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Hughes: I’m pain free

Peter Abraham
June
10

Good news from Tampa, where occasional blogger Phil Hughes reports that he is pain free.

According to the Yankees, however, Hughes will not be cleared to throw until a bone scan shows his fractured rib is totally healed. That hasn’t happened yet. Once he’s cleared, he can start playing catch and work on building up to taking the mound again. That will take some time.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 5:37 pm by Peter Abraham.
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50 Responses to “Hughes: I’m pain free”

  1. Zach in Port Jeff

    If Hughes has a chance to pitch this year, does he pitch at AAA or in the majors?

  2. Skippy

    “Occasional blogger” indeed. You’d think with all the spare time Phil would be putting out about 3000 words a day.

  3. Eugie

    Lets say for the sake of argument that Rasner is still pitching like he is. Who goes when Hughes or Kennedy come back? Do you think they’ll demote Rasner or are these rookies destined for the minors the rest of the way?

  4. Pierce - 2008 Best Actress Academy Award

    Maybe the kids will help out the bullpen. That might be the best spot to put them till they can show more consistency.

  5. S.o.S.27

    ““Occasional blogger” indeed. You’d think with all the spare time Phil would be putting out about 3000 words a day.”

    Or 3000 squats/leg extensions.

  6. Chris NY

    The kids need to build up their innings, no bullpen.

    IF Rasner AND Mussina can keep up the way they’ve been pitching, AND if Hughes and/or IPK return to major league form, then either someone (Rasner?) gets traded, the kids ride out the rest of the year in AAA, or Rasner goes to the bullpen as a long reliever.

    Another IF is the health of the rest of the starters. There’s enough time left before Hughes and IPK are healthy that the question could be answered by injuries. Let’s hope they have the “problem” of having 7 healthy starters all pitching well.

  7. S.o.S.27

    Speaking of pitchers. Willis has been demoted to class a ball. There hoping he could find his control. Man that trade is looking worst by the minute.

  8. Chris NY

    The other point about the kids is their development may or may not be good enough in AAA. If they come back and prove they’re major league ready, pitching the rest of the year in AAA may not be sufficient for them to continue to develop.

  9. Jorge Steinbrenner (the long lost third brother)

    Could be bullpen, could be AAA until next year. He’s 21 years old. He’s still got a whole career ahead of him. We probably rushed him once. Let’s not do it again and get it right this time. We all saw the brilliance he’s capable of. He needs to get to a place where he can be solid every five days on the major league level.

  10. raymagnetic ®™

    Willis is still pretty young himself. Maybe he has a Roy Halladay type of resurrection and starts pitching well again.

    I like Willis and although he plays for the Tigers a big part of me would like to see him do well.

  11. William Buckner

    Here’s the way I see it. If all others stay healthy, Hughes and IPK will pitch in AAA until September. They’ll then get Moose and Pettite innings if the Yankees are out of it.

    If injuries do occur, whoever is doing best gets the call. But i wouldn’t be shocked if kennedy’s name comes up in trade talk around the deadline.

  12. S.o.S.27

    raymagnetic,
    Im not a big fan of Willis. Personality wise. Yes. But he has struggled last year and now this year. But do you know who im less a fan of? You got it. Our consilation prize himself.

    Trade proposal.
    Igawa for Willis

  13. raymagnetic ®™

    S.o.S.

    Right now Igawa for Willis would probably be a wash. I think Willis earns more than he does though.

  14. S.o.S.27

    “Right now Igawa for Willis would probably be a wash. I think Willis earns more than he does though.”

    Hell. Have them throw in a maple bat and they got themselves a deal. At least Willis has a track record of success in the majors.

  15. Frank Discussion

    Throw in Pavano as well, sweeten the pot, so to speak.

  16. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    Glad to hear Hughes is pain free.

    I still believe in the kid. :)

  17. Will K

    I’d rather him not blog, play video games, etc.

    Can he focus on pitching? Maybe study some film. Work on mechanics.

    Because he has looked downright awful this year. I hope its the injury and he comes back like the #2 starter they project him to be.

