Hughes does not throw 96. Hughes has touched 96 in the past, and he DID throw consistently harder when he was 18 and 19. This doesn’t have to mean he can’t be very good, but again, there aren’t too many right handers that are considered great that throw mostly 90 mph fastballs and don’t mix in at LEAST two other pitches on a regular basis. Unlinke Kennedy, he DOES have more than just one above average MLB pitch and once he starts using them and gets past the rookie learning curve I think he can be ok.

When all fans hear is how great the young players are and never hear potential drawbacks, it is understandable to see a little panic. A more realistic view from the start would have helped. Also, I know I beat it into the ground over the last 6 weeks but…wouldn’t you rather have Joba make 3 starts through and then get skipped once to limit innings rather than have him in an 8th inning role, then lose him entirely to the minors while he stretches his arm out only to see him finally add his true value to teh club in the 2nd half of the season?

When Hughes is on, he can be great. We saw that in the no-hitter last year and in September and during the playoffs. But day in and day out, I think he needs another pitch and always have. You can’t throw 80-85% fastballs and fool major league hitters, no matter how good your control is. Not unless your Joba and throw it 101 MPH.

I also think his control is a little TOO good. He needs to work off the plate a bit more. If you look at many of the pitches they were hitting last night, they were beautiful pitches. Placed perfectly exactly where he wanted to put them. Yet they got crushed. That tells you hitters are just too comfortable against him.

He needs another pitch. He has the slider that he never uses, and he’s working on a change. When he mixes one of those in about 10% of the time, especially late in counts, I think he’ll be terrific. He doesn’t even have to throw it for strikes, in fact it may be better if he doesn’t as a swing and miss pitch. But he has 2 qualities most pitchers would kill for, outstanding control and outstanding command of plus stuff. He just needs another tool in his arsenal to finish hitters off with.

I’m not giving up on any of the big 3.

What you meant to say was…

“Nice career for A-Rod so far. He’s hitting .306 lifetime while averaging over 40 homers and 120 rbi, is a gold glove defender playing out of position in deferrence to a substandard defensive replacement at short who lets balls get out of the infield three times per inning.