Entries RSS
Add us on Facebook
Follow us on TwitterHughes needs to learn to cope with failure
Posted by: Joseph P. in Pitching. Tagged: Phil HughesNo, Phil Hughes is not pitching well. I had big hopes for last night, after seeing how sharp he was last time out, before the rain delay. He did not fulfill those hopes, though, and naturally it raised questions about his belonging on a major league roster. Those questions should be asked. Hughes has been frustratingly inconsistent, and further has put a taxing on our bullpen. He’s the youngest pitcher in the majors, so the simple solution would be to let him work out his issues at AAA.
The only problem is, I’m not sure that’s the remedy.
At some point, there will be no harm in trying. But right now, as in today, I’m not convinced that a demotion is in order. Some readers might thing I’m trying to spin this with, as one commenter said, Hughes-colored glasses. But it’s not quite that. Hear me out.
First, let’s look at the immediate. Hughes’s next scheduled start is Sunday against Seattle. It’s not like they’ve got a super-charged offense, so you might as well let the kid go out there and see if he can start May better than he left off April. Plus, it’s still relatively early, so we can afford a hint of patience.
Monday is a day off. So if Hughes throws another poor game on Sunday, you can skip his next start, sending him down for a spare bullpen arm or bench bat, until a fifth starter is needed again. If he pitches well, you can proceed with caution.
Now let’s get to the long-term.
The Hughes Theory
As we all know, Phil Hughes has one helluva minor league career. He dominated every level he touched, keeping his WHIP below 1.00 and striking out over a batter an inning. Of course, we’ve seen guys pitch well in the minors and bust in the majors. But Phil really dominated.
That itself might actually be the problem. When Phil was cruising through the minors, he’d be going five or six innings, and in many games he’d have just two or three baserunners. That simply doesn’t happen in the majors, not for a 21-year-old. Major league hitters won’t be fooled by the same stuff that gives AA hitters fits.
That’s fine, though. Every pitcher needs to make adjustments at each new level. Phil has to adapt to not only pitching with guys on base, but to the psychology of having guys actually hit you hard.
In other words, welcome to the majors, meat.
The problem is that he’s not adjusting. Once he starts to get hit, he’s all over the place. The fastball tails to the right. The curveball doesn’t bite as much. There is no consistency. It’s like a mean case of stage fright hits him when things aren’t going well.
Keith Law made a similar observation in Spring Training a couple of years ago. “The first time I ever saw him, he gave up a hit in Spring Training, and went to pieces,” says Law.
This is not unusual for such a young player. However, it makes me wonder if a stint in AAA is the answer. As I said earlier, at some point there’s no harm in trying. But if he goes down there and starts off pitching like he did tonight, well, there’s a good chance he’d end up cruising through the game. The homer pitch to Granderson was at the knees, and a AAA hitter, unless MLB-bound, probably wouldn’t be able to handle it in the same manner. The homer pitch to Sheff was a good pitch, but since Sheff had seen the curve a few times, he knew what to do with it.
To be clear, this is not excusing Phil’s performance tonight. It is simply stating the obvious, that AAA hitters won’t be able to get to Hughes the same way MLB hitters do.
On the whole, I cannot fault anyone who wants to see Phil back in the minors. I just think that the problems specific to him need to be worked out at the major league level. Which is unfortunate, because it can lead to a cascade of problems that will hurt us over the course of the season. But there is certainly something to be said for letting him work this out in the minors.
Oh, and cut the Johan crap
Thankfully, this is a minority of RAB readers, though a vocal minority. Yes, the crew that continues to lament the team’s decision to not trade Phil Hughes for Johan Santana this winter. I can’t tell you to stop. You are entitled to an opinion, just like the rest of us. I just think it’s a wee foolish to be judging the non-trade the April after it didn’t happen.
Just look at Santana himself. As a 21-year-old in 2000, he tossed 86 innings to the tune of a 6.49 ERA. He made three starts early in the year. The first was okay, and the second were putrid. They actually kind of resemble Hughes’s starts from this year. His two starts in September weren’t much better. In between, he had varying degrees of failure as bullpen guy, coming in for plenty of mop-up situations.
