Tampa Bay, FL (WFAN)  -- So here I am telling you all about how Joba Chamberlain should be in the rotation and the Yankees go and make him a reliever. Well if they’re not going to listen to me, then by golly I quit!!

Okay, that’s not going to happen (although some of you believers in the Murti Jinx may wish it were true, you know who you are). And frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever used the phrase “by golly” in my life. And while I’m not outraged at the idea that Joba Chamberlain is going to the bullpen, I am still quite certain he will not remain there all year.

All of you who want to relive the glory year of Rivera to Wetteland and don’t believe in Farnsworth or Hawkins, I hear ya…I really do. But look at the big picture here.

Starting pitching is where it starts and ends every year. For those who think the Yankees failures in recent years have come from the bullpen troubles, look again. Their bullpen may have gotten to October in better shape if their starters had been good enough during the season.

Last year Yankee starters pitched just 921 innings. In 2003, the last year they reached the World Series, Yankee starters totaled 1065 innings. That’s a difference of 144 innings that had to be picked up by other pitchers. Strengthen your rotation and your bullpen isn’t overused. If this wasn’t the basic formula, you’d see teams throwing any old 5 guys out there they could and save their best arms for the bullpen. Ever see that happen?

Again, unless the Yankees go through an injury-free season with all their starters and are steering every one of those five to 30-plus starts, expect to see Joba Chamberlain join the rotation at some point this season.

Next year the Yankees will find themselves without Mike Mussina and perhaps Andy Pettitte as well. Sure, they could make a serious play for C.C. Sabathia, but even if they land him that leaves them needing one more starter. There is no way that Joba Chamberlain could pitch just 70-80 innings this year and expect to throw 100 more the next year. And making Joba throw his 150 or so innings solely out of the bullpen isn’t that great an idea. Remember how overused we all thought Scott Proctor was two years ago? He threw 102 innings that year. You’re talking about making Joba throw about 50 percent more than Proctor did that year.

The Yankees are counting on Joba Chamberlain to be a starter in the near future, so just get used to it.

I spoke recently with Jeff Nelson, the former Yankee reliever. If anybody would have a good take on the merits of bullpen vs. rotation, it would be a guy who helped the Yankees win four World Series rings.

For now…Nellie is all for Joba coming out of the bullpen:

“I think Joba has a great mentality for the bullpen. Nothing bothers him and that’s especially important in New York. I think he’d be great in either role, but what they’re trying to avoid is having Mariano pitch more than one inning and the best way to do that is have Joba Chamberlain down there.”

Nellie laughed when I asked him what was more important, the dominant rotation or the dominant bullpen. He admits there’s no perfect answer here because a winning team needs that perfect combination of rotation plus relief. But he feels Joba is in the right place for now:

“That’s where he’s needed right now. Of course, if you don’t have solid starters, then your 7th and 8th inning guys are wasted because you never get to them. Joba’s mentality will be the key. He’s not going to let anything get to him and that’s the way you have to be in New York.”

Nellie is living in Seattle again these days and is doing some radio work for the local sports radio station, KJR.

Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to yankees@wfan.com.

Sweeny