If all goes according to plan, Joba Chamberlain will back in the starting rotation. He will anchor the Yankees pitching staff in the future and he will be an All-Star one day.

When right-hander comes back from the disabled list, he will thank relievers Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras for making it all possible. Or at least he should. Without the emergence of the two Dominican pitchers, Chamberlain would probably still be in the bullpen and the “Joba the starter” phenomenon would still be a pipe dream.

While, Chamberlain is at it, maybe Ivan Rodriguez should join in. Rodriguez was acquired from the Tigers, traded for reliever Kyle Farnsworth in part because of the effectiveness Ramirez and Veras .

“I do what they tell me to do and I don’t control anything but what I do on the mound,”
Veras said. “I want us to win and do my little part that they need from me to win. Adding my little bit of sand to the pile is all I’m trying to do.”

Veras moved into the eighth-inning setup spot in place of Farnsworth. Ramirez has been used in a variety of roles. The acquisition of countryman Damaso Marte also bolsters a bullpen that has watched its importance increase with Chamberlain’s recent shoulder injury. In addition to Chamberlain, Chien-Ming Wang and Phil Hughes are also on the disabled list.

Who knows where the club would be without Ramirez and Veras?

“They’ve done a great job,” closer Mariano Rivera said. “Especially since we lost Joba (to the rotation) those young guys have done a tremendous job on the mound. They’ve been excellent.”

Veras is 2-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 41 strikeouts during 39 innings in 39 appearances. He pitched in 12 games during his rookie season for the Yankees in 2006, going 0-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings. Last season, he was slowed by a surgery to remove three bone chips in his pitching elbow but still managed to pitch in 9 1/3 innings during the regular season and make two appearances for the Yankees in the American League Division Series against Cleveland.

This season, he is healthy. He is also happy. He credits a strenuous off-season program he followed back home in the Dominican Republic for his recent success.

“I am just grateful to God that my arm is strong and I am doing what I know I can do,” Veras said. “I’ve been working hard and things are going good but this season is not over with. There is still a lot to do, a lot to accomplish with this team. We have to keep winning.”

The Yankees trail the American League East-leading Tampa Rays by 5 ½ games. The club is three games behind Boston and Minnesota in the race for the AL Wild Card. Those facts are not lost on Veras or Ramirez. They are just not going to obsess over them.

Ask Ramirez and he’ll say personal statistics are secondary to team goals. But he could brag if he wanted to. For the season, he is 3-0 with a 3.02 ERA in 41 2/3 innings over 38 games.

“I want what everybody wants and that is to get to World Series,” Ramirez said. “We all want the same thing in this clubhouse. I don’t let anything negative in my head. I don’t doubt myself. I believe in myself. I’m in the big leagues, too. I’m at the same level they are. I will get you out if you get in there or I will try. I want positive results. That is all anybody is thinking about.”

And no, he is not thinking Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar telling New York reporters Ramirez is a “cute little fella” that doesn’t throw hard. Ramirez has a mirror. He knows he is six-foot-three and weighs 165 pounds – maybe. So he’s not the biggest kid on the block. So what? He says if he had listened to all those that doubted him or judged him on his appearance he would have never made it to the Major Leagues.

“I don’t pay attention to what people say about me,” he said. “They call me skinny, this or that. I don’t care. I don’t need a body like Jose Canseco to play this game or generate my power. I’m a pitcher. I don’t have to be Barry Bonds. I don’t need to be Mark
McGwire. People will say what they want but I know I can pitch with what I have.”

Good stuff, confidence – borderline cockiness – and a lot of help from Rivera has proven to be a winning formula for the Dominican duo. They may never have a career like Rivera but that doesn’t mean they are not trying to be Rivera-like.

“You give up a home run, a walk or a hit, (Rivera) reminds you to focus on the next hitter,” Veras said. “If you get in certain counts, he says which pitch is going to be there. When you have a hitter in certain situations, he tells you what they look for. You have a guy like that and he can help you every single day.”

Help the Yankees is all Ramirez and Veras want to do. A thank you note from Chamberlain or I-Rod wouldn’t hurt, though.