Phil Franchise struggles
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 11, 2007 
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(Listening to “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters by Elton John)
Phil Hughes threw 30 pitches in the sixth inning, 17 for strikes. Cleveland had two hits, two walks and scored two runs.
It’s amazing what a difference one pitch can make. Hughes for the first out then got ahead of Victor Martinez 1-2. Martinez fouled off four pitches before dropping a single into left.
A walk, an RBI single, a wild pitch, a sac fly and a walk followed.
Hughes is fighting to get command of his fastball. Be interesting to see if he can adjust in his second inning.
By the way, it would not surprise me if Hughes were demoted after the game or within a day or two. He’s pitching on the same day as the Wanger, who will go five innings in his next start. Hughes need to go four his next time, which leaves no opportunity for relievers.
At some point, Hughes need to prepare for his season and his season won’t start with the Yankees.
Good point Peter. Chris Volstad, the Marlins top pitching prospect, pitched yesterday and immediately got sent to the minor league camp to get ready for the season.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happens with Hughes. Its time to get the vets ready for the season.
On tv, it looked like he was just missing on his pitches. And his curve was very nasty! He had the ump fooled!
Pete, Did you coin the nickname “Phil Franchise” and if so did you get a trademark on it, so you get all the t-shirt profits?
I think this is good for hughes, he needs to fail a little bit before he pitches in regular season big league games.
Now he can go to AAA and know he has things to work on
When I watch Phil Hughes and Wang pitching,I realize it’s very difficult for young pitchers throwing strikes.Reminder me it’s very difficult to have that kind of Wang when he came out in 2005 and pitched the way he pitched.The hitters in the major can sit on the pitches they want if you don’t strikes.Wang also can make quick adjustment when he struggle.That’s is why Joe always say these two things it’s very unique for young pitchers and he can sit back to watch him pitching.
I think Hughes have better stuff than Wang,but he needs to work on his command.
Hughes needs to work on his command? I realize it sucked today but in AA last season Hughes had 138 strikeouts to 32 Bases on Balls. That is pretty ridiculous control.
I guess this is a good exercise in patience. There has been so much talk about how great Hughes is, I kind of expected him to bypass the Major Leagues and go directly to The Hall of Fame. Have a wonderful season in AAA Phil, we’ll see you next year.
Sardinha is raking.
Hughes needs to work on his changeup and two-seamer.
The ump didn’t seem to be helping, not know what is a strike and what is a ball.
Pete, what do you think of the possibility of the Yankees dumping both Pavano and Krazy Kyle at some point? With all the young arms they’ve got and the possibility of using someone like Bean, Bruney, or Britton (hey the new killer B’s) in the pen, Kyle could be expendable. Pavano and Farnsworth could bring back a nice catching prospect. Just wondering your thoughts?
all the triple-a teams start playing exhibition games later this week. everyone’s going to be farming out players to fill those rosters.
The Indians owned Yankees so far this spring training. Yankees are 0-2 vs Indians. Indians are only team that defeated the Yankees this spring.. Is it time to worry?
hey all! very cool meeting pete today… the game didn’t turn out the way i was hoping but it was nice to see some live baseball.
i’ll have pictures later.
This is a good thing. Let the kid work it out in AAA. Not being perfect in Spring Training means that he will take the lessons to heart (as I have heard from interviews), adjust, and move on.
I WANT Phil to fail in ST so he will be that much more polished when he is called up mid-season or next year.
Oh, and unless I am wrong, Mo has been perfect so far. That is encouraging to say the least.
To have command in the minor and in the major is different.Hughes struggle his control two of three time in spring training when he face hitters in the major.I know his numbers in the minor is great.
Let Hughes go through AAA and come in the middle of year and will be good right away.It sound much better for me.Don’t be rush.
Especially,this kid is just 20 years old.
Gardner was sooo safe at 2B.
Hughes needs some time. He needs to not only command his fastball but his secondary stuff, too. This was good exposure for him and he’ll benefit.
Tabata!!!!
Garner was safe!
Sardinha!!!!
Beam did a good job.
Any word on who else might get cut on Tuesday?
Could it be possible that maybe…just maybe…Hughes isn’t going to be the dominating guy we hoped for?
He wasn’t even so-so this spring.
To have command in the minor and in the major is the same–to throw strikes. Hughes is a legit pitcher much better than Wang. It’s just spring training and people please stop over reacting.
he pitched what, less than 5 freaking innings this spring? dont jump to conclusions based on that sample size. if you look at Hughes spring vs. the better stats of Beam, Bean, and Desalvo, does it mean they’ll be better than Hughes? definitely not.
Pictures where Destro?
rainbowtrout, he was dominant in his second game, and not good in the first and third game. Oh and he’s 20 and was pitching to major leaguers… He’s gonna be an ace.
Mike and rainbow trout,
You guys are kidding right? Good grief.
Gosh, in every blog I go to, there is always “the sky is falling no matter what” yankee fans. Its a consistent phenomenon, lol.
Hey Folks,
No, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and scream “the sky is falling,” but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves and expect, as one poster has preordained, “an ace.” Yes, he’s 20. Yes, his stats bode well.
But let not hubris take over, and might I suggest that,from here on out, we refer to him as Phlop Hughes, as one wise poster on alt.sports.baseball.ny-yankees has named him, and speak disdainfully of his overhyped importance to the team.
And yes, I am being sarcastic. Remember Melky in Fenway, ’05?
I wish Phil well and I fully expect to see him in an important role later in the season.
2000 MIN 86 IP 6.49 ERA 102 H 54 BB 64 K
Johan Santana as a 21 year old in the majors
Oof.
Seriously people, get a grip. 5 innings of ST means as much as me throwing BP to my niece. Ask Mussina how worried he is that he hasn’t been perfect this spring…. It’s called rust, not command issues, and it’s called 5 whopping innings. The Hughes will be fine and he’ll be in the majors THIS year, and quite likely will make an impact.