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Joba Chamberlain was released from the hospital on Sunday, three days after suffering an open dislocation of his right ankle while playing on a trampoline with his five-year-old son.

Chamberlain will be in a non-weight bearing hard cast for six weeks, and a walking boot after that for an undetermined amount of time, according to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. It is still too early to determine when he could return to a mound.

"So far everything’s coming back extremely positive," Cashman said. "You guys know Joba -- obviously he’s been dealing with a lot, but he’s a healer. He gets hurt, but his healing process is really significant. So we’re counting on that in this case, too."

"I am optimistic that he is gonna pitch for us this year," said manager Joe Girardi, after the Yankees' 1-1 tie with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Cashman, who visited Chamberlain in the hospital, was also asked how Chamberlain is feeling. "Down, but I think he’s got persepective at the same time," Cashman said. "His attitude is ... '[I] just have to do what’s necessary to get back to where I need to be, on a personal and professional level.' I think he understands that.

"I think he’s frustrated, he’s sad, he’s all those different things. He’s down, but at the same time he’s a man, he knows what the road ahead is, and he’s not afraid of it. His attitude, I think, is -- I hate to speak for him, but -- is, 'What do I have to do to get back?'"

Cashman also said Chamberlain asked him to do something after leaving the hospital: "He told me to tell everybody thanks for praying for me, and thanks to anybody who’s out there supporting him and wishing him well."

We got an update on Joba Chamberlain today from general manager Brian Cashman -- click here to read the story.

We may get more information from manager Joe Girardi after today's game against the Tigers in Lakeland.

In a Rapid Reaction podcast, Andrew Marchand spoke with ESPN injury expert Stephania Bell about the prognosis for Joba Chamberlain.

Bell says it is impossible to give a full diagnosis until all the details are in, but it may not be as bad as initially thought. Here are some of the highlights from the five-minute conversation.

* "I think it is too soon to be speaking in total doom and gloom terms," Bell said.

* "It is not as huge of a setback for his throwing arm as you might think," Bell said. "In fact, he was a little ahead of schedule by his own definition.

* “I think the window is still open, it is going to be a matter of how he heals,” Bell said. She thought September or August was possible.

* A lot will depend on when after the ankle bone heals in six-to-eight weeks, how much range of motion he will have.

* The fact that he is a pitcher and not a hitter could help. Kendry Morales took two years to comeback from the injury. Rounding the bases were the toughest thing to return from.

Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain have been lumped together for years now, ever since 2007, when they both made their big-league debuts.

Hughes has been one of the big topics of conversation this spring, while Chamberlain has flown under the radar to some degree. Which is natural -- Hughes is competing for a spot in the starting rotation, while Chamberlain continues his rehabilitation following Tommy John surgery last June.

But don't sleep on Chamberlain. He is way ahead of schedule, should be throwing live batting practice in the near future, and could be back in the bullpen for the Yanks by June.

"We're really pleased with where he’s at," said manager Joe Girardi, when asked about Chamberlain on Wednesday. "He’s chomping at the bit a little bit, but we gotta make sure we keep him on the right pace."

Girardi thinks this time off, although difficult, could pay huge dividends for Chamberlain and the Yankees in the end.

"I've seen a lot of positive signs already," Girardi said. "When you look at the work that he's put in to get to where he is at this point, he's been ahead of schedule the whole time, and that's because of what he's done. So I think you could see how the experiences he's been through have played a role in getting him to where he is."

Remember, Chamberlain was off to a pretty good start last season, before he suffered the torn ligament in his elbow. He was 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 27 innings pitched, striking out 24 and walking just seven. That was his lowest ERA since 2008, his first full year in the bigs.

"I'm anxious to see him pitch in a game," said Girardi. "But I'm not gonna allow myself to rush him, because we want him long-term."

UP NOW: My story on Hughes' strong performance in Wednesday's outing against the Rays.

ON DECK: Mark Simon will tell you more about Hughes' much-improved changeup in a blog item posting at 10:15 a.m.; then Andrew Marchand will opine on how many wins Hughes will collect this season in an item posting at 11:30 a.m.

IN THE HOLE: After I spend some time in the Yankees clubhouse early Thursday afternoon, including a huddle with manager Joe Girardi, I'll be making the two-hour car ride to Fort Myers for Thursday night's game between the Yankees and Red Sox.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Who should Mariano Rivera's heir apparent be: Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, or Chamberlain?

If you like the rivalry to have as much intensity as possible, then you have to like Bobby Valentine's involvement in it. It doesn't matter if you are a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan. Valentine makes it more fun. He might annoy you, but that is what he is trying to do. And it is all entertainment, anyway.

Watch, each and every Yankees-Red Sox game will be more eagerly awaited. In her column today, Johnette Howard, argues essentially the same point.

