We ♥ Phil Hughes

January 12, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 29 Comments

From the Canadian Press. Why they’re writing about the Yankees in January, I don’t know.

“I try to avoid the rumours best I can, but you eventually here it from friends, family and the whole deal,” Hughes said after working out Friday at the Yankees’ minor league complex. “You never want to hear your name out there, but on the other side, at least it’s good to know that other teams think highly of you. I wouldn’t say tough winter, but definitely an interesting one.”

That’s right; Phil Hughes is already in Florida working out at the Yankees’ minor league complex. That’s devotion, dedication and drive any Yankee fan has to love. The Press notes that Hughes wants to work off a mound before Feb. 14 and wants to get in “four or five bullpens.” And that is just one of the reasons why we love Phil Hughes.

MD

by June he will be the #2 starter on the staff….and people will talk about how lucky the Yanks were to not trade him….just like they did with Guidry back in 77
Mike R.

Where are your work ethic questions now Mr. Joel “I’m a giant tool” Sherman. I can’t stand that guy.

I don’t think Hughes can be a #2 next year even though he could put up #2 numbers, his inning cap won’t allow it.
- Rich
  
  Patrick Teale said he was stunned by Sherman’s stupid (my word) comments. Every person he has every talked to in the Yankees’ organization told him that Hughes has a great work ethic, and that is his personal observation as well.
  - The end is near
    
    Amen
JRD

This might be a stupid point, but is there a potential downside to getting started this early for a player that will have an innings cap? Doesn’t this just extend his season even more?
kenxe

As long as he starts slow and easy and doesn’t push it to hard, he will be fine. Pl use, the yanks have people there all the time, just for this very thing. Work slow, work hard, work smart and the arm gets stronger and he’ll be ready.
http://www.replacementlevel.com SMinDC

To answer your first question the CP is like the AP. So this is likely just a wire feature.
http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.

It’s not just Hughes either. Humberto Sanchez, Jeff Karstens and Andrew Brackman are down there working out too. Brackman is just about to ready to start throwing.
- Malcard89
  
  Brackman can start throwing this early after surgery? Then isnt it possible he can start pitching this season? I dont know much about timetables, but i thought throwing off flat ground meant you were basically 2 months away from pitching again.
  - http://riveraveblues.com Mike A.
    
    You can start throwing lightly off flat ground 4 months after TJ. He had his surgery in late August, so he’s right on target. He could pitch in 2008, but it’s unlikely. He may see some action in Extending Spring and Instructs, but I doubt we’ll see him with one of the affiliates.
    
    They’ll turn Brackman loose in 2009.
Scallionboy

So, at whose smelly feet do we lay this typo: “but you eventually here (sic) it from friends, family and the whole deal”? I don’t expect much from American newspapers, but somehow I was under the impression that Canadian journalism wasn’t this sloppy. Queen’s English and all that.
daneptizl

Around where would Brackman’s innings limit be in 09. Is there a chance he pitches in Hawaii this year?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  There’s definitely a chance he’ll pitch in Hawaii, but I’m skeptical that they’d actually send him. Physically he’ll be ready though.
  
  As far as ’09 innings…I have absolutely no idea. The most innings he’s ever pitched in a season is 78 (his junior year). I’m guessing they’d like him to get him up to 90-100 innings in 2009. He’s really only got 3 years of minor league time to work with thanks to his ML deal, so they’re not going to be shy about letting him pitch.
  
  So if he goes 90 IP in ’09, 120 IP in ’10 and 140 IP in ’11, he’ll be set to contribute as a starter in 2012, when he needs to stick in the bigs. Usually my assumptions with innings caps and promotions and stuff like comes from my experience following the farm system the last 9 years or so, but this is the first time the Yanks have given a draftee a ML deal, so ‘m just wingin’ it here.
  - kenxe
    
    Mike A
    Your mostly right on. If I remember right, they like to increase the innings pitched by 30% a year. So. He may be ready sooner rather than later. Although I wouldn’t count on it…set backs happen, hopefully not.
  - daneptizl
    