And you know what? He wasn’t all that hot a starter in 2001, either. It wasn’t until 2002 that he started to show what he was made of, and until 2004, as a 25-year-old, that he showed complete and absolute dominance — though he was pretty damn good in 2003, splitting time between the bullpen and the rotation.
Again, I’ll cite Greg Maddux, who got roughed up as a 21-year-old. Ditto John Smoltz. This trade is not a bust because Hughes had a bad April. This was a non-move made with the long-term picture in mind. One month does not constitute a long-term picture.
Of course, just because the move was made with the long-term in mind does not necessarily mean it was the right move. But it’s still way, way too early to close the book on this one.
Beyond the Johan crap, we also have to remember that the trade was not and never would have been Phil Hughes for Johan Santana. It was Hughes + Kennedy + Melky Cabrera + another prospect for Santana. The Twins weren’t about to ship Johan to an AL competitor for anything less than that. No matter how you slice or dice it, that is a bad trade.
the other deal would hardly be better. Kennedy + Wang + Melky.
I agree that we should hold on for a month or at least a few more weeks. there’s certain adjustments made at each level. people forget that.
My grudge with Hughes today (or for much of the season) is that he keeps flashing his best pitches early in the count and then start nibbling and/or throwing shit. there’s some serious pitch selection and approach issue here. ANYONE who’s seen his curve and quesetion his stuff to cut it as a major leaguer should just stop watching baseball to be frank. the stuff is there. the mentality is not.
they need to be careful to not push this to a Rick Ankiel / Zach Grienke extend though.
Trading Wang would simply put us in the same situation we are now – two pitchers in our rotation pitching lights out (Santana, Andy), one iffy (Moose), but just instead of two shaky rookies we’d have one (Hughes).
Leaving us with one empty spot on the roster for (shudder) Kar/Ig/sner…
Sorry Ben, I don’t agree.
When the Twins came crawling back to the Yankees to get a deal done they would have taken anything at that point, as shown by the deal the Mets made. I doubt Cashman did any type of negotiation to try to get Santana here for the lowest possible price once Smith was backed into a corner to get Santana off his plate.
The problem with “The Big Three” (soon to become “The Big One”) is that they are all going to need time to develop. It won’t be this year, and it probably won’t be next year. So then you run into the issue of wasting 2 years of players like ARod, Jeter, Posada, Abreu, and Rivera who are all playing with an egg timer next to them. Their time is limited.
So if it takes Hughes/Kennedy/Chamberlain around 3 years to get their act together, its a failed project. Jeter is 37, ARod 36, Posada 39, Rivera 41 and you’ve totally missed the window on this offense.
The Santana trade should have been made, and Cashman should have played hardball with Smith when he was vulnerable to get him for the best possible price. Which is why a new GM needs to be in place next season.
I couldn’t agree more. The youth movement doesn’t match the aging lineup and Santana provided an opportunity to challenge for a championship.
Your theory holds for one season though, not 3. Look at the free agent pitching available this winter.
which would include, who? an often injured Ben Sheets? a hefty lefty who may or may not take less to stay home in Cleveland?
no guarantee the Yankees get any of this available top-shelf free agent pitching that is supposedly available after 2008.
same with the offensive FAs. i think too many people assume that the yankees are just going to throw a boatload of cash at Mark Teixeira, and he’ll play 1B in the Bronx the next 7 years… but what happens if he just prefers to play elsewhere?
This is exactly why we have to develop pitching in house. FA pitchers, as mentioned several times, very rarely pan out. So, maybe you’re right, there will be no big names on the market this year. That’s why Cashman is trying to do it on his own.
I’m not saying Phil, Joba or Kennedy are the solution. They’re a start. And giving up a future for a few years of declining performance from our offense isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather move on from the remnants of the late 90s squad and start fresh. I know this is going to make some people wince, but Jeter, Posada, and company are getting old.
