The New York Yankees are in trouble, serious trouble, and it's not because of the way they're playing on the field. Rather it's what's going on in the front office, and more specifically, with Hank Steinbrenner. How someone is removed from the game for 20 years, reappears, and suddenly feels he knows everything is beyond me, but that's exactly what Steinbrenner has done.

First, it was his recommendation to trade Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Melky Cabrera plus another prospect for Johan Santana, and then sign Santana to a ludicrous contract. Now it's him demanding that the team moves Joba Chamberlain to the rotation, telling the New York Times, "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a set-up guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."

Well, there are so many problems with that comment I almost don't know where to begin. I guess the first place is that if you look around the game, most pitchers who throw 100mph are actually in the bullpen. As a matter of fact, the only starters that come to mind who throw that hard consistently are Justin Verlander and AJ Burnett. There are others who can touch 100, but not who consistently hit it.

Secondly, if you have to be an idiot to keep a guy with a 100mph fastball as a set-up man, why is Kyle Farnsworth in the bullpen? He throws 100mph, and no one has ever talked about him being a starter. I know, he doesn't have the same stuff as Joba Chamberlain, but I'm just trying to make a point.

 On a serious side, the player Chamberlain most reminds me of is Joel Zumaya, the flame-throwing righty for the Detroit Tigers. I had the privilege of calling Zumaya's games when he pitched in Double-A for the Erie SeaWolves, and what most people don't know about him is that he, like Chamberlain, was a starter in the minors, and a pretty darn good one at that. He had a four-seam fastball that was 96-100mph, a two-seamer that was 91-94, a curveball, and a changeup, so if you're counting at home, that's four pitches, certainly enough to be a starter in the majors. And if you're wondering was he able to sustain his velocity throughout an entire game, the answer is yes. Zumaya consistently worked into the 7th inning that year with his fastball registering 98 or higher time and time again. He actually had a no-hitter through 7.2 innings against the Indians Double-A affiliate where he struck out 15 batters, and had more than 30 pitches clocked at 97 or higher for strikes!

Yet when it came time for spring training in 2006, the Tigers had no room in their rotation, so Jim Leyland tried him out in the bullpen. Leyland didn't do this because Zumaya was incapable of starting, he did this because he knew Zumaya's stuff was too good not to have on his staff. How did it turn out for the Tigers? If you consider an AL Pennant good, then I guess it was a success.

Zumaya became the most feared reliever in the game, and there has never been even a mention of moving him back to the rotation. Zumaya's demeanor completely changed when he moved to the bullpen, and he thrived on that adrenaline rush, much like Chamberlain has done with the Yankees. People have wondered what happened to the Tigers last year and then to start this year, and the answer is easy, no Zumaya. Without him, they are incredibly vulnerable late in games, therefore putting more pressure on the starters.

Taking Chamberlain out of the bullpen would have the same impact on the Yankees. He is a calming influence for the entire team, starters, relievers, and position players, and maybe more importanly, a scary prospect for the other teams. Knowing Chamberlain is lingering in the bullpen with Mariano Rivera puts even more pressure on the Yankees opponents to score runs early, otherwise they know their chances of winning become exponentially more difficult.

Beyond that though, Steinbrenner, like many fans, has this notion that you have to have an "ace," a top five pitcher in the game, to win. If that's the case, will somebody please tell me who the "ace" was for the Yankees from 1996-2000? Was it Andy Pettitte? David Wells? David Cone? Roger Clemens? Jimmy Key? El Duque? The answer is the Yankees didn't have an "ace," instead they had a bunch of number two starters who knew how to perform in the postseason, combined with a dominant bullpen. And what did that combination lead to? Four World Series Championships in five years.

In today's game, teams that have a true "ace" typically do not win championships. It's the teams that can combine solid starting pitching with a great bullpen that win championships. Don't believe me? Look at the World Series Champions since 2002 (we'll exclude the Diamondbacks since they were an exception with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson forming the greatest combination since Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale).

2002: Anaheim Angels - Ace anyone? John Lackey pitched Game 7... Instead it was the combination of Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) and Troy Percival putting a clamp on leads.

2003: Florida Marlins - Josh Beckett was the ace in the playoffs no doubt about it, but during the season he was not among the top five best pitchers in baseball, not even close. Instead it was the combination of a good starting rotation (Beckett, Brad Penny, and Carl Pavano), and then Braden Looper and Ugueth Urbina in the bullpen.

2004: Boston Red Sox - Pedro Martinez was the "ace" in name only. But the combination of Pedro, Derek Lowe, Curt Schilling, and Tim Wakefield, combined with a strong bullpen and legitimate closer, Keith Foulke, helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years.

2005: Chicago White Sox - Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia. None of these guys were aces, but they were all solid pitchers who pitched great in the playoffs, and then Bobby Jenks was lights out at the end of games.

2006: St. Louis Cardinals - Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, Anthony Reyes, and Jeff Weaver. Yes, you could make a case for Carpenter since he was a CY Young Award Winner, but the rest of the staff pitched well, and then the surprising bullpen was great throughout the playoffs.

2007: Boston Red Sox - Josh Beckett was the "ace," and as you have seen, it was the rare exception where one of the top three pitchers in the game won a championship. With that said, Beckett was around for the Sox in 2006 and what did they do then? Missed the playoffs. The addition of Hideki Okajimi, keeping Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen as the closer instead of moving him to the rotation (as had been discussed and attempted in spring training), combined with Beckett's performance helped lead Boston to its second title in four years. Do you think the Red Sox would have lifted that trophy had they moved Papelbon into the rotation? Two words...NO WAY!

The Yankees have not gotten off to the start they would have hoped for, but at the same time it's not that surprising. People knew going in to this season that this year and next were transition years, much like 2005 and 2006 were for Boston. Red Sox fans were upset that the team did not re-sign Pedro Martinez and  Johnny Damon when both were free agents, but Theo Epstein and his people were weighing the effects the two would have on his team two and three years into the future as opposed to the immediate effect. In other words, they had a plan. Epstein pulled off a deal for Beckett after the `05 season, and then knew he had Jacoby Ellsbury coming up to play center field, so he felt his money could best be used elsewhere. As was stated above, I think it worked out pretty well. Not only did the Red Sox win their second championship in four years, but they have the making of a team that can contend for several years.

Many people forget that the Yankees built their most recent dynasty when George Steinbrenner was out of baseball. Gene Michael and Buck Showalter built a team from the ground up, and then Bob Watson and Brian Cashman made some key changes to improve its strength. When Steinbrenner returned, and allowed his baseball people to do their jobs, he was reveered as the greatest owner in sports. It seemed as if he had gone through this miraculous transformation from being a villain to a hero. That transformation though, didn't last too long. Before you knew it, Steinbrenner was seeking the attention and credit for what his team was doing, and that's when the Yankees began signing all of these high-priced free agents, and started on this downward spiral.

Like Epstein, Brian Cashman also has a plan, and if you look at the young players he has brought up, there's no reason to think his plan won't work. But Cashman is in the last year of his contract, a contract he signed only because he was given full autonomy of baseball decisions by the Boss. Yet with the emergence of Baby Boss, it's looking less and less like Cashman will agree to a new deal with the team, and frankly, who can blame him. If Hank Steinbrenner wants to learn anything from his father as far as running a team, learn from what he did from 1991-2000, keep your mouth shut and let your baseball people do their jobs. It will do wonders for you and your ego because your team will win, and people will actually like you.