Pinch hitting: Pinstriped Scranton
-
-
- January
- 11
-
January is traditionally a slow month for baseball news. So for the second year in a row, we will showcase other blogs with a series of pinch hitters.
Next up is Chris from Pinstriped Scranton..
Pinstriped Scranton was started in September of 2007. Chris covers the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees as a beat writer for Pinstripes Plus Magazine. Unable to pursue a beat writing career full-time, a blog seemed like the natural outlet for coverage of his favorite team’s Triple-A squad.
Here’s his post:
The 2008 season was the opportunity Phil Hughes was looking for. He was basically guaranteed a spot in the rotation after the Yankees not to trade for Johan Santana. Alongside Ian Kennedy, Hughes was supposed to be the youth movement that fans of the 1996-2001 dynasty were waiting for.
One problem for Hughes: Health wasn’t on his side.
Hughes ended the 2008 season sporting 0-4 record, a 6.62 ERA and a WHIP of 1.7. Safe to say, his numbers were unimpressive and Carl Pavano would end the season with more wins than Hughes and Kennedy combined.
As 2008 came to a close, Hughes did get some work in the Arizona Fall League, where he was impressive. Pitching for the Peoria Javelinas, Hughes went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He held batters to .198 batting average and allowed 21 hits in 30 innings of work.
Of course, 2009 is a new year, a new chance to make an impression in the Bronx. If the current rotation stands, Hughes has an excellent shot of rounding out a rotation that will include CC Sabathia, A.. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain.
Unfortunately, Hughes carries an “injury prone” reputation with many Yankees fans. Chamberlain has passed Hughes in the popularity race since his debut in the Bronx. Make no mistake, Hughes hasn’t lived up to what many fans expected. Reality reminds you one thing, however: Hughes is only 22 years of age.
Before we go appointing him “injury prone”, it’s only fair to give the right-hander a few more years. After all, pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras, and scouting director Damon Oppenheimer see something in Hughes and aren’t just giving up on him. Of course, if you want ignore Hughes’ high ceiling, his ability to control the strike zone and his excellent curveball, you’re more than welcome to. But if he’s given the chance in 2009, there’s a good chance you will change your mind.
Sitting in the fifth spot of the rotation in 2009 is a reality if Andy Pettitte does not resign with the Yankees. At this point, that’s very likely.
Another year in the minors wouldn’t be awful for Hughes either. The more endurance he can continue to build up can only assist the big club. There’s no question the Yankees need innings and if Hughes is used right, he can provide more than enough innings for the Yankees rotation this year.
If you’re a fan of the Bronx Bombers and you’re still cursing after the non-trade of Hughes and Kennedy for Santana, it’s my belief you won’t feel the same way when Hughes’ career comes to an end. After all, the interest in Hughes hasn’t gone away. And the Yankees won’t trade him.
There’s something about this kid. Don’t give up on him yet.
————
Thanks, Chris. I knew there was one fan out there who liked Hughes. Coming tomorrow: Jason from My Baseball Bias.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 12:34 am by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
We all saw what Phil did in Game 3 of the 2007 ALCS. The kid’s got stuff.
He’s been rushed back and forth, with the weight of the world expected of him. It’s kind of a lose-lose situation.
That said, I think he should start 09 in AAA…the kid’s 22 years old. He’s younger than I am, and that’s saying something. If he doesn’t make it to the bigs until June or July, it’s not the end of the world. I’d rather the Yankees take the time they need, than rush him and add another injury to that list.
Thank you for this
i like hughes!
i really hope he gets the #5 spot in the rotation… i think it will be a breakout year for him.
Count me in as another Phil Phan.
His fastball has some awesome late break on it – it’s not going to induce a lot of swings and misses, but it’s also not going to see a lot of solid contact – if he can command his curve and change (and cutter?!), he’s going to be a dominant pitcher, and the Yankees will be glad they didn’t trade him for Santana.
I always loved Phil Hughes, I believe in him and hope he becomes who we want him to be a “Dominater”.
Another Hughes believer here.
I’ve been a big fan since he was drafted, and still have tons of faith in his ability. Good guy, too.
I think it’ll all come together for him sooner rather than later…Looking forward to seeing what he can do in 2009.
These pinch-hit blog postings are dreadful. Understandably, there is an informational blackout now for baseball, but these posts are truly dreadful. So irrelevant and nonsensical for the most part. Give us news, not the ramblings of some random fan on the street. And the comments? Bunch of people patting each other on the back about the quality of the writing…which is funny, because for people who have supposedly graduated college or are currently even in grad school, the writing is really, really bad.
hey Jet li–i have some advice for you then. take a hike. perhaps it hadn’t occurred to you that this is a blog and not a news site and therefore it is a forum for opinions.
since every one of the pinch hit posts i have read have been about the yankees how then are they “irrelevant” ?
I believe that was annointing not appointing.
JetLI,
seems like your knickers are in a bunch!!! Me thinks your JEALOUS Pete didn’t pick you to post a thread.
JetLi: Sounds like someone has got a long pointy thing in an unpleasant place.
