Yankees #5 Starter is...

That's just the thing, it's a big question mark. I guess the good thing is that the question isn't who is the Yankees ace anymore, like it was for a bunch of years after Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens walked after the 2003 season. The question for the upcoming season is who is the number five starter going to be?

The Yankees have rotational depth with the addition of Javier Vazquez via trade this offseason, but it remains to be seen who the last starter will be. The candidates are Sergio Mitre, Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain. However, I don't think Girardi is going to remove Aceves and Gaudin from the bullpen and Sergio Mitre is really more of a long shot and potential dark horse.

Aceves was so outstanding out of the bullpen last season that how could you justify taking him out of that role for the 2010 season? I don't think you can and I believe that Chad Gaudin plays the role of long reliever and spot starter. Nevertheless, if you really think about it, the battle for that last spot in the starting rotation is between Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, with the "loser" becoming Mariano's set-up guy.

Last season, that became the role that Hughes was absolutely dominating in, with an ERA of 1.40 in 44 games and 51 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately for him, during the World Series, he was not as dominating as Chamberlain was in the same role. Chamberlain was able to channel all of his energy into throwing his 99 MPH fastball and power slider for one inning.

I guess the question now is who fits better and where? In my opinion, I believe both Hughes and Chamberlain can and will excel in the role of set-up man and either one could be the successor to Mariano as closer; however, I think Hughes is better suited in the starting rotation than Chamberlain.

Hughes projects better as a starter because of his ability to throw his fastball, change-up and curveball in any count with a high success rate. He also uses a better variety of pitches than Chamberlain, especially since he implemented his two-seam fastball last season. Hughes features a plus fastball, plus curveball, a brand new two-seam fastball, cutter, and change-up that came to life towards the middle of last season. His pitches are better suited for a spot in the rotation than Chamberlain's pitches are.

Chamberlain's repertoire consists of a plus fastball, a plus slider, average change-up and average curveball. He usually uses his curveball on the first pitch to set up his power fastball. His high-energy demeanor is what makes him better suited for the set-up role and potentially Mariano's successor.

His ability to throw as hard as he can for one inning and then come back on the next pitch with his power slider enables him to keep hitters guessing for one inning each time. The battle for the last spot in the rotation should be a very interesting one that is sure to keep a lot of people on edge and the “loser” will become the main set-up man in the bullpen. Chamberlain doesn't care which role he is in, as long as he is helping his team.

"The biggest difference is that, as a starter, you know you're going to have to face a guy maybe three, four or five times," Chamberlain said.

"In the bullpen, you're only going to face him once, so you don't really have to set him up. You don't have to worry about, 'OK, I got him out on a curveball in his first at-bat.' That's the biggest difference, the planning in the game of how you are going to get guys out."

The battles will begin in two weeks when pitchers and catchers are due to report. It’s primed to be an exciting spring.