Joba still waiting for new Yankee Youkilis to return call

It wasn't long after the New York Yankees had signed Kevin Youkilis to a deal that Joba Chamberlain called his one-time nemesis to welcome him to the Bronx.

Did the former Red Sox player, who Chamberlain had a long-running feud with as their two teams battled in the AL East, ever respond?

"No," the Yankees reliever said Tuesday night at the Baseball Assistance Team fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square. "He didn't call me back."

Chamberlain — who was being honored with the Bart Giamatti Award Tuesday — called Youkilis right after the Yankees signed him to a one-year deal back in December.

"It was just, 'I'm glad you're on our team, glad you're on our side and I look forward to seeing you and hopefully we can win one over here for the good guys,'" Chamberlain said he told Youkilis' voicemail.

Youkilis — will be filling in at third base while Alex Rodriguez recovers from hip surgery — left the Yankee reliever hanging.

The two players are not exactly the best of buds — especially after Joba was suspended for two games in 2007 for firing a couple of fastballs over Youkilis' head.  Both players have said that bygones are bygones.

"If it was that big a deal, I wouldn't have been signing with the Yankees.  But I don't think it is that big a deal," said Youkilis after joining the Yankees. "A lot of it is made out within the media and the fans."

Still, it sounds like Chamberlain is getting the silent treatment.

"I'm bound to run into him at some point," Chamberlain said.  "Sooner rather than later, I'm assuming. So we'll see what happens."

Unless Youkilis picks up the old cell phone. Joba might have to wait until Feb. 20 to hug it out with his old rival.  That's when the entire Yankee roster convenes in Tampa.