Girardi: "We have Five Musketeers"

The Five Musketeers he's referring to are the five starters on the Yankees; CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain, who have apparently become very close this spring. Here's more about the Five Musketeers from Joel Sherman:

The fraternity in the Yankees clubhouse has been noticeably stronger this spring, and no place has that been more overt than among this re-shuffled rotation. The five starters have committed to each other in a variety of ways, including going to watch each other's pre-game warm-ups.

Most days all four non-starters will attend the bullpen session of that day's starter. Only Chamberlain and CC Sabathia made it yesterday (Chien-Ming Wang continues to battle a cold and Burnett had a family issue), but this has become the in thing and about seven young pitchers, including David Robertson and Phil Coke, stood on the side to offer support. At the conclusion of the warm-up, Pettitte was surrounded by fellow pitchers giving him fist bumps. This is now routine for that day's starter: fist-bumping unity.

"It means a lot to get those knuckles," Sabathia said.

It is difficult to measure what fraternity might mean within a rotation. The act of pitching, after all, is mostly a solitary act. But it is clear that big-time weight is on this rotation for a variety of reasons, notably that a quarter of a billion dollars was invested in Sabathia and Burnett to make starting pitching the backbone of the team and without Alex Rodriguez for a while this club is going to need its rotation operating at peak efficiency. So having an internal support system, especially in New York, should be valuable.

"You have to have each other's back," Pettitte said. "This is a tough place to play, but if you know everyone is in your corner pulling for you and wants you to be successful, that does help you win. We have to have (this unity) and we are going to have it."

As for attending other starters' bullpen sessions, Burnett said that was a habit ingrained in previous stops with the Marlins and Blue Jays. But around the Yankees this is unique. Girardi went as far as to say, "I have never seen it before." The idea is for the starters to learn from each other, pick up or share tips, and offer support. Pettitte actually went to Lakeland, Fla., last Wednesday specifically to watch Sabathia, and both thought it fortuitous because Sabathia was beaten up (five runs, 1" innings) and Pettitte was there to provide perspective and counsel.

The group also has taken to watching games from the top rail of the dugout.

"As a starting pitcher you can leave," Chamberlain said, "and to look over and see that they have not left that feeling is indescribable."

Sherman also mentions in the article that the two new additions, CC and A.J., have been doing some cool things for their new teammates. CC has been taking teammates with him to sit courtside at at Orlando Magic home games, and A.J. has been letting teammates go on fishing trips on his boat, and is planning to rent a second boat for a team-wide fishing contest.

Good team chemistry is not going to win you games on its own, but I do think it's a good thing to have. It's good when teammates like and trust each other, and are all on the same page. Especially for pitchers.

I don't think they're making things up when they say how important it is to know that the next guy has your back, or how great it feels to look over and see your teammate there supporting you. It genuinely means a lot to these guys to have the bond they already do. That can only be a good thing.

Like I said, this won't win you games by itself, but there's no reason why any Yankees fans should not be at least a little bit pleased to see players on their favorite team actually getting along with each other and forming bonds. I mean, it's a lot better than hearing about how much A-Rod and Jeter hate each other, isn't it?