It’s time for change. Giving up a 21 year old and a 23 year old for a pitcher “in his prime” simply because if we don’t our squad can’t win a championship is silly. I’m sorry that Jeter, Bernie, O’Neill, Posada, etc. got old, but that’s how it is. Thinking for “this year” only is why the Yankees have had no farm system for 10 years. The “big free agent” signings have done nothing but put all eyes on the Yankees and set them up to fail. $100 million dollar contracts for “known quantities” are a thing of the past. It’s time to get young and get smart with the money rather than just toss out $200 hoping to win “this year.” Let’s think about next season as well.
At what point did the Twins “come crawling back” to the Yankees? No report we’ve ever heard confirms that claim.
Meanwhile, they can sign Sabathia for the cost of money in six months without giving up the farm.
Ben
I think that is the problem with this whole big package trade. I saw a rumor that Hughes and Melky were never offered in the same package. All we know is the posturing by these teams. The one thing for sure is that at one point Hughes was in the package (this was confirmed by Hank). And we dont really know what happened in January because it became clear that the organization had decided to hold on to the kids and gamble on no Santana, which is fine. But this is the price you pay and the risk they took. These kids are going to take their lumps on and off the field. Its not a forgiving town, especially when you have had a 90 win team the last four years that really is missing an established ace in the playoffs.
And all this is not to say I dont agree with what Brian Cashman did. The concept that the yankees would definitely win the world series this year with Johan is ludicrous. But it is safe to say that they would have a better chance. I think the people who are going insane right now over Hughes and Kennedy are a little off. The team is still a very good team and it would have been nice if they could have started off better. And their inconsistent start is directly correlated to the kids but they are part of the problem. They have been collectively awful (as has the offense and this schedule).
The Johan thing will haunt Phil especially, because he was the player named in it. And as was said in the offseason, the better long term plan was Phil and whatever kids you kept. But for this season, even if it is Melky included, the Yankees have a better chance. And I’m somewhat torn, its nice to envision a dynasty, but it would be nice to go to a parade this November. And Ill worry about next year, next year.
A voice of reason….thank you
Steve S
THNK YOU
Steve S
Has my veto for the guest column job.
Thank you Mustang but I’m only as interesting as the content and discussion that these RAB guys originate.
I think I understand where everyone is coming from. I am one of those people who latched on to Phil Hughes three years ago and its hard to let some things go. But I also said the only guy I would ever trade him for JOhan Santana, which I acknowledge, I had a lot of doubt about when it came up. I saw a lot from Hughes last year which is what should be everyone at ease.
But I think the first step for the RAB guys isnt acknowledging that Phil can be bad, I think its acknowledging that there is a strong possibility that he will be a flop. And I only say you should acknowledge it because its almost as if it was a foregone conclusion three months ago that Santana will get hurt or be a burden on the roster in four years.
And then the next step is to eliminate those T-shirts because they are a complete mush and I said it from the beginning.
Lets just hope he works it all out. And sending him down is ridiculous.
If Cleveland doesn’t trade him first.
Plus Sabathia scares me - seems like the type of guy who could go downhill in a hurry without discipline, alá Bartolo “Yes I’ll have that 7th slice of pizza” Colon.
BINGO
Totally agree.
http://www.northjersey.com/spo.....ntana.html
Sabathia is a good pitcher, but he’s not Santana. Thats the story of the Yankees life though. Pass on the best, settle for whatever is next. Pass on Beltran, but sign Damon. Pass on Randy Johnson the first time, trade for him 7 years later. Pass on Beckett because we have Pavano. The only time we really traded “up” for someone was when we got rid of Soriano for ARod.
As much as I like the young pitchers, the odds are against them. If one out of the three becomes a successful ace, they’ll be very lucky. With all the young pitching Cashman is stockpiling, he should start moving some of it to solve other needs. Alan Horne, Marquez, and White are just gathering dust in AAA. While they are second tier guys, they could have solved some of the other issues on this team.
My problem with Cashman is he doesn’t know when to pull the trigger and trade surpluses for needs. He’s like that annoying owner in fantasy baseball who loves all of his players and won’t part with any of them no matter what he could get in return. It seems like other teams are always making themselves better and Cashman never deals with our needs until its too late.
i couldnt have said it better
I’ve always been 100% behind Hughes, defending him whenever possible. Heck, I even have a yankees #65 jersey (which is now stashed in the back of my closet). But he needs to get his shit together in the minors. Skipping AAA was bound to have some negative effects, even though they didn’t surface so much last year. We don’t want to see him get so mentally messed up that he can’t recover. Something is obviously wrong when he has continually been unable to throw his fastball where he wants.