If you think it’s so easy to write a good post, why don’t you go on and do one yourself?
cool post. i’m convinced!
and i love this pinch-hitting stuff!
Good post. I was glad then that we didn’t give up the farm, especially Hughes to get Santana, and even after a lousy year for Hughes I’m still glad. The kid has great potential and will hopefully eat up some innings at the big league level this year. So yeah, there are still some fans out there that still like Phil Phranchise. DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS KID!!!
Joba is more popular then Phil Hughes but Joba never started the season healthy and is injury prone too.Only Wang has been a Yankees farmhand who is a starter because he’s proven it.
I agree that it would be positive for Hughes to start 2009 in Scranton.
So Come on, Andy!
Good post Chris.
It has to be a double edge sword being a “phenom” like Hughes.
On one hand the expectations are so darn high and so would be the pressures of living up to the hype.
One the other hand, Phil will get more chances than most. If Chase Wright had Phil’s 2008 ugly numbers do you think we’d ever see him again? Probably not.
Mo Rivera came up to the majors didn’t have immediate success and got sent back down. Same thing with Guidry. I’m glad we didn’t give up on them.
Heck, I remember when Munson came up from the minors he went something like 1 for 30, but the Yanks stuck with him. Same with Mantle.
Hopefully Phil will find his way.
I’ve been following Hughes’ career since before he was drafted. I still have faith that this kid is going to be the anchor of a young and powerful Yankees staff for a long, long time. It’s important to be skeptical of young talent that can easily bust, but it’s clear that this guy not only has special ability but also a heart in the right place. I’ll be rooting for him, regardless of what happens.
Meanwhile, if you have a moment, check out the blog. I’m looking to bring in readers without paying a fortune for advertising and I know that Peter’s comments section is where the wisest of all Yankees fans reside:
http://riveravereview.blogspot.com
If you look down the page I wrote a defense of Steinbrennernomics that I’m pretty pleased with. Take a look.
JetLi – so-so blog… but I take issue with this section.
“I’ve also broken many Yankees news/rumor stories long before most of the other blogs. I’m aiming for accuracy and particularly speed when even the slightest Yankee rumor is whispered. I think I also bring an deep knowledge of journalism, baseball and the Yankees to my analysis and opinions–some of which I hope has been fun to read.”
You’re breaking news now? I don’t believe you are. If you’re posting links, someone else already reported on it. It’s funny a lot of you commenters want these pinch-hit post to be more newsy. Problem is – the best blogs usually belong to the beat writers.
They have the best info and actual real sources.
It’s easy to copy a link from a story the Times, News, Post or Ledger reported. All you do is react to it.
That’s not journalism pal.
You want to brin journalistic credibility? Get a credential. Cover games. Talk to players. Break your own story or “rumor.” It’s easy to link Rosenthal or Olney or Gammons when you have RSS feeds and google alerts set up. They’re doing the real legwork though. They’re talking to agents, teams, players, etc.
You’re a blogger. Not a journalist. Pete IS A JOURNALIST AND A BLOGGER.
Also – it’s kind of hypocritical to say you want to be accurate but also want to be the first to post any rumor on your blog. Accuracy means fact checking if the rumor is true. Again, requires doing real legwork and even picking up the phone.
I’d rather go to the source that’s RELIABLE… not who’s FIRST.
You may want to look into grad school – Syracuse, Missouri, Northwestern, and Columbia all have great JOURNALISM PROGRAMS.
Im a Huge Hughes fan even after his rough start I ordered his jersey and as i expected i have the jersey of the 2009 number 3 starter. unfortunatly thats not Hughes its now number 34 AJ Burnett
There was something about Drew Henson too…
Hughes shouldn’t get anything more than an invitation to Spring Training. What they need is another starter that can give them innings.. not a repeat of 2008 with 2 starters on inning counts.
Hughes had a busted rib….wasnt like he had arm problems
by all accounts he sorted a few mechanical issues in the AFL.got his fastball up around 95mph, and worked on a new cutter,with good results
i believe Hughes will silence the haters this year
Not for nothing but can at least some of these guest posts be proof read? Grammar goes a long way in being taken seriously. It’s one thing if it happens once in a while but there’s no structure to any of this writing. This is more of a compilation of thoughts and facts on Hughes than it is an article of any sort.
Hughes is going to be a top of the rotation pitcher one day. He has the stuff, he has the poise and at times he has the control. That being said, he’s still really, really young. What happened to Phil last year is the EXACT reason why the Yankees wanted to wait and give him more time to develop.
Personally I’m all for putting the kid in the 5 spot and letting him pitch, but the Yankees will really think twice before doing that. Why? Do they not have faith in him? Do they want to baby him? No, of course not. The Yankees know what happened to him last year. He got hurt, he go booed and in the end Yankees fans called it a wasted year.
This is New York and the fans want to win, not tomorrow, not next year, but NOW. The Yankees know that Phil needs a little more seasoning and are hesitant to let him develop at the major league level. Look at what happened to IPK last year. Top notch guy with solid stuff. He had a rough start and the fans turned on him. That’s when the comments started. Now IPK has the rep that “he can’t take the big time”.
