Joba Chamberlain Hopes to Join Yankees’ Rotation

Winning a World Series can affect young players differently. In the case of Joba Chamberlain, it seems to have only inspired him to get better.

The 24-year-old righty is heading to camp early with the hopes of making the starting rotation, according to the New York Post.

"We understand what we did last year, but this is a New Year," Chamberlain told the Post. "We're the 2009 world champions, but it doesn't mean anything now that it's 2010."

Chamberlain pitched 6 1/3 innings last postseason for the Yankees, posting a 2.84 ERA with seven strikeouts, one walk and one home run surrendered. He told the newspaper he plans on arriving weeks early to the Yankees' facility in Tampa, Fla.

"I'm going to go in and understand a lot of guys are fighting for that spot," he said. "Nothing is guaranteed."

To get the job, he'll have to outperform Phil Hughes, and based on the way Hughes pitched last season, that won't be easy. Hughes was a major part of the Yankees' championship run, providing the Yankees with a reliable bridge man to Mariano Rivera at the back end of the bullpen. Hughes finished the regular season with a 3.03 ERA in 86 innings. His numbers weren't pretty in the playoffs, as he posted a 8.53 ERA in 6 1/3 innings.

The rest of the rotation will be filled by CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez, who was traded to the Yankees along with Boone Logan in exchange for Melky Cabrera and two pitchers.