    My goodness. I just noticed that he’ll be around 26 when he’ll finally contribute. I know his potential is massive but I just seemed to guess that he was a couple years younger when he was drafted and would be around 24. I’ll just keep him in the back of my mind for now.
Adrian-Retire21

Didn’t we miss out on Randy Johnson in ’98.But we got Roids Clemens.
Lee

Doesn’t he live in Florida?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Hughes? Yeah, he bought a place down there with some of his bonus money. He lives in Tampa year ’round I believe, like all great Yankees.
snoop dogg resident

i still cant see why the twins wouldnt want a deal centered around IPK and Hone (2 of the top 5) rather than Hughes and the 10th ranked pitcher. in the boave deal – you ould throw in more talent in the back-end of the deal like Gardner, Bettance or even miranda/

Smith is obvisuly seeking a good blend of quality and quantity. he doesnt want to put all his eggs in one basket which is undestandable as this trade will define him as a GM – he is obviously nervouse about making the yankee deal beause if phil fails he will get buried. taking a deeper pakage may not get him that potential Ace, but it gives more of a chance to have a couple of players left n the team.

here is what i think the yanks shold propose
IPK, Horne, Melky Gadner
IPK, Tabata, Melky, Igawa
IPK, Marquez, Melky, Igawa, and Gardner

the deals an be altered depending on whether the twins prefer hone or marquez.

here is another interesting one:

horne, marquez, tabata and AJAX

at first glance i wasnt crazy about it, but the yanks farm an absob the loss of the pither. as for losing the OF prospects – that hurts, but it is much easier to sign outfielders than it is young pithers. imagine a rotation of

santana
wang
petitte
hughes
kennedy

with joba in the pen.

next season you replace petitte with joba.

Does anyone think that twins would bite on these – am i proposing too much? look what happened with the tigers – they gave away their best pitching prospects and one of the best hitters in the minos
- barry
  
  It could just be me but some of your trade proposals are a little assinine. The Twins like Phil Hughes, they don’t like Melky, from what I’ve gathered.
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
    
    They have no need for Melky. Delmon-Pridie-Kubel-Cuddyer is way more than a capable outfield, plus they have Denard Span at AAA for an emergency role.
    
    They need to get a potential star back. Three or four solid guys won’t do it.
    - steve (different one)
      
      basically what it comes down to is this:
      
      the Twins don’t want to send their franchise pitcher to the Yankees. they want to send him to the NL.
      
      therefore, the Yankees have to bowl the Twins over. they have to blow them away with an offer. they already offered Hughes/Melky/Marquez. this is fair market value for 1 year of Santana + a 72 hour negotiating window. the Twins didn’t even blink.
      
      i just don’t think there is a match here. there is no deal where both sides walk away happy. the cost in talent for the Yankees to convince the Twins to deal with them will not be something anyone here (even the staunchest supporters of this trade) would probably be comfortable with.
      
      that’s all there is to it. it’s not a match.
http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.

i’ve always been keen on a Kennedy, Horne, Melky/Ajax/Tabata package. any way we can keep Hughes and Joba AND get Santana would be awesome. i could give up Tabata OR ajax but not both. i would think Kennedy AND Horne would be more valuable to Minny than Hughes alone.

as for the topic at hand: great to see the young guys starting early. pete abe said brackman looked like manute bol. lol.
- http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.
  
  PS: if you count the playoffs, Hughes ’07 era was 4.14.
dan

The Ukrainian evening news is reporting that Hughes will be concentrating on his change-up during his bullpen sessions.
dan

Steve Lombardi linked to something earlier in the day about what Buster Olney reported on Joba…
http://www.waswatching.com/archives/2008/01/cash_hints_some.html

I thought I heard that the bullpen to rotation mid-season thing was shot down?
- steve (different one)
  
  i think Cashman said the other night that they have several options on the table (starting the season in the pen, using 6 starters, etc) and that they haven’t decided yet.
kenxe

I still don’t get this “We Need To Have Sant”. Come on, you want to give up some very good up an coming players for one pitcher? Get real, not only do you give up good players, you have to replace them. Also you need the money out lay for his next contract. Giving up that much…doesn’t make……..
RobertGKramer

We may have to shut him down in April at this rate! (Grin)******