Brian Cashman has been one outspoken general manager recently. A couple of days after making the Derek Jeter/centerfield comments, the Yankees’ GM said people who question the club’s management of Joba Chamerlain are “stupid.”

From ESPN.com:

“Those people are stupid,” Cashman said of critics of the Yankees’ handling of Chamberlain. “It’s just an easy, stupid, idiotic thing to say. There’s no screwing anything up. That’s how Andy Pettitte came in, that’s how guys have been broken in for years. They’re starters in the minor leagues, they come up and we use them in the ‘pen, and eventually they break into the rotation. So what’s the problem? I just think it’s naïve.”

“Listen, he had a full chance to make a run at it [in spring training 2010], and he failed at it,” Cashman said. “His stuff does not play the same way as a starter anymore since the injury in Texas. He’s pedestrian as a starter but he still has pretty wicked stuff as a reliever. So his job is just to get outs when Joe calls on him. It’s as simple as that.”

On one hand, I don’t blame Cashman for being a little annoyed that he’s constantly asked about whether or not the Yankees screwed the pooch with Joba’s development. But part of his job is to answer questions about why a young starting pitcher with elite stuff has turned into a broken down old Chevy in a matter of a couple of seasons.

That said, pitchers get hurt and sometimes they never recover. It’s just part of the game. Just because Joba hasn’t turned into a dominant starter doesn’t mean that the Yankees mishandled him. Brien Taylor never panned out either and he was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. It happens – guys get injured.

Ask the Cubs if they know anything about young pitchers who broke down too soon. It’s not just the Yankees who have had a stud not pan out. The good news is that Joba may wind up being a solid reliever and that’s better than nothing.

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain will begin a throwing program today prior to the start of the New York Yankees-Kansas City Royals game at Yankee Stadium.

The team’s training and coaching staffs will observe his workout and determine if he will go back to the starting rotation or return to the bullpen for the last month of the 2008 season. Chamberlain has been sidelined with rotator cuff tendinitis since August 5th, and he is eligible to come off the disabled list this coming Wednesday.

The new genius running the Yankees had this to say recently:

The Yankees are missing starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who likely will miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury, and Joba Chamberlain, who hopes to return from right rotator cuff tendinitis. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have missed most of the season.

“I think it’s very simple, we’ve been devastated by injuries. No team I’ve ever seen in baseball has been decimated like this. It would kill any team,” Steinbrenner said. “Imagine the Red Sox without [Josh] Beckett and [Jon] Lester. Pitching is 70 percent of the game. Wang won 19 games two straight years. Chamberlain became the most dominating pitcher in baseball. You can’t lose two guys like that.”

New York also is missing catcher Jorge Posada, out for the year after shoulder surgery, and left fielder Hideki Matsui, out since June 22 because of a knee injury.

“It’s not making excuses. It’s reality. That’s part of the game. That’s clearly our problem,” Steinbrenner said.

Make an excuse, and then claim you’re not making excuses. Brilliant. Also, in Hank’s world, no other team ever had it this bad. Huh?

Of course, Steinbrenner doesn’t address his own complicity regarding Joba Chamberlain. He pushed hard to have Chamberlain moved to the rotation from the bullpen. The Yankee coaching staff tried to be patient with Chamberlain, but eventually they made the move.

The problem here is that you had a hard-throwing reliever who was conditioned to work short relief. Of course it was tempting to put this huge talent in the rotation, but they had a great thing going with him in the bullpen. He was a dominating force. Moving him to the rotation was risky. You always risk arm trouble with hard-throwing pitchers when you increase their innings dramatically.

It may or may not have been a smart risk to take, but the risk was there. His injury, therefore, wasn’t a matter of bad luck. It was a calculated risk, and Hank and the Yankees took the risk and got burned. Hopefully the injury won’t be too serious.

According to the New York Post, Yankees’ starter Joba Chamberlain will be placed on the DL.

The Yankees put the right-hander on the 15-day DL with an injured shoulder before tonight’s game against Texas while awaiting word on a diagnosis from Dr. James Andrews.

The Yankees recalled pitcher Chris Britton from Triple-A, despite the fact he was sent down less than 10 days ago.

A player cannot be recalled after a demotion before 10 days have passed, unless his team needs him to replace an injured player.

Chamberlain is in Pensacola, Fla., today having his right shoulder examined by Dr. James Andrews, is bound for the DL.

A diagnosis from Andrews likely would determine how much time the 22-year-old would miss, and if surgery is required.

That thud you just heard was the Yankees’ playoff hopes.