Talk about a bad trade for Minny. I thought Billy Beane got hosed on the Haren trade, but Eveland and Greg Smith are making him look like even more of a genius.
when in doubt. always go for quantity over quality on prospects. even the best can bomb. and often the onces that really shine weren’t always the best prospects.
I am right with you guys, It was pretty much me and one other vs. the masses at the Banter tonight in regards to this issue. For me, it really comes down to the fact that I have an underlying faith in Hughes, whereas I don’t think a lot of people do, especially those who know little about him and are going off what they “see,” which is a pitcher not getting many swings and misses with not so good control and not a dominating FB in terms of speed. I can understand the reaction to send him down based on that.
But I look at Hughes and his track record in the minors and what we saw last season and what I know about him in general, and I see a kid who simply doesn’t have what made him who he is: control. Hughes was always an amazing control pitcher, and this season, last season too until the end, he simply hasn’t looked comfortable on the mound. He’s constantly blowing on his hand as if he can’t grip the ball right. The pitches are tailing to the right all the time. Sometimes he throws the ball into the dirt, sometimes it sails high. But rarely is it going right where he wants it. Most of the time he’s missing by a solid amount, so that hitters can wait for their fat pitch, or hack away at his FBs which tail back over the plate to lefties. Thus, his best weapon, a perfectly located FB, has totally failed him. The FB sets up his curve and slider/change, and generates the swings and misses. Without it, hitters simply don’t have to swing at borderline pitches b/c there really aren’t any.
Until tonight, it was as if Hughes was being walked and singled to death. Then tonight, he clearly seemed to just give in on those two HR pitches and leave them right over the plate. He simply cannot put anyone away because he can’t put the pitches where he wants them. That’s a big problem for him. It would be as if Mo suddenly couldn’t throw his cutter. Losing your best weapon that you throw most of the time and sets everything else up is bad bad news…
So to me, what Hughes needs to do is twofold: he needs to figure out what the hell happened to his control, and he needs to figure out how to get hitters out when he doesn’t have it and how to scuffle. Lots of pitchers get by with much much worse stuff (just look at Moose), Hughes just needs to start pitching more. He is only 21.
The first part could, in theory, be fixed in the minors. But as you point out, in the minors, hitters simply aren’t as good. So Hughes could be pretty darn successful without even changing anything. That curve and FB will give him pretty good #s. Would it boost his confidence? Maybe, but it wouldn’t really fix the underlying issue. Or rather, it might, if its mechanical, but then why couldn’t they do that in the majors too?
The second part he simply HAS to do in the majors. Every pitcher scuffles and has off days. Greg Maddox, Jake Peavy, Roger Clemens, Josh Becket, Christy freaking Mathewson and Cy Young all had/have to get by without their best stuff all the time. The ONLY way for Hughes to learn to “pitch” is to do so against ML hitters. YOu take your licks and keep on coming. Sure, it may be painful for awhile, but if you have fundamental faith in Hughes’s ability, you know that he’ll come around.
I do, I know he’ll be fine. The question is if he’ll be given the chance to work it out in the majors and if many fans understand that….
Yikes, did I write all that???
But here’s the nagging question - are the Yankees supposed to keep letting him try to work this out in the majors, get hammered for 3 innings and then have to trot out 3-4 guys from the pen *every* time he starts?
