NEW YORK -- The hottest-selling articles of clothing in town may be those trumpeting the Yankees' 27th World Series title, which are keeping cash registers humming and flying off the racks.

Joba Chamberlain played a part in getting those T-shirts out to the retail market, and he is hoping that the ones emblazoned with his name -- and his cautious inning limits -- will remain as irrelevant as the now-outdated "26 rings" shirts.

"I think the 'Joba Rules' shirts can hopefully be done for a while," Chamberlain said.

This year was an up-and-down one for the 24-year-old Chamberlain, who spent essentially the entire regular season as a starter and was re-converted into a reliever for the playoffs, helping the Yankees celebrate after the six-game World Series against the Phillies.

Chamberlain went 9-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 32 regular-season appearances (31 starts), but because of a strict innings limit that kept him from going far beyond the 157 1/3 he finished with, some of those starts were either truncated or skipped.

It made for an interrupted season, and one that pushed the Yankees in the direction of using a three-man rotation for the entire postseason and bypassing Chamberlain, who settled back into the relief role where he starred late in 2007 and for part of '08.

"It's like riding a bike," Chamberlain said. "It was a little wobbly at first, but once you get going, you get right back into it. It was pretty easy, because I've done it before. I've been fortunate enough to be in a lot of situations here in my short 2 1/2 years, and that made it pretty easy."

In 6 1/3 postseason innings, Chamberlain allowed two runs on nine hits for a 2.84 ERA, issuing one walk while striking out seven.

Even in Game 4 of the World Series, when Chamberlain served up a game-tying homer to Pedro Feliz, he led a charmed existence when the Yankees reached Brad Lidge for three runs and gave Chamberlain his first postseason victory.

"It was good and bad," Chamberlain said of his season. "You take everything and learn from it. There's always stuff you can take from each year and make yourself better. I'm going to enjoy this offseason, be home and relax, and rest."

Chamberlain won't start his workout routine up again until the first week of December, and while he vows to have no preference toward starting or relieving, the Yankees did see good things at times from Chamberlain as a starter -- especially when he was unshackled.

By Spring Training, the club will have made a decision whether it sees Chamberlain -- and Phil Hughes, for that matter -- as part of the starting rotation for 2010, a choice that could be affected by Andy Pettitte's willingness to come back. For now, Chamberlain said he will be patient.

"It's a long year," Chamberlain said. "I guess whenever that happens, we'll tackle it. Right now, I'm just going to enjoy myself. ... I know what it takes to be successful in this game. I want to do it for a long time.

"As a competitor, it's frustrating sometimes, but you also know it's for the better. The organization has done great with me, and has been tremendous through the last couple of years. I can't thank them enough, even though at times it gets frustrating."

As he clutched a key to New York City presented to him earlier that day and spoke to reporters in the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, Chamberlain could look over and see his young son, Karter, tapping away on a computer keypad previously assigned to Freddy Guzman.

It was special for Chamberlain to have his family at the Fall Classic, with father Harlan pushing his motorized scooter across the infield dirt after the World Series victory to be near his son.

During the parade down the Canyon of Heroes, Karter threw toilet paper back at the fans, a videotaped memory that made Chamberlain grin.

With Chamberlain identifying Johnny Damon's Game 4 dash and Pettitte's grit as his postseason highlights, the entire push toward No. 27 was "a blur." The right-hander is looking forward to collecting his thoughts about the whole experience over the next few weeks.

"It's funny -- I remember facing guys and not being nervous, just being so excited to be in the situation," Chamberlain said. "A couple of times, I had to catch myself, just because I so enjoyed being there pitching -- I almost forgot what was really going on. This is the World Series, this is Game 6, we're going to win. You've got to slow it down."
I did not write this it was on yankees.com