Granted Hughes responded fine the comments and jeers, but what happens if he has another season like the last one? Will he start letting the boos get to him? Who knows.
The point of this little rant is that keeping Phil out of the rotation is not a bad thing. If he doesn’t make the fifth position he’ll at least be called up when Burnett goes on the DL.
Hughes will be fine. In fact I dare say he’ll be the best pitcher on this team in 4 years.
Interesting article in the Post about Mattingly talking Tex.
Pete: did anyone ask if Tex considered the Dodgers because Mattingly was a coach there?
Seconded on the typos – proofreading is essential in this environment.
I would have preferred some strong analysis of whether it is better for Hughes to have the 5th spot or start in AAA. Or whether the ‘injury prone’ label is fair. Or a factual look at his stuff, from the minors to last year to the AFL.
This lacked focus.
Dear All and Pete,
Breaking News!!
A good news share with you all that Chien-Ming’s wife was pregnant with their first child,boy!!!!!!!! The estimated date of childbirth is on or about June.
Congrats Wanger!!!
Chris – I thought your topic choice was good and it was timely, especially considering the Pettitte situation.
I like Phil Hughes and I am really hopeful that he will successful. If he does in fact earn that final spot for a starter, I’ll be rooting for him all the way. I certainly don’t expect a repeat of last season. It’s a different set of circumstances, for one, and for another, one would hope that he didn’t overdo the workouts this off-season.
All that being said, I truly hope he at least begins the season in AAA.
But you never, ever know how things are going to turn out, do you?
If people are unhappy with guest bloggers there is an easy solution ..don’t read them…just wait for a post by Pete. Why all the negative comments and nastiness especially toward the young fans who are just trying to show their support for the team they love like all of us on here. It’s one thing to critique or share an opinion but it’s another thing to just be outright nasty & rude.
As Mom always said …”If you don’t have something nice to say …say nothing …”
I commend all those who step forward and give it a shot and have enjoyed quite a few of the posts. Thanks to all guest bloggers for sharing their insights, opinions, memories and just love of the Yankees. Thanks to Pete for allowing them to do so on your forum.
Go Yankees 2009!!!!
Hughes may have great upside and I would not have traded him for Santana but y’all have to stop pushing the great lie.
The deal for Sanatana was blown because Stein Cash walked away from the bargaining table – the Mets put up far less package than an IPK Cabrerra, Veras/Aceves type deal — Casman Steinbrenner blew just as they blew Beltran — classic stupidity.
Now if you think that package is too rich than – I can see the idea for no deal.
As noted by another pinch hit blogger the concessions alone in the new stadium would have more than paid the tab.
To a degree we are all victims of the Yankee FO publicity BS and the NYC media.
Santana could have been in the mix – he would have provided support to give Hughes experience with less “demand” and despite the Cashman neo-history BS would not have foreclosed the deals made this winter — in fact the injury plagued Burkett could have been left on the shelf and the Yankees could have added OF strength instead of semi inept piece parts.
Greatness sometimes takes time…I am old enough to remember when a former Yankee centerfielder was sent down after failing miserably to hit when he was brought up from the minors. As the story was told his father challenged him to quit and return to the mines – of course this was simply to convince his son to work through the difficult time. When he did return to the majors, he had a pretty good career …Mickey Mantle.
they really need a 4th starter.spending all this money and leaving this hole in the starting rotation is insane.they will fill this spot.cf should be upgraded.if the have to trade nady for a pitcher because petite or yankees wont give in then .i would then check into cameron trade again as long as igawa is handed over to balance money out.if brett can’t hit at mlb level then he can’t steal cause he’s not on base.
Chris,
Good topic and good luck with your blog.
Unfortunately, like Joba, Phil only pitched 100 inings in ‘08. The most he’d be allowed to pitch in ‘09 is about 140 innings. It will be next to impossible to carry 2 starters who each would be limited to about 23 starts and 6 inings per start.
Phil’s better days are ahead of him. He doesnt turn 23 till June. He may have some impact in ‘09,but this season will be more about staying healthy and building up his value for 2010.
Good post chris, i am still a fan of Franchise Phil. He just has to stay healthy and if he does he can pitch effectively in the majors. When he was brought up in May 07 they rushed him, he should of stayed in the minors until september and then all the pressure has been on him since then. I think now the pressure is off somewhat and if he is the fifth starter watch him shine. Lets go Phil and the Yanks
Great write up. While I still dream we sign Ben Sheets and no matter what believe we need to bring in another pitcher to fill the rotation I still have tons of faith in Hughes. I think he could probably use this year to work on things but I do think he’ll contribute this year in the second half. I just dont want him starting out the year because of his pitch count. IMO we need to bring someone in. (BEN SHEETS!!! BEN SHEETS!!!) However, I do think Hughes has a chance to be a star and I honestly think that despite Joba’s stuff being more electric that Hughes will have the longer career. I think in the long run Joba will eventually make it back into the pen (even though his numbers clearly show he needs to be a starter I think his health will eventually force him into the pen) and Hughes will be in the rotation for years. Good job on this piece. Dont give up on Hughes! He’s a very young 22 years old even though he carries himself like a vet.
