My Pinstripes Alpha: New Boss Same as the Old Boss

Patience has never been a trait of the Steinbrenner family, and Hank Steinbrenner has seen enough. A 10-10 start has him calling for Joba Chamberlain to join the starting rotation ASAP.

“I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now,” Steinbrenner said Sunday by telephone. “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.”

If it had been up to Hank, Joba never would have been in the bullpen last year either. Of course, he seems to forget the Yankees wouldn't have made the playoffs if the switch hadn't occurred.

“The mistake was already made last year switching him to the bullpen out of panic or whatever,” Steinbrenner said. “I had no say in it last year and I wouldn’t have allowed it. That was done last year, so now we have to catch up. It has to be done on a schedule so we don’t rush him.”

Boss Jr. still has faith in his other young pitchers and has some words of advising for his struggling veteran, Mike Mussina.

“I think once Hughes and Kennedy get plenty of starts and get Joba back, and with Wang and Pettitte, we will be fine,” Steinbrenner said, referring to the Yankees’ starters Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte.
He also said he thought Mike Mussina, who is 39, “just needs to learn how to pitch like Jamie Moyer,” the Phillies’ 45-year-old starter, suggesting that Mussina shouldn’t try to rely on his diminished fastball.

Somehow we don't think that's going to go over real well with Moose, not that we care.