Breaking news from The Bronx: Joe Girardi is apparently living in the Lakehouse.

On Monday, Girardi made the following comments in reference to Joba Chamberlain: Do we start him or do we leave him in the bullpen? We have four days to kick it around, and we don’t really need that fifth starter until (July 21).”

If you’ve been listening to what I have to say on the subject, you probably know that I’ve been what some might call a proponent of the move. (Proponent being what those of us in polite society call a person who won’t shut up about something.)  I’ve been pretty clear about the fact that I think of Joba as a closer. Yet, call me crazy and contradictory, but at this particular moment in time, the fact that this is even a discussion makes me wonder if perhaps Joe Girardi isn’t maybe, just possibly, not totally paying attention to what’s going on.

Let’s review the current state of our starting pitching.  Chien-Ming Wang is on the DL indefinitely – we’re probably looking at a return sometime in August. Phil Hughes is in the bullpen, and it seems like that’s where he’ll stay for the remainder of the season. The Great Alfredo Aceves Experiment yielded results that were unfortunate enough to deem it unlikely to be repeated.

So, where does this leave us?

More likely than not, it leaves us with Sergio Mitre as our fifth starter, assuming he’s able to rise to the occasion. Mitre is currently 3-1 with a 2.40 in 7 Triple-A starts.  At the moment, we’re hoping that record translates into an ability to get the job done in the majors. Historically speaking, making it click in the Bigs has been something of an issue for Mitre. (Exhibit A: 10-23, 5.36)  Best case scenario: Mitre works out until Wang is healthy again.  In the aforementioned scenario, Wang is not only healthy but performing to ability.

In light of the above, who, dare I ask, was Girardi planning on using to fill Joba’s spot in the rotation if we were, in fact, to move him to the pen?

Well, of course the obvious answer to that is Roy Halladay.  I didn’t say correct. I said obvious.  With the All-Star Game over and the trade deadline approaching by the day, the Halladay as a Yankee story continues to gain a disproportionate amount of momentum.  Disproportionate, that is, to the likelihood that it will pan out. Of course, the recent story that Jay’s director of player development Dick Scott showed up at a Florida State League game between the Yanks and Cubs Single-A affiliates only helps fuel that gossip.  The speculation is that the people in the Jays camp have their eyes on Yankees prospect Jesus Montero.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my end, but I still don’t see it happening. It’s a move that seems short-sighted in a way that’s extreme — even for us. Particularly since we seem to be moving away from that kind of boneheaded blunder.

Assuming we do go on the prowl for another starter, this shouldn’t be the play. The potential cost is far too high. Until we do, with Chien-Ming Wang on the DL, I think Girardi’s got to focus less on where Joba belongs and more on how to get the most out of him as a starter in our rotation. At the moment, it’s clear we need him there.

But, then, if Girardi is in fact stuck in the aforementioned Lakehouse, we have no idea where he is on the spacetime continuum.  Maybe May? Maybe a month from now?

Given this, we should allow for the possibility that raising the debate at this otherwise completely impractical  moment actually makes sense.