It remarkable how many people know exactly what it would have taken to get Santana. I’ve seen at least a half dozen “demands” that Minnesota made and frankly they all run together.
There’s no question Santana would have helped last year. Enough to make the playoffs? Maybe. But ask yourself this… right now would you trade CC Sabathia plus everything Minnesota wanted a year ago for Santana today?
Backing out of the Santana talks was always calculated on the long term ramifications now just 2008. Short term pain = long term gain as far as I’m concerned.
According to Bill Madden in today’s NY Daily News, the Yanks are ” overpaying for free agent pitchers who likely have done their best work for somebody else.” So I guess CC is washed up at age 29 huh. I bet that’s news to CC lol.
If we do not sign Pettite and do not find another suitable veteran pitcher to replace Pettite then Hughes and Aceves have first crack at #4 slot. JOba is in the #5 slot because of his innings limit. Joba will be the #5 for most of the season and be in the pen for the playoffs due to his innings cap.
If Hughes beats out Aceves for #4 then Aceves may be the long man in the pen. If Aceves wins the slot then Hughes will likely start the season in AAA and be the first guy called up if we need a starter.
I think Hughes is going to be fine. I do not understand why people think a 22 year old pitcher with a high ceiling and less than one season of MLB experience is a bust. The injury prone rap is also bogus. In 2007 he pulled a hamstring (while pitching a no-hit game) and then sprained his ankle in rehab. Freak injuries but by no means arm or shoulder related injuries. Last season he had a busted rib -again another freak injury.
He needs some seasoning but we have seen the potential like his game against the Rangers when he had a no-no going and of course his stellar relief stint in the playoffs against the tribe. I think he got some good work in in fall ball and worked on mechanics and secondary pitches. We will see the real deal in spring training.
As for ACeves, I think this guy is a good innings eater. He has good command of his pitches and has the mental make up to be a decent starter in NY.
Joba is the real deal. I think the key concern is whether he will be physically healthy all season and of course we need to monitor his innings.
Pettite was a good insurance policy but he may have negotiated his way out of a Yankee uniform for good. I liked a rotation of CC-Wang-AJ-Pettite-Hughes with Joba in the pen. Looks like we will go with the kids.
Enjoyed the post. I still think its better to go into the season with another 200 inning arm and move Hughes or whoever is pitching well in when a pitcher goes down.
Its funny watching the BoSox throw darts this winter. But one of them is bound to help out…
Does the signing of Rocco mean they are no longer so high on Ellsbury? Does the signing of Smoltz mean they have lost faith in Buchholtz and Masterson as starters?
after 09 & 2010 we will be able to tell what kind of pitcher hughes is as long as he gets innings in.
it might be a bad idea to go with hughes & others to round out this rotation.it is possible one or all of hughes,acevez,coke,kennedy,giese pitch well making it a strong,deep rotation but after the money we spent,the new stadium,the expectations it is important to get another decent innings eater & let hughes & the others be used for debth.
worst case scenario we have way to many good pitchers wich is very unlikely,then we can make trades for position players.
i would love to pull a nady & kennedy trade off for a cf & pitcher,maybe with the nationals for justin maxwell/dukes & lannan.
Great post. I got to see him pitch when Scranton came to Pawtucket and his stuff is nasty. He was hitting 93-94 with his fastball and then would drop a 71 mph curve that would just make the hitters look silly. I can’t want to see him pitch at the new stadium and prove all the nay-sayers wrong. He’s gonna be a great pitcher.
Let’s Go Jints! 27-20
hughes is on the 40 man roster & needs to stay there unless there is a player that should replace him & right now there isn’t one.
hughes needs to pitch to ml players & has nothing to learn in the minors.
he will dominate so much in the minors that they will have to bring him up again.the bottom line is that he needs to learn how to get ml players out while developing pitches & he can’t do that in the minors.
problem being that it should be as a starter so we can see how good he is going through lineups several times to get a good read.
why not pitch joba 30 starts/5 innings a start & bring in hughes every 5th day to relieve joba after the 5th inning & if hughes is pitching well enough skip joba a few times to keep him under 150 innings?
Nice post!
I still like and believe in young Phil.
Pete, there are more Hughes fans around here than you’d realise. We’re just drowned out by the bandwagon idiots who boo A-Rod every time he comes to the plate.
Oh, and nice post, Pinstriped Scranton!
bru
January 11th, 2009 at 9:55 am
hughes is on the 40 man roster & needs to stay there unless there is a player that should replace him & right now there isn’t one.
hughes needs to pitch to ml players & has nothing to learn in the minors.
he will dominate so much in the minors that they will have to bring him up again.the bottom line is that he needs to learn how to get ml players out while developing pitches & he can’t do that in the minors.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Agree he needs to pitch at ML level but it depends on whether or not they want him to just focus on his changeup and cutter before he comes up. It’s not really about AAA competition as much as refining those pitches a bit more.
