"He's been a starter and he's been a setup man, and neither role has worked out.

So now, Joba Chamberlain is taking on yet another role with the Yankees, serving as the seventh-inning bridge to Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera. And the 25-year-old is feeling good about the challenge.

"I've had the good fortune and pleasure to be in a lot of roles," Chamberlain said at Friday night's Million Dollar Kickoff in Manhattan, where he was promoting MLB 2k11's Perfect Game contest. "You embrace the role that you're in for that year. For me, it doesn't feel much different from the eighth inning."

The righty added that while fans may only notice Soriano and Rivera, the seventh-inning role is a crucial one. In Thursday's season-opening 6-3 win over the Tigers, Chamberlain entered in a tie game and worked a 1-2-3 seventh.

"If I don't do my job, Sori doesn't do the job and get to Mo," he said. "A lot of people don't see the seventh-inning guy, but he's important."

Especially given the Yanks'unproven starting pitching.

"We know we have to be good," Chamberlain said. "It's three one-inning games for each of us.""