It would be fine if the other 4 starters all went 7-8 innings every night, but we all know that’s not (or ever will be) the case this season. The bullpen will be cooked by June if Hughes doesn’t fix something soon.
i was rather disappointed in him tonight. i was hoping and expecting a solid outing. we’ve seen him do it (the Toronto game), but wtf happened to his fb command?
granderson was the key: hughes walked him to leadoff, then threw a 55-footer WP that ultimately allowed 2 runs to score. i’m not sure if the stats back this up, but when Hughes retires the first batter, he goes on to a good game, and vice versa.
he needs to show his other pitches. someone said he threw 80+ pitches and only 5 were the slider and change. he has a pretty good change and get-me-over slider. he needs to use those because otherwise he’s just a reliever that’s starting the game (meaning he’s using just 2 pitches, like most relievers). that can work maybe one time through, but after that it’s tough.
it wouldn’t kill us to get a hit with risp either. jesus it’s frustrating. if we get a hit in either the 1st, 3rd or 8th (when runners were on 2nd and 3rd), it’s a tie game. and god forbid if we get 2 hits, we win.
and ohlendorf should get a ton of credit for keeping it close.
The bullpen over the last few games has just been oustandingly stellar. They picked up Moose after five innings yesterday, and they picked up Hughes after 3.2. The Yanks were in a position to tie or take the lead in this game, and they just couldn’t get that big hit. The bullpen gets all the credit for that.
this non-trade cannot possibly be judged after one month. like the NFL draft, it’ll take years to determine.
i agree with zack. sending Hughes to Scranton might not help because he would probably dominate those hitters (unless it’s a mechanical flaw). we just have to be patient bc Hughes will learn more facing MLers.
it’s partly a matter of maturity: Hughes is the youngest pitcher in MLB and has rarely faced adversity in his career. he’d never even had the bases loaded against him in his entire minor league career!
it’s just tough because ‘the Yankees dont rebuild’. they want to develop AND win. will the casual fans and owner(s) stand for a struggling rookie or two? i sure hope so because the fans booing Hughes was totally uncalled for and will do anything but help the problem.
pete makes a good point too:
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....-meet-you/
u may be tired of the Johan crap, but u r gonna be hearing it for a LONG time, so get used to it. i dont give a shit what Johan, Maddux, or Walter Johnson did when they were 21 yo. Santana is 29 yo now, and i know the Johan Santana we wouldve gotten is the best LHP in baseball. PERIOD. we r the NEW YORK YANKEES, not the freakin Florida Marlins. i didnt get it and still dont. we dont want to trade Hughes, IPK and Melky (if it even did take all those 3, alot of reports stated by the end, it may not have even included a package of all 3) for the best LHP in baseball who is in his prime because all of a sudden we become fiscally responsible??? there is roughly 80 freakin million dollars comin off the payroll next season, plus movin into a stadium that could honestly probably allow the team to have a payroll of 250 million and not blink an eye and we draw the line on trading and paying for JOHAN SANTANA???? like i said in an earlier post, it wouldnt have even included our BEST prospect, Joba. if we supposedly have all these younger pitchers who should be comin up soon in the next couple of years and have all this depth in our minor-league system, then we shouldnt have even blinked an eye to make the trade for Johan Santana. and please, all this talk about 6 years from now who would u rather have is bullshit. ur tellin me Johan Santana is gonna be washed up at 35 yo???? we should PRAY TO GOD that Hughes in 6 years is half the pitcher Johan is and will probably be in the next few years. the odds r much greater that Santana will be great in that time frame then Hughes or Kennedy will be. again PLEASE dont get me wrong, i hope Hughes and Kennedy do GREAT. i hate watching him pitch like this, i dont want him to pitch bad to make my point that we shouldve trade for Santana look good. but ive said it before and will say it again, the organization put a big bullseye on both of them by admitting they wouldnt trade them for Santana, so basically u built ur grave, be prepared to be buried in it. last year they pitched care-free and relaxed since they had nothing to lose, but its totally different this season, and im sure thats a major reason for their struggles and sudden loss of confidence. i still cant get over the fact we would pay a boatload of money for Pavano, Wright, trade for old-men in Brown and Big Unit, but we pass on trading for Johan Santana because its time to take a stand and look towards the future. i know ive gotten ripped for sayin we shouldve traded Hughes and Kennedy since we still had Joba, but its the truth. the odds of everyone of the “Big 3″ to succeed is very small. Neyer and Keith Law always say if u have 5 good pitching prospects, u’ll be lucky to have 1 pan out. anytime u have a chance to trade for arguably the best pitcher in baseball, still in his prime, w/o havin to give up ur top prospect (Joba) or any regular star players, u do it in a heartbeat. end of rant, and like i said, no matter what, GO YANKS.
it’s hard to come across as anything but a dolt when you can’t even use paragraphs .
what r u an English teacher????? instead of complaining about how i wrote what i wrote, at least complain about what i said by giving ur take/opinion about what i said, not on how i wrote it.
this is the internet, I don’t claim to be any good at English (which isn’t even my first language) and I don’t care much for how you write it. ( i make my own share of mistakes) but it needs to be at least readable. and quiet frankly, yours was not.