Working on them up here would be fine if we were the Royals. Probably less intense scrutiny because he’d be coming in as a No. 5, but it might be wiser to let him air out those pitches in peace for a couple of months before he gets the call.
This was an interesting take on grammar and word choice.
Nice post. I really don’t know what to say about Hughes. I want him to do well but he doesn’t in the majors. Maybe it’s in his head.
Hughes isn’t going to be taken off the 40 man roster. If I’m not mistaken, the Yankees would have to put him on waivers to do so. Hughes would be scooped up in a New York minute.
I’m all with the ‘give Phil enough time’ thinking. Too many people who brainlessly ranted about dumping him for falling behind on the count twice in a the same inning probably felt like geniuses when he has a bad start to last season. They need to learn that a few years worth of development can’t be impatiently compressed into a single spring. Last spring the kid was 21 fer cripes sake.
Unfortunately those ‘genius’ people won’t remember this in a few years. They’ll just dump on Phil (at 25) for not living up to all his career expectations at 21. And they’ll probably ‘know’ why he didn’t, and the reason they’ll be thinking of won’t be that he just needed reasonable enough time to get to the point he gets to when he gets there. Alternatively, if Phil’s traded by then (and I hope he’s not) the same people dumping on Cashman for not trading him last year will dump on Cashman for having moved him.
Anyone know who the Nats or the Reds (and conversely the Yanks) are thinking of in exchange for Nady/Swisher?
And PLEASE don’t say ‘Austin Kearns’ or ‘Homer Bailey’.
I know Harang’s been mentioned here, but I’m wondering more what other useful players they’re actually thinking of in Cinn/Wash.
bodhisattva
hard to tell.
with joba’s pitch limits i would line both of them up to pitch the same day.joba for 30 starts at 5 innings per start,then pull him after the 5th inning & put hughes in for all of joba’s starts.
the only other options are to skip a ton of joba’s starts,shut him down early,start or finish him in the pen or pull him early & use a bunch of different pitchers to relieve him.
if hughes struggles we have the option to use bullpen guys to relieve him.hughes would pitch the 6th,7th & if he is pitching well we can leave him in.this will allow him to get into a set schedule every 5 days,go through the lineup a few times & keep joba at 150 innings or under.
we carried 3 catchers last year for a while & hughes is on the 40 man.
This will be Phil’s break out season.
As far as news goes, pete’s supplied a whole ton of news on this blog when news was happening.
I think Hughes would do best and learn the most at #5. All that another year at AAA does is build innings, but he needs to learn how to get hitters like Youkilis out.
As far as the politically correct mantra that the Yankees were foolish not to trade Hughes for Santana, what the Mets paid was worth far less than Hughes alone, so if the Twins insisted on Hughes Cashman was right to walk away. If we look at where things are now, Cashman has added CC and Burnett and Texeira and still has Hughes. Meanwhile, I heard (I think on FAN) that Santana may need some sort of surgery.
I work with someone who is an Angels fan but HATES the Red Sox. He sent me an email that made me laugh: “Theo signs Baldelli, Saito and Smoltz to a team that already has injury questions with Lowell, Ortiz, Drew and Beckett. Have they hired the TV Healer Benny Hinn to be part of the medical staff this year?”
dukes will compete with milledge in cf.i know it is a small sample but he had a 386 obp,slugged 4.78,8.64 ops.
these are the trades the yankees are terrible at.
i would love to trade for dukes to play cf.if we can get a pitcher also by trading nady & someone else like kennedy i do it in a second.
dukes has a ton of upside & talent & could take off big time.
keeping nady & swisher would give us debth but at the expense of possibly upgrading cf & pitching & we have gardner & melky also.we need an extra outfielder not 3 of them.
do we keep nady & swisher for extra debth or upgrade in cf & pitching & use gardner & melky for debth???
an outfield of damon,dukes,swisher with melky & gardner for debth is good enough & if dukes takes off we are solid.
lannan can fill the 4th spot & is a lefty who is an innings eater.
nady,kennedy & a prospect if needed for dukes & lannon would be sweet.
I’m a copyeditor and proofreader for a major book publisher. I just need to say this, as I see examples in every comments section after a guest post. To those people complaining about typos, bad editing and little fresh content in the guest posts: Ninety percent of the time, YOUR comments are riddled with typos, bad editing, and little fresh content! Look in the mirror, fools.
I’m not saying the guest articles are perfect. But yeesh, if you’re going to complain, back it up for cryin’ out loud….
he will dominate so much in the minors that they will have to bring him up again.the bottom line is that he needs to learn how to get ml players out while developing pitches & he can’t do that in the minors.
————
Hughes needs to stay healthy and continue to work on his secondary pitches. There is still plenty for him to learn down there.
Starting the season in Scranton will not stunt his growth one iota. What has stunted his growth is his inability to take the field every five days as a result of freak injuries.
With or without Pettitte (or another veteran starter), Hughes will get opportunities to pitch in the bigs next season.
Teams tend to use at least seven or eight starters to get through that 162 game grind.