NEW YORK -- Hoisting the World Series championship trophy behind second base in the Bronx last week represented the ultimate team accomplishment for the Yankees. But on Tuesday, two Yankees were lauded for their individual defensive achievements. Shortstop Derek Jeter and first baseman Mark Teixeira were named to the Rawlings American League Gold Glove team, taking home the awards for the fourth and third times in their Major League careers, respectively. Jeter's Gold Glove is the first since the last of his three consecutive berths in 2006 and represents no small accomplishment for the 35-year-old, who rededicated himself to defensive improvement after turning a cold shoulder to some criticism in recent years. "I've said it time and time again -- playing championship-caliber baseball starts with pitching and defense," Jeter said. "I think those two components were certainly the foundation for our success in 2009. I've always taken a great deal of pride in my defense, and being honored with a Gold Glove is an accomplishment I will never overlook." Teixeira's first Gold Glove since 2006 was accredited to him for an aspect of his game that proved every bit as vital to the Yankees' drive to a World Series title as his AL-leading 39 home runs and 122 RBIs. "Solid defense is the most underrated component of winning baseball, but it is something I have always taken pride in," Teixeira said. "Winning a third Gold Glove means a lot to me, especially when good defense helped our entire team reach the ultimate goal of a world championship." Though he struggled at the plate in the postseason, hitting .180 with two homers and eight RBIs while the Bombers dismissed the Twins, Angels and Phillies, Teixeira said the saving grace was that he never allowed his defense to falter. "I've always been cognizant of the fact that you're not going to get a hit every time up," Teixeira said. "You want to hit 1.000, but if you don't, you can't take it out to the field. One strikeout in a game is not going to be the game, but one big error with men on base in the eighth inning might be the difference between a win and a loss." Making only four errors in 1,275 chances, Teixeira also saved numerous errors by other infielders with his wide-ranging scoops of errant throws. Adding Teixeira's Gold Glove defense to the mix created a ripple effect that helped Jeter as well as second baseman Robinson Cano and third baseman Alex Rodriguez. "That guy has changed the whole infield," Cano said. "Before, I had to pay attention to my left, to my right. Now, when they have a pull hitter, I stay away from the line. He can cover the whole first-base side, and I can move toward the middle so Jeter can move over a little bit. He's not good, he's great." In the opening act of an eight-year, $180 million contract, Teixeira posted a .997 fielding percentage in 2009. He ranks second among all active first basemen in career fielding percentage at .99625, fractionally behind former Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz (.99626). "He's done this all season long for us," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Diving plays -- he had a play early in the season where he dove to his right, threw from his knees to throw to home plate and save a run and save the game for us. "He's a complete player, whether it's defensive, baserunning, offensive. Thinking, talking about the game, he's a complete player. And his defense has saved us a number of times this year." For Jeter, the long hours in the gym obviously paid off. Committing just eight errors in 2009, his fewest in any full season of play, Jeter posted a .986 fielding percentage to match his highest all-time mark from 1998, pacing all AL shortstops. "The difference is his hard work -- what he does in the winter, the way he takes care of himself," Girardi said. "He continues to work during the season, and he's been great. We've seen him make plays to the left, to the right, that have been great plays." Derided in some circles for a perceived lack of defensive range, Jeter earned praise from many of those same stat-based analysts for his improvement, thanks in large part to a workout regimen focused on lateral movement. He targeted explosive movement, which also helped him on the basepaths. "Whatever weaknesses we may see develop in our players, we talk to our players about it," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "We look for ways to attack it. He changed his workout routine to improve his lateral defense, and that took place before last year. He's been better the last two years." Jeter's final Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), a metric formulated to calculate the number of runs above or below average a fielder saves, was 6.6, up from -0.5 in 2008 and a career-low -15.3 in 2007. "He plays hard every day, every play," Girardi said. "He never takes a play off. He never takes a pitch off. Physically, you see him play beat up. You see him play sick. He's still the great leader of this club." The Rawlings Gold Glove Award was established in 1957 as the greatest measure of fielding excellence. The award is presented annually to 18 players -- one for each position -- in both the American and National Leagues. Winners are selected by Major League coaches and managers prior to the conclusion of the regular season. Managers and coaches may not vote for players from their own club and only vote for players in their own league.
- i did not write this it was on Yankees.com thanks for reading -Mary Cate