Joba Chamberlain

After finishing in second place last season and not adding another world championship to their collection, the popular thought was that the Yankees would reload over the offseason. All signs pointed toward yes during their pursuit of Cliff Lee, but as it turns out, money really ISN’T everything to some people.

If you're looking for a scapegoat as you stare at the Yankees' funny-if-it-weren't-so-sad starting rotation, you might as well go with Joba Chamberlain. The man's already a human punching bag at this point, so I doubt he'll mind.

Had Chamberlain developed as the team expected, the departure of Andy Pettitte wouldn't feel like such a cataclysmic event.

One of the biggest parts of MLB Spring Training is determining who will be the starters. As usual, there are a lot of tough position battles this year.

A lot of high-profile moves were made this offseason. There's a lot of anticipation to see who will win those battles.

Here are the top 11 players who have the most to lose in their position battles this year.

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In 14 days, pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps as 2011 spring training means baseball is finally back again.
 
For the New York Yankees, it means pitching tryouts will begin, as there are two big holes that need to be filled in the starting rotation.
 
GM Brain Cashman is trying to fill the fourth and fifth spots, while Yankees fans are holding their breath hoping southpaw Andy Pettitte will appear.
 

A lot has gone on in New York Yankee Universe since losing to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 ALCS and handing the title of "reigning champions" over to the San Francisco Giants.
 
So, how are the 2011 New York Yankees looking heading into the season? Let’s take a look.

The narrative of Joba Chamberlain has shifted so often the past four years it's easy to forget where it left off from one season to the next.

He's gone from phenom reliever (2007) to promising starter (2008) to struggling starter (2009) to mediocre reliever (2010).

In a continuing effort to shore up their starting rotation and bullpen, the New York Yankees inked Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Boone Logan to one-year deals, thus avoiding salary arbitration with the trio of young hurlers, according to MLB.com.

Hughes, who earned $447,000 last season, agreed to a deal worth $2.7 million after coming off his best year in the majors.

The Yankees recently avoided arbitration with pitchers Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan, easily saving the club a lot of money. 

All three of the pitchers were signed to one-year deals with the club.

Hughes—$2.7 million

Joba—$1.4 million

Logan— $1.2 million

The Yankees had three players who were eligible for arbitration this winter and came to an agreement with all of them today—Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan—thus avoiding arbitration, according to three tweets by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.

Rafael Soriano, the best relief pitcher on the free-agent market this year, has reached a three-year deal with the New York Yankees worth about $35 million. The Yankees have opted for Soriano since their initial interest in Kerry Wood didn’t develop into a deal and they’re better off for it.