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As fall begins and the Yankees near their first American League East championship since (gasp!) 2006, it's time for the focus in the Bronx to turn to the playoffs. While discussing Joba Chamberlain with the Bergen Record, Brian Cashman let two interesting playoff-related tidbits slip. The first is that the Yankees are planning on going with a 10-man pitching staff during the Division Series. The second is that Chamberlain isn't guaranteed one of those ten spots if he doesn't, "step it up," in the near future. There's no denying that Chamberlain's been awful lately. In his last nine starts, his ERA is 8.25 and hitters are reaching base at a .409 clip. Even if he can't turn things around completely, it's hard to imagine him being left off the playoff roster entirely. Leaving him off of the playoff roster would leave a spot open for someone like Chad Gaudin, who's not really much of an upgrade. Still, looking at the schedule it's entirely possible that Cashman isn't bluffing.
The decision to go with ten pitchers is interesting. Since the Yankees are likely to end up with the best record in the AL, they'll get to choose either the "A" schedule or the "B" schedule. The "A" schedule has an extra off day built in early in the series, which means that the two teams can escape the round only using three starting pitchers. For the Yankees, that means they don't have to risk Chamberlain in the rotation at all and can go with CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Andy Pettitte, and that their bullpen will have extra rest and, if things go well, might not even have to go seven deep in the series.
That means that even if Chamberlain does make the ALDS roster, he may not see much action. Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera will have the late innings taken care of and Joe Girardi probably trusts Alfredo Aceves and David Robertson to bridge the gap to them much more than he trusts Chamberlain right now. Good thing the Yankees went to so much trouble to preserve his arm for the playoffs.
Hat-tip: Bryan Hoch at MLB.com
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