I read this story tonight about how Hank Steinbrenner wants Joba Chamberlain to move to the starting rotation.  I never have thought much of Hank, especially with some of the moves he pulled over the off-season.  First he decides to publically walk away from Alex Rodriguez, the best player in the game.  Now that situation resolved its self, but the whole situation was idiotic.  The Yankees have plenty of money to spend, and baseball allows them to spend as much as possible.  You do what you need to doto keep Alex Rodriguez.

Next he decides to play small market baseball like Billy Beane and declare certain prospects untouchable.  Once again, baseball favors teams like the Yankees.  They can spend all they want.  Today prospects are for teams like the Pirates, who can't afford to go out and spend $15 million a year on a proven starter.  The strange thing is that the Yankees were willing to part with Phil Hughes and Melkey Cabrera, but wouldn't include an outfield prospect to get the deal done.  Plus there was the deadline Hank imposed, which was ridiculous since there was no rush.

Now we come to the Joba Chamberlain issue.  Hank is acting like a fantasy baseball owner who is off to an 0-3 start.  He is panicking because the Yankees are down by three after 20 games.  He is writing off prospects Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes due to a few bad starts.

Let me first say that I am all in favor of moving Joba to the rotation.  However, he is a young pitcher who has yet to pitch more than 118 innings in a single season.  You throw him in to the rotation now and he is topping 180 innings come playoff time.  That is what the Yankees need to be playing for.  The Yankees aren't built to contend in April, they're built to contend in October.  If I'm a Yankees fan I would rather have Joba fresh in October, rather than April.

The main reason I think Hank is an idiot is because he is going about things the wrong way.  In every move he is making power plays.  If A-Rod opts out, we're done with him (despite him being the best player in the game).  The Twins have until Monday to take our offer, or we walk (despite them being the sellers and us being just one of the many buyers).  Now he's trying to play general manager, which has really only worked for one owner in the history of baseball, and that is George Steinbrenner.

That is the problem really.  Hank is trying to be too much like George.  The problem is that he doesn't have to be like George.  The Yankees are an empire now, and can do anything they want.  They are the only team who can compete with Alex Rodriguez and his huge contract.  They are the only team who could shell out big money to guys like Carl Pavano and not be crippled by the lack of production.  While they have several home grown starters, it's not like they can't just go out and get whatever player they want.  Other teams need prospects.  For the Yankees, prospects are a luxury.

From a fantasy perspective, I would say Joba now gets a value boost.  While I think Cashman will hold his ground, I wouldn't rule out Joba making a trip to the rotation before the All-Star break if the Yankees starters continue to struggle.  I think this is the lowest his value will be, barring any future injuries.  If you want him, get him while you can.

As for the article, I found this comment pretty amusing:

"[Mussina] just needs to learn how to pitch like [45-year-old Phillies pitcher] Jamie Moyer," Steinbrenner said."

Over the last three years Mussina is 39-25 with a 4.29 ERA.  Moyer is 38-33 with a 4.53 ERA.  Personally I wouldn't want either pitcher on my team.  At this point they are just big names with even bigger ERAs.