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From the middle of Tim Marchman's argument-ender (yeah, we wish) about the (seemingly) never-ending controversy about Joba Chamberlain's role ...

Starters are more valuable than relievers, and Chamberlain is showing every sign of developing into a wonderful starter; therefore, he should start. Simple.

Because it's so simple, it's mildly bizarre that more than a year after his brief run in relief ended there are still people who are passionately convinced that Chamberlain should be working out of the bullpen. Some of this is just contrived; some, like the insane ranting of New York City radio host Mike Francesca, is just comical. A lot of it, though, is sincere, which is what can make it so frustrating. Because when you run through the arguments, there's nothing there.

The best reason to move Chamberlain to relief would be to protect his health, and if he ever is moved, that will likely be why. Still, this is the least convincing case one can make. The Yankees are better positioned than anyone else in the world to know whether there's serious reason to doubt Chamberlain's ability to hold up to a starter's workload. That they're using him as a starter is the most credible evidence you could ever have that there isn't.

If you're not convinced yet, read the full article (RTFA!), because Marchman does the best job I've seen of going through all the arguments on both sides, and the conclusion really is inescapable. In 22 career starts, Joba's got a 3.12 ERA, which last year would have the fourth best in the American League.

Is he perfect? Of course not. He's averaged slightly fewer than six innings per start in his career, which helps explain why he's got only six wins (as a starter) and does place some strain on the bullpen. But 1) this is fairly typical of young starters who strike out a lot of hitters, and 2) the Yankees are big boys and can cope with a bit of strain.

Marchman's careful and measured reasoning won't be enough to end the insanity. That's only going to happen when Chamberlain consistently works deep into games and runs off a string of victories. It's one thing to post an ERA well below the league average. What the Luddites really want to see are WINS.