Who will be next in Bobby V's crosshairs? Aaron (Bleeping) Boone and his epochal walkoff home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS? Bucky Dent, you might want to keep the hallway light on at night -- Bobby V may be coming for you, too. Even Babe Ruth is suddenly in play again for the first time since Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez plunked a few Yankees, face-planted Yanks coach Don Zimmer and growled he'd drill the Babe in the ass, too, if he stepped in the batter's box against him.

To me, Joe Girardi should fire back a little, even if it is not Girardi's style. What do you think?

* Extra Base: Joba Chamberlain talks with Ruocco & Lundberg on ESPN New York 1050. Joba talks about his comeback and compares his 2007 to Linsanity.

David Aardsma showed up in camp today and the Yankees newest bullpen addition, who underwent Tommy John surgery a month after Joba Chamberlain, could not be approaching his rehab differently.

While Joba is literally bursting the reins to get back on the mound -- he threw 16 pitches this morning and declared himself ready to go -- Aardsma is adopting a more cautious approach to his rehab.

"I'm eager to let loose, but I understand the time aspect,'' said Aardsman, who saved 69 games in two seasons for the Mariners before losing the 2011 season to hip and elbow injuries. "I understand you need to take your time because if you push too hard a lot of guys just end up doing it again. And we got time, we got a bullpen here who can handle themselves. It’s not like I need to get back as soon as I can.''

Aardsma's rehab is behind Joba's -- he has yet to throw off a mound, or even a half-mound, so far being limited to tosses of about 90 feet -- and he is currently on the 60-day disabled list and not expected to pitch until at least August if at all this season. The Yankees signed him to a one-year deal worth $500,000 with a club option for 2013 if he makes it back.

Aardsma said he had interest from a lot of other teams, but only the Yankees were willing to sign him now, virtually sight unseen and with little knowledge of the details of his rehab.

"They all said, 'Keep us informed but wait until the end of March when we figure out our rosters,''' he said. "In fact, like 29 teams pretty much said that. But the Yankees were in the forefront, they said, 'Hey, we want to get this thing done. We want you in camp. We got a deal that will stop you from talking to any other teams.'''

Asked when he expected to pitch again, Aardsma said, "Well, I feel like if I’m healthy, I can help this team,'' he said. "So my focus is to get healthy first, and then get out there and pitch and do well. So if it’s this year, or if it’s next year, great. At least I know tha when it happens I’ll be ready.''

We already have written about how I motivated Joba Chamberlain and how Joe Girardi didn't know Joba's exact schedule.

Now we have Girardi's reaction to watching Joba throwing on Tuesday.

"He looked great," Girardi said. "He looked really good to me. I thought the ball came out well. I thought mechanically he was very sound. He didn't look tentative at all."

Joba is expected to throw off a mound on Tuesday. He is expected to be in the majors by June, at the earliest.

Joe Girardi has always seemed a little, well, detached when it comes to his pitchers, preferring to refer most technical questions to his pitching coach, Larry Rothschild.

That may be the reason why the manager, on Tuesday, led us to believe that Joba Chamberlain would throw off a full mound for the first time this morning in his rehab from Tommy John surgery last June.

"I believe it will be his first time,'' Girardi said. "He's been throwing off what they call the half-mound -- I've never quite understood what that is -- so this is a significant step for him.''

Well, it turns out Joba did throw this morning, 35 pitches, only not off the mound but off the so-called "half-mound,'' a five-inch bump in the bullpen that is designed to put less stress on a recovering arm. I spoke with Joba afterward, he said everything ''felt good,'' but was perplexed when I asked him if he had thrown off the full mound.

"I don't do that until next Tuesday,'' he said.

Somebody go tell the manager.

If Joba Chamberlain comes back to become the Joba Chamberlain of old, then there is only one person who should receive credit for it.

Me.

Why do I say this? Joba told me.

I wrote about Joba in our 25Q/25D series. Joba read it ... and it sounds like he will read it over and over and over.

“Reading your article was definitely a motivator,” Chamberlain said. “All I can do is thank you. That’s all I can say about that.”

Chamberlain agreed there was nothing unfair about the article, though he was particularly upset about being called, in his words, "irrelevant."

I actually never used that term, but did say he was a non-factor right now and it seems hard to fathom him being a major one again as a Yankee.

“I’m still part of the team,” Chamberlain said. “You have your opinion. You are entitled to that. All I can say is thank you.”

It seems, even if he were to come back strong, the highest spot he probably could hold is the eighth inning. That is an important role, but at the height of 2007's Jobamania I doubt anyone thought that Joba would still be a setup man -- at best -- in 2013.

