I am tired of the debate about the Yankees fifth starter. As I predicted, the Yankees fifth starter competition would blow up due to a boring training camp. This is what happens when you spend money, win a championship, and have good soldiers (including A-Rod) on your team. Instead of debating who should get the spot out of the remaining four candidates, why not implement Rob Neyer’s fifth starter plan? In case you missed it Neyer outlined his revolutionary idea for the future of the fifth starter role.

Neyer believes fifth starters in the “traditional sense” don’t exist anymore. I agree with him since expansion and economics makes it difficult for most teams to put together a quality five man staff. Why not use a committee out of the fifth spot. His idea goes like this:

1. A long reliever who would serve as the seventh arm in the ‘pen and be expected to make eight to 10 starts on the year. Ideally, this would be a proven veteran who could stick at the MLB level all season.

2. A pitching prospect that projects to be a fringe No. 3 or 4 with two or three minor league options remaining. He would be introduced to the Majors in this low-pressure role over the next two to three seasons before officially (hopefully) graduating to the role of a reliable third or fourth starter. In this role, the pitcher would need to make about 10 starts at the MLB level each season.

3. A minor league “veteran” pitcher (somewhere in the 25-30 year old range) who has been unable to stick in the Majors – and still has at least one minor league option left – and can be relied on to make at least five starts on the season.

The Yankees are in a situation where they need to develop two starters, but only have one spot. Why not split the fifth between Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Alfredo Aceves?

Obviously the profiles outlined by Neyer aren’t exactly Chamberlain, Hughes, and Aceves, but I can see Joba making 8-10 starts, Hughes getting another 10, and then Aceves receiving the remaining five. If they prefer Mitre you can interchange the two giving them a couple of starts apiece. It would take some serious planning by Girardi and company, but it may be the best alternative.

Certainly this is radical, but look at Casey Stengel’s 1960 Yankees squad that saw Jim Coates, Bill Short, Eli Grba, and Bill Stafford all combine for 45 starts. A different era, and obviously for a different reasons, but it can be done.

Perhaps Neyer is on to something. It makes a ton of sense and can be a great way to combine winning, innings limits, and development. The Yankees will need starting pitching after this year and why shouldn’t it be of the inexpensive homegrown variety? I don’t believe in Joba as a starter, but this is a way to have the proverbial “cake and eat it too” for both sides of the debate. It just might work.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Alfredo Aceves, ESPN, Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Rob Neyer, Sergio Mitre, Yankees Fifth Spot