TAMPA, Fla. -- Andrew Miller understands all of the hype about a revamped Yankees bullpen that could be the best in the Majors, but the left-hander wants to see them prove it on the mound.
The Yankees' acquisition of Aroldis Chapman from the Reds has bumped Miller back to a setup role, which he has said that he is fine with -- especially if it gets the club closer to its goal of winning a World Series title.
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"Obviously Chapman is an All-Star, he throws harder than anybody in the league," Miller said on Wednesday. "If he can make us better and win a few more games, especially those important ones at the end, then that's great.
"But all this excitement about trying to rank us, on paper we look pretty good, but that doesn't really mean anything."
Miller lives in the Tampa area and has been working out at the Yankees complex for weeks with pitching coach Larry Rothschild, focusing on ways to throw more strikes early in the count and be consistent.
Miller said that he feels more prepared in his second season with the organization, no longer needing to catch up on the learning curve of where to go and when.
"Last year, I didn't know anybody here," Miller said. "I thought there was a lot of just trying to get your feet wet, just trying to get comfortable. I didn't know where the clubhouses were, didn't know the coaching staff."
That's an experience that Chapman will have to deal with this year, as he is expected to report with the rest of the pitchers and catchers on Thursday. Miller said that he wants to be in the bullpen when Chapman unleashes his heat -- clocked as high as 103 mph last year -- for the first time as a Yankee.
"I'm looking to see it firsthand," Miller said. "I got to see Joel Zumaya [with the Tigers] when he was probably the closest thing we've seen to what Chapman is doing right now. That was pretty insane. I'm looking forward to just standing behind the bullpen and seeing what it looks like."