  18. Blargh

    Igawa is owed 4 million for each of 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
    Willis is owed 7 mil for 2008, 10 mil for 2009, and 12 mil for 2010

  19. Samples

    A little extended AAA time wouldn’t hurt either Hughes or Kennedy. Since Hughes never seemed comfortable throwing his change in 2008, he can throw it all day down there and turn it into a weapon. I don’t think he’ll be anything close to the expectations without a strong third pitch.

  20. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    “I’d rather him not blog, play video games, etc.

    Can he focus on pitching? Maybe study some film. Work on mechanics.”

    Um..I think he will.
    Do you want him to focus on baseball 24/7 and not do anything else? Is he allowed to sleep?

  21. Will K

    “Um..I think he will.
    Do you want him to focus on baseball 24/7 and not do anything else? Is he allowed to sleep?”

    Obviously, he wasn’t focused enough on pitching and his job was he? Or he wouldn’t be winless. We going to chalk all that up to the injury? I hope so for our sake and his.

    I’d prefer it if my guys didn’t sleep and lived and breathed baseball 24/7. Why do I care if they sleep if they perform??

    We don’t like gamers in NY????

  22. Will K

    Igawa and Willis.

    What a waste of time even discussing those two. At least Willis is fun to watch and a good personality and doesn’t wear sunglasses on the mound.

    I’ll pass on trading for him though. Thanks.

  23. Eric Kips Bay

    Willis now or 2005???

    I’d trade Igawa back to Japan for one Bazooka gum piece.

  24. ripcord

    “Since Hughes never seemed comfortable throwing his change in 2008, he can throw it all day down there and turn it into a weapon. I don’t think he’ll be anything close to the expectations without a strong third pitch.”

    You realize that developing a changeup and a third pitch isn’t automatic to learn and perfect, right?

    I don’t think Hughes even has a changeup. I never saw it. And his fastball hasn’t been impressive to say the least.

  25. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    “Obviously, he wasn’t focused enough on pitching and his job was he? Or he wouldn’t be winless. We going to chalk all that up to the injury? I hope so for our sake and his.

    I’d prefer it if my guys didn’t sleep and lived and breathed baseball 24/7. Why do I care if they sleep if they perform??

    We don’t like gamers in NY????”

    Oh…I see…
    He wasn’t focused at all on baseball or his job. That was why he struggled… :|
    Obviously…..

  26. S.o.S.27

    “Is he allowed to sleep?”

    Only if it doesnt interupt his focus on baseball 24/7.

    Blargh,
    Have Detroit give us 6 million back and they can have him.
    Dont forget the maple bat.
    Who knows. Maybe he can find himself again and be that lefty out of the pen we’ve been missing.

  27. ripcord

    “Speaking of pitchers. Willis has been demoted to class a ball. There hoping he could find his control. Man that trade is looking worst by the minute.”

    How bad could it be if Cabrera is a top hitter every yr? Maybin is no sure thing and Miller has control issues. The problem was giving Willis money before he pitched an inning in the AL. Cabrera himself will make that trade worth it over the long run even if he puts on 50 lbs and cant play 3b.

  28. S.o.S.27

    “I’d trade Igawa back to Japan for one Bazooka gum piece.”

    Orrrrr. We can trade him for the latest Japanese 2009 baseball video game to make sure Hughes is always focussed.

  29. Nick in SF

    Ugh, stuck at the airport in Phoenix and I missed an entire thread dedicated to the Roger Clemens Viagra revelations.

    Talk about a hanging straight line!

  30. Will K

    If Hughes lives up to his talent he can blog 10,000 words a day for all I care.

    The team needs him. The more talented pitchers, the better.

  31. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    I wonder if he is allowed to go to the bathroom?
    No sleep, no potty breaks….

    Not a fun life….

  32. S.o.S.27

    ripcord,
    Cabrerra already moved to first. They were banking on him to play third when they gave him his contract. I agree his bat is leathal. But he might end up at dh in a couple of years. Dont think they were planning on that so soon.

  33. ripcord

    I never want to see Igawa in pinstripes again.