Brian Cashman said the other day that Chamberlain is taking his rehab very seriously. On a scale from 1-to-10, he is a 10, Cashman said. Good for Chamberlain. Good for his career. Maybe one day, Chamberlain, once the heir to The Rocket, then the heir to Mo, will be where so many thought he would be. He has seen a lot in his six years.

"You ain’t got enough time to write what I have learned," Chamberlain said. "I can’t describe what I’ve learned. A lot of things in baseball and in life, you really can’t describe it all.”

On Wednesday Joba will throw from a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery. The earliest he is expected back for real is June.

Chamberlain is motivated. He is now the underdog candidate to replace Mo. If he does it, you will know who to thank.

ON DECK CIRCLE: Wally and I will be in the clubhouse when it opens at 9:10 a.m. And on the field for the season's third official workouts. We will be on the blog all day. So please keep checking back. And thanks for reading.

IN THE HOLE: At noon, I will have a blog go up in which Manny Banuelos talks about what he has to improve.

SCHEDULED STARTER: Also on tap is a podcast with Phil Hughes. Should be up in the late afternoon.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: In your most optimistic view, what can Joba be as a Yankee?

25 Questions, 25 Days: Day 18

Justin Louis Chamberlain is only 26 years old, but it feel as if he has scrunched a whole career into five seasons.

Joba has gone from superstar to average to forgotten to now injured. What is the next stop on the Joba train?

Chamberlain, coming off Tommy John surgery, will likely not return until June at the earliest. Even if he comes back before then, what role is left for him? The Yankees do not consider him a starter, a closer or a setup man on their current roster so all that is left for him are the middle innings reserved for middling pitchers.

Next stop would seemingly be out the door. That could be sooner than later.

Chamberlain is first going to have to re-establish his value as a player. When he returns he is expected to be used in low leverage situations as he tries to find his form.

On a personal-level, I have always liked Joba. He is excitable and a definitely brings noise to what can be a very stoic clubhouse. While he is not the most quoatable guy, he always has been accessible, which is saying something because of how much spotlight he has had before his 27^th birthday.

But, at this point, Chamberlain is a non-factor. He is an update on the blog. At most, he is what could have been topic? Though Chamberlain's personality makes you hope for more, he seems destined to have a disappointing Yankee career.

Could that change? It is not impossible, but it is really improbable. As long as Brian Cashman is the GM, Chamberlain will never be a starter again. On the reliever depth chart, even if healthy, it is hard to imagine Chamberlain any higher than the seventh inning man.

Even to be promoted to that role, Chamberlain would need some things to happen. Mariano Rivera could retire next year, opening the closer spot for either David Robertson or Rafael Soriano. If that happened Chamberlain could be the seventh inning man.

If any of the big three relievers were to get hurt, then Chamberlain might be a little more important.

First things first for Chamberlain and the first thing he must do is comeback from Tommy John. The surgery is one that can restore you to almost as good and sometimes even better than before. But it is a long process.

Guys like Chris Carpenter, Tim Hudson and Josh Johnson have had a lot of success post-TJ surgery. So it can be done.

It just seems like no matter what happens from here, the legend of Joba is over. He is now just a guy on the team, trying to get back, but, still, if he does it won’t be in a very big role.

So here is the question for you: What do think of Joba’s career? What do you think he has left?

Tomorrow: Will CC be able to carry his weight?

The Yankees avoided having to go to arbitration with with David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain today, signing both righty relievers to one-year contracts. Terms were not announced.

Robertson was 4-0 with one save and a 1.08 ERA in a team-high 70 relief appearances in 2011, and emerged as the club's eighth-inning specialist, setting the stage for Mariano Rivera.

Chamberlain was 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 27 appearances, mostly in middle relief, before going on the disabled list on June 8 and subsequently undergoing Tommy John surgery. He is not expected to pitch until after the All-Star break.

With their money limited and most of the available starting pitchers, such as C.J. Wilson, Mark Buerhle, Gio Gonzalez, John Danks and Yu Darvish off the board, it looks like there will be nothing under the tree for Yankees fans this Christmas.

For the second straight year, the Yankees' biggest free-agent acquisition is likely to be one of their own guys (Derek Jeter in 2010, CC Sabathia in 2011). And aside from free agent Hiroki Kudoda, there isn't much out there to fill the Yankees' need for a solid No. 2 starter.

A baseball source I spoke with on Friday said the word is out that the Yankees are not spending this year. How is that possible, you ask? Three little letters: C-B-A.

The new collective bargaining agreement puts the squeeze on free-spending big-market clubs (read: the Yankees and Red Sox). And despite paying their lowest luxury tax bill -- $13.4 million -- in several years, a concerted effort is being made by the Yankees to keep their payroll at or below the $189 million threshold that kicks in for the 2014 season.