“According to Bill Madden in today’s NY Daily News, the Yanks are ” overpaying for free agent pitchers who likely have done their best work for somebody else.” So I guess CC is washed up at age 29 huh. I bet that’s news to CC lol.”
The Mets underpaid Tim Redding and did a clutch move in keeping Carlos Delgado before he hit his prime.
Giants don’t piss me off today
bru I’d still take Lastings he’s a gamer and has high upside. If he’s matured I’m thinking of him and Austin Jackson in a future OF combo, him in RF Jackson in CF, LF (?)
I have been unimpressed with Hughes so far, but I am waiting to give him more time. I think he was rushed to the majors before he was ready.
taking the overated era out of the equasion santanna’s numbers are slowly getting worse.
whip,BAA,strikeouts,walks are taking the pattern that every pitcher takes when aging.
he still had great numbers but 99.9 percent of the pitchers in the history of the game when getting to the age of 28 or older deteriorate the same way.
santanna would not have won us the ws,not even close.we need more pitching debth & will need hughes & all of the others going forward.sabathia & burnett are at the ages where age is not in their favor not to mention injuries.
the age window for pitchers is 24-32,after that it does not bode well for them & i am not talking about pitchers that used ped’s like clemens.
Wood is good: Ahahaha! Someone needed to say that!
Congratulations to the Wanger!
This really isn’t a good post.
It does not make an interesting or creative point. Everyone knows that Hughes has struggled and that the Yankees probably rejected offers to trade him for Santana.
The real question about Hughes is how to use him in 2009. The post mentions that Hughes is a candidate for 5th starter, but doesn’t get into the main issues: should he be in the rotation this season, and if so, when? How does Hughes’s readiness to pitch impact the Yankees’ need to sign Pettitte (or another starter)? How many chances should the Yankees give Hughes before they start offering him in trades?
Aside from making no original points, the writer did not proofread his work.
Pete’s blog is probably one of the most successful sports blogs in existence. Meanwhile there are probably countless other Yankee blogs that deserve greater recognition. I hope that in the future, Pete holds guest submissions to a higher standard and brings our attention to blogs that really have something original to say.
Guiseppe Franco
is it wise to have a player on the 40 man roster in the minors????
just asking.if we were sure that he needs to be in the minors then i agree but i am not convinced.
hughes struggles,get’s sent down,pitches well,get’s brought up.i believe he should be pitching in the majors too start,backing joba up every 5 days & then make an evaluation as long as he pitches well in st.
we also need his innings because we do not have enough pitching debth.we have 4 starters with joba being 3/4 of a starter,no proven 5th starter or any proven debth.3 3/4 starters isn’t enough.
Irene liu January 11th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Dear All and Pete,
Breaking News!!
A good news share with you all that Chien-Ming’s wife was pregnant with their first child,boy!!!!!!!! The estimated date of childbirth is on or about June.
============================================
Aw! Awesome news! Congrats to Wang and the Mrs.
First off, thank you for your comments, both positive and negative. Moving into a new house, I consider myself very lucky to be given a chance to write anything this year.
Moving on to Hughes, I don’t think it’s bad thing for Hughes to start in AAA this year. While getting more innings is important, Hughes will have an opportunity for the fifth spot in the rotation IF Pettitte or another free agent is not picked up.
PS: Hope everyone is cheering the Giants today. Let’s take the G-Men to the NFL Championship.
Bru: Some 40 men players will always be in the minors, since unless it’s September you can only have 25 in the majors, anyway.
So I’m not sure keeping Phil in the minors is an issue so much as bringing him up too soon.
RhapsodInBlue – I think Hughes’ true breakout year won’t be this coming year. He should make it to the big leagues for good in ‘09 (maybe later in ‘09) but more likely sometime in ‘10 or ‘11 is when you’ll see him make a significant leap in success.
bru
15 minor league players will always be on the 40 man roster.
wood is good,
“To those people complaining about typos, bad editing and little fresh content in the guest posts: Ninety percent of the time, YOUR comments are riddled with typos, bad editing, and little fresh content!”
I agree. But, it doesn’t change the fact that readers of this blog should be entitled to intelligent, insightful, original, and well-written content. Since I like this blog, I criticize it in the hope it will improve. Maybe I’m naive, but since this is a newspaper’s blog, I think it should be held to the same standards as a newspaper.
I also beleive Hughes is ready to have a breakout season.
I saw him pitch for Scranton’s Chapionship game. Firt time I saw him wear glasses. 12 K in 5ip. And beleive it or not he was getting squeezed by the home plate ump. saying it was impressive is putting it mildly. The issue in my eyes is the same as Joba. How do go about the innings issue?
Brandon (CC/AJ/Marky Mark..Sheets ?) GO G-MEN !
i’d be happy with milledge,maxwell or dukes.
i don’t know wich one would be best but all are very similar.i just have the feeling that dukes will take off,just a gut feeling.
http://teamonebaseball.rivals......pr_key=835
this shot scares me though.one thing is for sure,we need another starter if you break it down.i don’t wan’t cc,burnett,joba being overused,especially joba.