A word of advice as you comment on blogs: People will take you a lot more seriously if you take the time to spell out words like “are,” “you” and “your.” They’re three or four letters each and don’t require that much effort. Just a suggestion, not a criticism.
As to your points:
No one besides you has mentioned fiscal responsibility. With the contracts coming off the books next year, money wasn’t as much of an issue as you think. Sure, the Yanks were concerned about adding a pitcher for that much money, but if you think that’s a perfectly risk-free move, just ask the San Francisco Giants how Barry Zito’s working out for them.
Granted, Santana’s better than Zito, but signing a pitcher to a long-term deal rarely works out. Mike Hampton, Darren Dreifort and Kevin Brown can attest to that. In fact, outside of Mike Mussina, none of the big free agent pitcher signings have made it the duration of their contract recently. Just a word of warning.
Trading away the talent and signing a long-term contract to a pitcher with a history of injury just didn’t seem like a winning combination. One month into the season is not the time to be passing final judgment on anything, good or bad.
please, please use paragraphs. it’s a chore to read without.
now that is a valid point, sorry about that. i just got going and couldnt stop. but lets be serious about criticizing the fact i dont use full words, i mean dont u guys send text messages???? if u actually spell those out, than WOW.
obviously if u were writing an article to be commented on, u MUST write it out correctly, but cmon on the comments too???? i comment all the time in the Imagine Sports site where the majority of the people r dare i say ALOT older than me (27) and they do the same (plus spend a shitload of money on teams there, its amazing. i feel poor as hell considering i usually only have a team or 2 active at a time). its called im not in school anymore (although i do plan/hope on going back to finish college one day) and dont expect to be graded on my spelling.
anyway, sorry about the wording/writing. its bad enuff im hated cause i actually dont worship the shrine of Hughes and Kennedy like the majority here do, i cant spell either!!!! honestly, this is the best Yankees blog on th internet BY FAR, and the fact there r alot of different opinions on everything is what makes this site GREAT. i think we could all agree on that point at least………
I spell out every word I text. It’s a point of pride.
i disagree.the best teams are doing exactly what the yankees are doing.melky at 23 is on pace for 30 hr’s,look at zito,santanna has a few yrs left,his numbers are slowly regressing.the problem with the yankees is they don’t have a true ace and if they were solid 1-3 they could afford to be patient with the kids.send kennedy down and bring rasner up.there is way to much pressure on the kids now and it is showing.you build a great lasting team by good scouting.drafting and keeping the kids.we still have brackman,betances,sanchez.we should of tried for santanna with kennedy,tabata and others but not melky,hughes or joba.buchholz for the red sox is 23 and just now starting to look good.
i love Melky but he aint hitting 30 hr’s this season!!!! but at least u kinda agreed with the 2 main points of mine. obviously Hughes and Kennedy r pitching with pressure they have never had to deal with, and u have to blame Cashman, Girardi and ESPECIALLY Hank Steinbrenner for publicly admitting they werent traded for Johan Santana. my main point u kinda hit on, if we also have all these other great young arms in Brackman, Betances, hell even Horne, PLUS the main thing being we didnt have to trade Joba, u pull the trigger for Johan because it wouldnt have completely erased the quality in the farm system.
to win a championship (and i dont care the spin u guys try to put on it, that is the MAIN GOAL, not developing young pitchers )with 2 rookie starters in the rotation is almost impossible. u DONT resign Posada and Mo like we did and go into a half rebuilding, half trieing to win it all philosophy. im not ashamed about “buying” championships and what-not, the Yankees have been doing it since they bought Babe Ruth. making the trade for Johan Santana wouldve actually been a smart move, not a stupid move like the ones they have made in the past few years with regards to starting pitching.
