You can't roll without embracing your role

Specialization in bullpens has advanced to the point that the Yankees now have a "seventh-inning guy," an "eighth-inning guy" and a "ninth-inning guy."

Can't they all just be guys?

No, actually. Players today want to know their roles, and in Joba Chamberlain (seventh), Rafael Soriano (eighth) and Mariano Rivera (ninth), manager Joe Girardi has a trio of hard-throwing relievers who know when they're going to be used.

Knowing what's expected of you is important in a workplace, even one as atypical as a baseball clubhouse.

According to New York-based career and workplace expert Lindsey Pollak, certainty of assignment can be a good thing -- especially for younger employees such as the 25-year-old Chamberlain, who said he is glad to finally have a defined role.

"While everyone wants to get ahead and rise up the ranks quickly -- particularly those in their 20s just starting out -- you have to pay attention to the fundamentals of your job every day," Pollak said.

"Although job titles and responsibilities can be very fluid, you were hired to complete specific tasks or achieve specific goals, and that's what you're primarily being judged on."

Pollak -- a Mets fan, by the way -- did throw in one caveat: "We are in a very competitive market, so in many cases, it's not enough just to do your assigned role. Do look for opportunities to add more value and go above and beyond your job description, but never at the expense of your day-to-day responsibilities."

With Rivera entrenched as the closer, Soriano and Chamberlain won't have many opportunities to add value as the "ninth-inning guy."

Soriano was the AL's top closer last season, when he had 45 saves with Tampa Bay, but he couldn't find a team willing to pay him top dollar to close. So he signed with the Yankees to be Rivera's setup man, a job for which he is overqualified. That could become a headache for Girardi -- or any manager in any field.

"There are a lot of overqualified people willing to take lesser jobs these days because of the economy, so this is a big issue," Pollak said. "My opinion is that the burden to make this situation work is on the employee -- in this case, Soriano. If you choose to take a job below your experience level, then it is your responsibility to make the best of it."

Will Soriano balk if he is asked to do something other than his main job? It already appeared to be an issue last week when he was ineffective pitching with a four-run lead and then didn't speak with the media (he apologized the next day). His prickliness will bear watching.

We asked Jim Kaat, who pitched in the majors for 25 seasons in every possible inning, what he thought about "inning guys." Kaat, who was the analyst on Yankees-Red Sox on Friday for MLB Network, said specialization is good -- to a point.

"When I was in the bullpen, we all had roles, but it didn't necessarily mean 'seventh-inning guy,' " Kaat said. "Sometimes your ninth inning might come up in the sixth or seventh. As a starter, sometimes your ninth inning is the second inning, when you say, 'I've got to get out of this jam right now.' I would tend to think most managers would think, 'When do I need this out?' "

Yaz speaks

Reclusive Southampton native Carl Yastrzemski, who threw the first pitch before Friday’s Red Sox home opener against the Yankees, explained why he has kept such a low profile over the years.

“When I retired, I kind of said that was it,” the white-haired, 71-year-old Hall of Famer said. “I had my place in the limelight and I stayed away from the ballpark for a few years because I didn’t want to get any type of urge to come back or something like that. It was difficult the first couple years, but after that . . . ”

He said he splits his time between Florida (golfing) and New England (fishing). When asked where, he said, “I don’t want to tell you. I’ll get too many fan mails.”

Yastrzemski also said, “I flew up this morning and I’ll be flying back in a little while.”

And then he did just that.

All Halladay's pitches starting to look alike

Why is Roy Halladay so tough to hit? It’s not as if he throws 100 miles per hour. We asked David Wright after the Phillies’ ace shut out the Mets over seven innings Thursday.

“I think what makes him so good is all his pitches look the same coming out of his hand,” Wright said. “There’s some guys that might slow their arm speed a little bit on a changeup or you can see a little something different on off-speed pitches, but with him, everything comes out the same.

“When he’s throwing 93 and one of the pitches is going that way and the other pitch is going that way , you can’t determine it out of his hand.”