It’s nice to see that Phillip is back in the graces & is a fan favorite once again here at the LoHud …..Just a month ago prior to the Winter Meetings so many wanted to provide him with a one way ticket out of town…..Brandon, I agree with you on Lastings, if he has matured some as I would imagine he has I think he’d be a dynamite addition….CB indicated that he’s not that good of an outfielder, and CF would be a overwhelming challenge…..I just know he’s a tremendous talent, but I haven’t seen enough of him to make that call…
“I agree. But, it doesn’t change the fact that readers of this blog should be entitled to intelligent, insightful, original, and well-written content. Since I like this blog, I criticize it in the hope it will improve. Maybe I’m naive, but since this is a newspaper’s blog, I think it should be held to the same standards as a newspaper.”
Someone who uses ‘but’ to start a sentence without using it in written dialogue or other creative context has no right talking about well-written standards.
We’re all rooting for Hughes, nothing like having success with your own prospects.
Go Big Blue!
Jeremy
January 11th, 2009 at 10:46 am
This really isn’t a good post.
It does not make an interesting or creative point. Everyone knows that Hughes has struggled and that the Yankees probably rejected offers to trade him for Santana.
The real question about Hughes is how to use him in 2009. The post mentions that Hughes is a candidate for 5th starter, but doesn’t get into the main issues: should he be in the rotation this season, and if so, when? How does Hughes’s readiness to pitch impact the Yankees’ need to sign Pettitte (or another starter)? How many chances should the Yankees give Hughes before they start offering him in trades?
Aside from making no original points, the writer did not proofread his work.
Pete’s blog is probably one of the most successful sports blogs in existence. Meanwhile there are probably countless other Yankee blogs that deserve greater recognition. I hope that in the future, Pete holds guest submissions to a higher standard and brings our attention to blogs that really have something original to say.
————————————————————
You’re correct. Your post makes no point, is unoriginal, uninteresting, and is poorly constructed. Other than that, there’s hardly problem with your “submission”, Jeremy.
is it wise to have a player on the 40 man roster in the minors????
————
The active roster is 25, so every team has 15 guys on the 40-man roster playing in the minors.
Why is that such a bad thing?
Besides, you don’t promote someone simply because they are on the 40-man roster. They have to prove they can handle it first.
And I agree that they need another starter, which is why they need to resign Pettitte.
Hughes will be more effective as the #6 starter than the #4 or #5 starter.
the question with hughes i guess is if he can help us he should be on the team.can he help us,can he learn in the majors,is it better to have him in the majors or minors???
imo if he pitches well in st he should be in the majors.we don’t have enough debth & unless acevez,giese,kennedy are the answers i say keep hughes up.
he pitched well except when he had an injury.if he struggles with no injuries that would be different.
his rib injury is healed & he isn’t blind anymore so i would like too see what he can do now.
one thing is for sure, cashman will get another pitcher,maybe by trading nady/swish,kennedy & others.
Chris I’m with you. I still see Hughes as the future face of the franchise. No that’s not putting pressure on Hughes, that’s what I think we’re going to see.
What’s one of the few things that can make you feel better when you’re down with a wicked stomach virus on a snowy day? You guessed it. 1996 World Series highlights. Nothing like getting in the mood for the outcome of the 2009 season!
Anyway, it’s on MLB TV and we’re now at the last game. (Sorry I tuned it late.)
But it is so awesome, nonethless!
Sorry if this information is a repeat. I haven’t gotten to read posts, just Chris’ post.
re: bru’s mention of rib/sight issues
I’m interested to see what Hughes can do with his healed rib and glasses too. He did pitch quite well when he wasn’t injured, and his 2008 was a product of undiagnosed ailments. I am VERY interested to see if he returns to 2007 ALDS form now.
By the way, it is really poignant to watch shots of a healthy George Steinbrenner…
Andrea: Seconded.
“i’d be happy with milledge,maxwell or dukes.”
Maxwell and Milledge would be my preference.
“i don’t know wich one would be best but all are very similar.i just have the feeling that dukes will take off,just a gut feeling.”
Here’s what scares you about Dukes, he is a walking PR disaster, you want someone who beats women, umm..impregnates them and leaves them flat, argues w/ coaching staff, curses infront of cameras, he’ll fight I’ll give him that, I like his fire, he could take off, but Sheffield was more mature than this guy, did a mention a paternity test automatically comes w/ him, he’d likely be the first Yankee on Maury Povich.
Guiseppe Franco
i agree.if he can help us without having a negative effect on him.these are decisions cash has to make & st will go a long way in telling what they should do with hughes.
i don’t think anyone knows for sure what the right thing is.i am sure cashman doesn’t know either.
i think if he pitches well in st the decision will be easier.st will also give us a better idea where we stand with kennedy,acevez,giese,coke.
hughes might pitch great & be able to handle the 4th spot in the rotation & acevez,kennedy,coke,giese can be debth if they pitch well.only time will tell.
i do believe a trade will happen within 2 weeks for a pitcher & or a cf or cash signs a pitcher maybe pettitte,perez,etc……
I can just imagine WFAN and SNY, the Yankees acquire Elijah Dukes (OH BOY)
Brandon: You’re not okay with Dukes but you’re okay with Milledge?