    I don’t care if we lose all 5 starters at the same time. I’d rather see Betances throw 3 innings. Or Dave Eiland.

  34. ripcord

    I know he’s off of 3b but Cabrera’s bat is worth it even at DH.

  35. S.o.S.27

    “I wonder if he is allowed to go to the bathroom?”

    Only if he can play Weei(i think thats how its spelled) while he’s in there. Simulating his delivery.

    WARNING
    Weei is a video game. Not his weee.

  36. Patrick Bateman

    I’d prefer to see Hughes and Kennedy finish out the season in AAA.

    They both need serious work on their control and also need some confidence since neither would throw in the strike zone.

    In an ideal world, Kennedy comes back from his injury, raises his value in AAA and is traded in the off season.

  37. Eric Kips Bay

    “In an ideal world, Kennedy comes back from his injury, raises his value in AAA and is traded in the off season.”

    Well, his value was at its peak LAST off season. Makes me wonder about all those other “great” prospects down on the farm.

  38. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    LOL S.o.S.27

    I wish I had a Wii. :(

  39. MoBoy

    Yes!!!!Hughes will be here sometime in August and overrated Kennedy and he’s 9.00 Era will be here before July and our best pitchers so far has been Rasner and a 39 year old Mussina.

    Yeah we won’t need a pitcher by the tradedeadline.Sure.

    Wang and Pettitte need to step up now and stop being overrated like they have been.

  40. randy l.

    hughes needs to go back to triple a and start all over.

    if he gets good enough this year , he gets another shot .

    if not, not.

    why should he be any different than any one else?

    he hasn’t shown this year that he is a major league pitcher.

  41. S.o.S.27

    “I wish I had a Wii.”

    It cant be that bad being the opposite. I could be wrong though.

  42. Jimmy

    Can’t believe we didn’t give him up for Santana. Hope Hughes and Kennedy prove me wrong, but I haven’t liked what I have seen.

  43. S.A.- No pain..no gain

    lol

  44. MoBoy

    THe Yankees aren’t going with HUghes,JOba and Kennedy in the rotaion next year.Thats for sure.

    Trade Kennedy and others for Houston Street.

  45. Glenn

    By the time Phil Hughes is cleared to throw it will be at least mid-August before he re-builds his arm strength to what it was in early April.
    The minor league seasons will be ready to conclude at that point so he’ll pitch little at AA or AAA.
    Have him work on his secondary pitches in the Arizona Fall League and get an early start with spring training.
    No guarantees for Hughes or Kennedy out of spring training like this year.

  46. V

    I don’t know why, but every time I read garbage like the posts here, I am absolutely surprised by the level of idiocy that exists.

    Wow, so, uh, a young pitcher gets a total of a month before he’s a failure?

    Man, I am so glad the Yankees stuck with Pettitte after his bad start in 1995 (check out that 7/7/95 start!).

  47. V

    Or 8/21/95 and 8/25/95!!!

  48. Samples

    ripcord – you mean if I buy a bunch of lotto tickets, its not guaranteed I’ll win? I do realize it’s not automatic that Hughes will develop a plus change up, but there’s no better why to work on it. I’d rather he hang a few to AAA’ers during the learning process than Manny.

    He has a change and used it more last year, but not a lot. In his no-hit game against Texas last year he threw 2 of them to strike out Texiera and made him look foolish. For whatever reason, he’s abandoned it.

  49. Samples

    ** better way

  50. rvajames (Netherlands for EURO 2008 - DUTCH PRIDE!)

    One step at a time Phil. No need to rush the young guys now, give them their due.

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About the authors
Chad JenningsChad Jennings joined the The Journal News in October 2009, having spent the better part of seven years covering baseball in Scranton, PA. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and an award-winning beat reporter and features writer. E-mail me at cjennings@lohud.com
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Sam BordenSam Borden is an award-winning journalist who joined The Journal News and LoHud.com in January 2008. He covered the Yankees for the New York Daily News from 2004-06, and has also worked as a columnist for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. E-mail me at sborden@lohud.com
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Sam BordenJosh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. E-mail me at jthomson@lohud.com
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