...for Kyle Farnsworth.

Buster Olney has the scoop:

Rodriguez, who is in the final year of his contract, waived his no-trade clause to join the Yankees, sources told ESPN.com.

"He's hitting over .290 I believe and he's been hot so we're looking forward to having him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after New York's 13-3 rout of the Orioles on Wednesday.

Rodriguez is batting .295 this season with five home runs and 32 RBIs in 82 games. In 18 seasons with the Rangers, Marlins and Tigers, he's hit .302 with 293 homers and 1,214 RBIs.

A 14-time All-Star, Rodriguez won the American League MVP award in 1999 and for years was known as the best defensive catcher in the game. He earned Gold Gloves in 13 seasons.

Wow, Cashman is a genius.  A very useful everyday catcher for a reliever no Yankee fan trusts regardless how many good outings he had.

Maybe this further opens the door for another Yankee farmhand later this season?

Now there's no question that I-Rod is not the same player he was in his prime.  But the guy can still play and he's certainly a big upgrade over Jose Molina as the starting catcher.

I-Rod is playing for a contract over the offseason so this is a great situation for him to work his magic as he did with the Marlins in 2003 and the Tigers in 2006.

Pete Abe is reporting the good news that Joba Chamberlain will return to the team before tonight's action against the Orioles.  Joba has reportedly made a couple of bullpen sessions while he was attending to his dad.

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets into the game tonight regardless whether they have a lead in the 8th inning or not, especially with the off day coming up on Monday.

In other news, Kyle Farnsworth has been suspended by MLB for three games for throwing behind Manny Ramirez's head on Thursday night.

Farnsworth has appealed his suspension and Yankee fans would prefer he didn't.

Unfortunately, it is a topic that will be discussed all season long but yesterday’s dominant performance by Chamberlain has once again sparked the Joba in the rotation vs. bullpen debate in the NY  media.

Jim Baumbach of Newsday and Jack Curry of the NY Times both addressed this issue yet again this morning after watching yesterday’s game in the late innings.  Baumbach’s main argument for keeping Joba in the pen is that the alternative is Kyle Farnsworth and a lot of blown leads.

While that may be true if Farnsworth is indeed handed the 8th inning role later in the season, my problem with that analysis is that Joe Girardi has at least two months to figure out who the best guy is to fill that role once Joba moves to the rotation (as the plan has been all along).  Given his long track record and early returns in 2008, Farnsworth will not be handed that role by default.  He’ll have to earn it and every Yankee fan reading this blog knows he won’t.   The same argument can be said for LaTroy Hawkins. 

Girardi is a smart guy and he’s going to go with the hot hand.  He's not going to automatically hand the 8th inning keys over to a guy who hasn't proved he can pass the driving test.  Not to mention, there are young arms at the minor league level who are going to get opportunities to make a splash.

Shifting focus, the main argument of Curry’s piece is that it’s no coincidence that all three Yankee wins on the young season are games that the Joba/Mo combo came in to seal the deal.  My problem with his simplistic analysis is that he ignores the starting pitching performances in said games.In their 3 wins, Yankee starters are a combined 2-0, 1.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP.  In their 3 losses, Yankee starters are a combined 0-3, 8.31 ERA, 2.15 WHIP.  Remove the painful Kennedy start on Friday night (2.1 IP, 6 ER) and you’re still talking about a combined 5.06 ERA, 1.87 WHIP in two starts.

Obviously, these are all small samples for either side of this debate given the team has played just six games.  However, both of the authors ignore the most glaring weakness of this club since they won their last pennant in 2003 and why they have failed to win a postseason series since 2004. 

Clearly, the answer is starting pitching. Of course, the Yankee offense is stacked and they will win a lot of games in the regular season by simply outslugging their opponents.  Unfortunately, that strategy rarely works against the elite teams of the AL in October or they would have fared better than a 4-9 record over their last 13 postseason games.

This is why Joba needs to make that switch to the rotation in 2008 despite how dominant he can be in the pen.  A strong 1-2 punch in the bullpen is hardly a useful weapon in the postseason if the starters are incapable of handing over a lead or simply keeping their team in the game.