be without him for an extended period, not at 22-25 after last night's win.

"Why not have those effective innings here?" Girardi said.

Sounds like a plan. And I'm very glad that they're going to keep him in the majors for the transition, the idea that they were going to send him to the minors for a month was always my biggest problem with this plan.

It's also seems that for now Joba's 8th inning replacement will be Kyle Farnsworth. Now I don't have my faith in the Farns, but the Yankees did win 97 games with him as setup man in 2006, so there's a chance he can do the job. We will see.