The buzz inside PNC Park Wednesday night centered on Joba Chamberlain. That buzz was still audible yesterday.

"I think he will be somebody people talk about," New York right fielder Bobby Abreu said.

Well, for the short term, sure. But long term?

"He's special," Pirates utility player Doug Mientkiewicz said.

That's an unqualified "Yes" for the long term.

Mientkiewicz watched Chamberlain break into the major leagues with the Yankees late last summer.

"He's a great, great competitor," Mientkiewicz said. "He's a tremendous teammate. He's a goof ball. He gets what being a pitcher's all about. He wants to be out there. He wants the ball. And he doesn't beat himself. I know Roger Clemens was a big influence on him last year -- and still is to this day. I know they talk a lot."

Chamberlain's first job in the big leagues was to pitch the eighth inning before standout closer Mariano Rivera worked the ninth. He changed jobs about three weeks ago. In one of the most debated moves in recent Yankees history, the team moved Chamberlain -- who's all of 22 years old -- into its starting rotation.

Chamberlain has ended the debate pretty quickly. After two starts during which he was on an extremely low pitch count, he has blossomed seemingly overnight into a bona fide major league starter.

In his past three starts, including the 6 2/3 innings he contributed in the Yankees' 10-0 win against the Pirates Wednesday night, he has allowed two runs in 18 1/3 innings. In his five starts, he has limited the opposition to a .160 batting average (4 for 25) with runners in scoring position.

"The thing about Joba is that he's really pitched through all of this," manager Joe Girardi said. "He hasn't just been a two-pitch guy. He's tried to incorporate all of his pitches, and he's done a real nice job making the adjustment."

"What gets lost in the shuffle is, you prepare yourself to be a one-inning guy every day and then a couple months into the season you turn around and extend yourself," Mientkiewicz said. "That's a credit to him."

The fans Wednesday night gave credit where credit was due. They acknowledged Chamberlain's performance with a standing ovation. Not all of the standees could have been Yankees fans, either.

"I couldn't tell if they were Pirates fans or Yankees fans well traveled," Girardi said. "There's been a lot of hype about him, and sometimes it's not easy to live up to the expectations. But he was really good [Wednesday] night."

And probably will be for a bunch of nights -- and days -- to come.

Damon Returns

Johnny Damon, who missed the first two games of this series because of a sore left arch, started in left field last night. One reason Damon wanted to play is because the Yankees play a day/night doubleheader against the New York Mets today.