So there will be less spending, not more, coming out of the Yankees front office for the next three seasons. And with big guaranteed contracts to Sabathia, Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, A.J. Burnett and Rafael Soriano eating up a lot of the payroll for the next two years and beyond, as well as scheduled raises for Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain and Russell Martin, it doesn't leave much left over for adding new parts.

Barring an unforseen development, right now it looks like virtually the same rotation that pitched the Yankees to the AL East title in 2011 -- but out of the playoffs in the first round -- will be the rotation for 2012: Sabathia, Burnett, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia.

Happy holidays, all.

Joba Chamberlain showed up in the Yankee clubhouse on Friday. Chamberlain bounced around in his usual hyper-jubilant way, hugging and high-fiving all he saw.

He said that he is a month ahead of schedule from his Tommy John surgery and thinks he will ready for the start of spring training.

He just started throwing 30 throws from 30-feet away.

"It feels like it so far away," Chamberlain said.

CC Sabathia was only on the Brewers for half of a season in 2008, but in those few months he put together a run seldom seen in today's game: an 11-2 record, 130.2 innings over 17 games, seven complete games, a 1.65 ERA and only one start against the Reds where he did not pitch at least six complete innings. On Thursday he'll face his former team, as the Yankees will try to complete their first interleague series sweep of the season. Milwaukee will have Randy Wolf (6-4, 3.20) on the hill.

Discussion of the Day: What sort of role do you expect Sergio Mitre to play on the Yankees in 2011?

1) Johnette Howard writes that David Robertson has taken over the job of the eighth inning set-up man.

With the injuries to Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano, Robertson has more or less been forced into the set-up role, but he has pitched so well this season that it's hard to argue he wouldn't have eventually found himself there, anyway. Robertson's allowed just four earned runs all season, and ranks third among all MLB relievers in strikeouts per nine. There are those who believe Robertson should be on the All Star team, and Robertson has certainly pitched well enough for the honor.

2) Daniel Barbarisi writes that the more injured the Yankees are, the better they seem to get. He notes that the Yankees are 27-12 since Rafael Soriano hit the disabled list, and have done even better since Derek Jeter, Bartolo Colon and Chamberlain got hurt.

While one can argue whether the Yankees really miss Jeter's offense or Soriano's pitching, it's almost impossible to argue anything other than that the Yankees miss the contributions from Colon, especially. While the Yankees have managed so far, Brian Gordon is not an adequate substitute for a number two starter (who was, in turn, replacing another number two), and the pitching staff has become thin enough for the Yankees to re-sign Mitre. After all, depth is a wonderful thing to have -- but the moment it needs to be used, it no longer exists.

3) The farm system's day was highlighted by another Phil Hughes rehab appearance.

Josh Norris and Mike Ashmore spoke at length with Yankees' senior vice president, baseball operations Mark Newman.

Triple-A Scranton lost to Norfolk, 2-1.

Addison Maruszak was promoted to Scranton from Double-A Trenton to make room for Melky Mesa.

Jesus Montero had one hit in four at bats.

Double-A Trenton beat New Hampshire, 3-2.

Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Corban Joseph and Austin Romine are all heading to the Eastern League All-Star Game.

Hughes pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits; he struck out eight and walked two, and hit 93 MPH on the gun 18 times. Ashmore has video of Hughes during the game, and his postgame interview as well.

High-A Tampa beat Daytona, 10-3.

Slade Heathcott returned from the disabled list, and in his debut with the Tampa Yankees had three hits in five at bats, including a home run, and struck out once. J.R. Murphy had one hit in four at bats.

Low-A Charleston split a doubleheader with Augusta, losing the first game 2-1 and winning the second, 9-2.

Gary Sanchez had a home run in three at bats in the first game, and a hit in four at bats in the second.

Short Season Staten Island beat Aberdeen 9-1, while the Rookie GCL Yankees beat the GCL Pirates, 8-7.

On a day the Yankees learned Derek Jeter may begin his rehab assignment as soon as Saturday, Bartolo Colon may return to the mound this weekend and Phil Hughes is on track to come back after the All-Star Break, the team got even more good news on the injury front, though it was on a smaller scale.

Reliever Joba Chamberlain reported he had no pain in his surgically-repaired right elblow -- just days after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“I’m ahead of schedule, a lot ahead of schedule,” Chamberlain said after the Yankees’ 5-2 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Chamberlain had his stitches removed by team doctor Chris Ahmad on Tuesday. He is wearing a brace that runs from his bicep to his wrist.

He plans to start rehabilitating the injury next week.

Chamberlain was originally placed on the disabled list with a torn MCL in his right elbow on June 8.

He is expected to miss 12 to 18 months.