For those of you who follow such things, this one is from the world of baseball.

The Yankees this week began the process of moving phenom pitcher Joba Chamberlain from a reliever to a starter.

Manager Joe Girardi said this was "the plan" before the season even began. This was the time of the season on the blueprint to make the move.

Sure it was.

The Yankees broke spring training with five starting pitchers, three veterans and two rookies. Chamberlain was to be the setup man for Mariano Rivera, a role he filled brilliantly late last season.

Does Girardi mean to tell us that had the Yankees starters performed as expected and the team was playing well, "the plan" to make Chamberlain a starter would have been implemented anyway?

Tell us another one.

Starting pitcher has been lousy, the Yankees are falling out of the race and a new course was sought. That's why Chamberlain is becoming a starter now, not at the beginning of next season.

There's no shame in that. Happens in baseball all the time. Why must the Yankees say otherwise?