What about Wang? He’s 5-0 this year. He has looked like an ace to me, and I don’t see how we’d be faring any better had we given Melky and Wang to get Santana…we’d be even worse off. Pettitte is a solid #2. Mussina, for all the crap I’ve thrown at him, has appeared competent.
The problem is not our lack of an ace. You simply cannot expect to have three guys shoulder the load when your #4 and #5 starters lose every start. I do agree that these guys could use a quick shot to the minors (Kennedy less so than Hughes, since he is older) to build up a little confidence, but the problems with this team are a weak (abysmal) back end of the rotation, and a difficulty in hitting with RiSP.
Our bullpen has been fantastic. It’s really a luxury considering what the Yankees have provided in the bullpen the last few seasons. As for Hughes, everyone needs to be patient. If you don’t want to watch him struggle, don’t watch his starts. He has such incredible raw materials that still need to be crafted into “the goods” everyone can’t wait to see him show. I believe he had the goods in that start in Chicago and it would have been something for him to build on. I hate the Johan people, hate, hate, hate the Johan people. Apparently they didn’t read the reports that there actually probably weren’t even concrete offers on the table at any point for Santana, because, well IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE DUMBEST, KNEE JERK UNNECESSARY MOVE EVER MADE! I don’t even want to expand. These kids are so immensely talented that they have nothing left to learn in AAA, and they are 21, 22 and 23. Maybe they could benefit from the confidence booster of a trip down to Scranton, but a good outing in the bigs will do 10x more. When they put it together, watch out. I can’t wait to see it because its hard watching them struggle. But sticking through the bad times and being patient will make the foreseeable future so much more fun. They will have grown into superstars right in front of our eyes. Another thing, this win the world series in the first month of the season bullshit needs to stop. I know I’m not the only one who’s sick of it. Now that A-Rod is on the DL, those who can’t stomach a few bad starts from a 21 year old, should probably go back to making little-leaguers cry for not going perpetually undefeated, fighting other parents in the stands and all sorts of other unrealistically competitive activities that don’t involve pissing off people who actually understand the game of baseball.
I thought Al Leiters comment was important too. He was basically throwing two pitches, although he did throw the curve more than his last bad start. I am not sure if Al’s counting was right or not but he said he only through 2 sliders and one change. In 90 pitches you have to use more than just a fastball and one of your breaking balls.
His curve did look good though.
Besides, who would replace Phil in the rotation? Rasner? I’d rather let Phil learn on the job.
So why not put Hughes in the bullpen as the long man and bring Rasner up? Our bullpen is clearly having some innings problems so maybe having a long-man in Hughes for a while could solve both problems in one! Besides, I think it’s pretty common knowledge that he has an innings limit this year (which he won’t touch at this rate) so let him come in for 3 innings in a mop-up role for a month. Take a bit of pressure off so he learns to trust his stuff
this might make a little sense.
The innings limit isn’t an issue- he has thrown plenty of pitches in his starts despite only going 3 or 4 innings- 82 pitches tonight, 97 on the 18th, 66 pitches in two innings on the 13th, 90 and 87 pitches in the previous two starts (3 & 6 innings). It isn’t like he’s going out there and giving up first pitch homers.
Didn’t finish my comment- both these guys need to be stretched out or else their going to have low innings/pitch limits next year too- both need to remain in the starting rotation whether here or in Scranton
they’re* not their
True, Hughes has owned minor leaguers, but might a dominating stint in AAA give him some much needed confidence right now? Also, it would offer him a less rigorous venue to both work on his control issues and refine a third pitch, which seems sorely lacking in his current repertoire.
If they do opt to keep Phil and/or Ian in the rotation, Rasner would be an absolute necesssity. ‘Dorf seems like he’s being wasted as a long man, as he has the stuff to be pitching the seventh or eighth innings.
Another option (which has already been suggested here) would be to have Joba shadow Phil, which would instantly solve the “How are they going to stretch Joba out?” conundrum.