"It's great to be young and a Yankee."

So this was the master plan all along, huh, Joe? The nebullous parameters of the Joba Rules, the sometimes shady secrecy of it all, the constant crap shoot of his efficacy in each start...I hope you realize--and I think you probably do--how much polarizing discord Joba has engendered among Yankee Universe. The mere mention of the bullpen vs starter madness was the equivalent of dropping a Mento into a Diet Coke.

And here are are. Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.72) takes his last regular season start (and possibly his last start of 2009?) when the Yankees try to sweep the Royals and extend their W streak to 8. He'll be facing Robinson Tejeda (4-2, 3.41) and, like A.J. Burnett, needs a repeat performance of greatness. I'm gonna recall the same philosophical tenet that I did in July: "We are what we repeatedly do."

Joba's first career start was against the Royals, on June 8, 2008.There's a certain poetic symmetry to this start. According to Girardi, Joba wasn't "read the riot act" (per se...), but he alluded to a stern talking to with a basic "get your head out of your ass" theme. I think Girardi finally figured out what the most effective Joba Rules really are: discipline. Maybe scare tactics, too.

Let's go, Yankees. And DON'T. GET. HURT.

(PS The Yanks won last night on a walkoff shot off Kyle Farnsworth's leg. Bears repeating. In these final 4 games of the season, I'm now half expecting them to see how far they can push the envelope in terms of unlikely wins. I love this team.)