Was the Milledge situation that overblown? If that’s the case, the Mets’ ownership is even worse than I thought it was!
Hughes is 22. Jon Lester is 25 and has battled cancer and had to miss a chunk of his early career to get healthy. The Sox did not give up on Lester when he was getting healthy and learning the game. The yanks should be patient with Phil too.
Another issue with innings re Hughes and Joba– is you wouldn’t want Joba and Hughes back to back (#4 & #5) in the rotatiion.
I would think CC and Wang are our biggest innings eaters. Would it make sense to have Joba follow CC and Hughes follow Wang? I am not sure how that would work.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01.....149666.htm
I Love Donnie’s “Oh geez” comment, lol. I don’t think Tex is the only player who had a Mattingly poster on his wall, either.
I wasn’t excited about Tex before the signing – I didn’t think it was a good idea – but now I’m through the roof. Spring Training just can’t come soon enough.
I still have very high hopes for Hughes.
As for Kennedy: well, I’m done with him.
The best case scenario sees Pettitte or another starter on board as the No. 4 starter, Hughes impressive in spring training before starting at AAA and while there, showing he’s clearly major league ready forcing Joba to be the 8th inning man.
Aceves can be a long reliever / spot starter.
“Was the Milledge situation that overblown? If that’s the case, the Mets’ ownership is even worse than I thought it was!”
Rebecca we’re talking about the organization that decided to not trade Luis Castillo and jetison Lastings, play Church w/ a concussion, Fire Willie Randolph at midnight LA time, 3 AM NYC time… etc. One thing CB and alot of people were talking w/ Lastings they rushed him into the scene and when he was there for some reason Wagner w/ the know your place rook sign and a bunch of other stuff. I think he was a bit immature but not at the point where he was a lost cause.
Brandon (CC/AJ/Marky Mark..Sheets ?) GO G-MEN !
January 11th, 2009 at 11:14 am
“i’d be happy with milledge,maxwell or dukes.”
Maxwell and Milledge would be my preference.
“i don’t know wich one would be best but all are very similar.i just have the feeling that dukes will take off,just a gut feeling.”
Here’s what scares you about Dukes, he is a walking PR disaster, you want someone who beats women, umm..impregnates them and leaves them flat, argues w/ coaching staff, curses infront of cameras, he’ll fight I’ll give him that, I like his fire, he could take off, but Sheffield was more mature than this guy, did a mention a paternity test automatically comes w/ him, he’d likely be the first Yankee on Maury Povich.
———————————————————–
very good points.
justin maxwell is said to be fast,have a good glove & has upside along with being a good cf from scouting reports i read.injuries being a major concern.
i wouldn’t mind milledge.
It’s also funny to me the guy that got this whole Mets club against young Lastings was also hated by his teammates this past season. Teammates like Delgado, Beltran, Reyes, Wright (although he won’t admit it) Oli Perez and much more.
Brandon: You have a point. That said, I’d still be cautious about trading for Milledge-though he would certainly be a better option than Elijah Dukes!
bru I just want the best talent that Nady can net. I don’t even think Washington will be the team we deal w/ because we have to believe there are better offers. Don’t we ?
Drive 4 5, the News is the same paper today that apparently had a poll of who the hottest Yankee wife is. That makes me sick that a major newspaper would do something like that, but then – I haven’t really read th Spews in years. There’s no reason to, with Lupica, Bondy and Madden on the payroll.
Hi All,
Concerning the guest posts, I think it best to regard these pieces of writing as a bonus. There is already so much going on in terms of Pete’s constantly updating with breaking stories, etc.
Baseball news tends to slow down in January, as Pete said this year and last when instituting the guest blog format. I think it’s great, generous, and gives some of the other bloggers who frequent Pete’s blog to at least introduce themselves and their writing to the community here.
I am not saying one should not be critical of their work; in fact, I think that is one of the things we can all do to help the guest blogger, in a hopefully constructive manner.
But asking Pete to proofread, evaluate quality of argument and creativity is, I think, asking too much. He’d essentially be submitting corrections to each guest poster, requesting rewrites, and that requires a huge time commitment above and beyond the enormous amount of time Pete allocates toward this blog.
True, it is the guest blogger’s responsibility and we should comment on those mistakes like typos. We should also comment on quality of writing, argument, and opinion.. All I ask is that we keep the tone from becoming snide or belligerent, because I think anyone putting themselves out there in this way would like to improve.
Sorry, that should read:
I think it’s great, generous, and gives some of the other bloggers who frequent Pete’s blog *the chance* to at least introduce themselves and their writing to the community here.
Brandon (CC/AJ/Marky Mark..Sheets ?) GO G-MEN !
January 11th, 2009 at 11:25 am
bru I just want the best talent that Nady can net. I don’t even think Washington will be the team we deal w/ because we have to believe there are better offers. Don’t we ?
————————————————————
i think we should always go for the best but i am not sure what we can get.
how do you go aqbout inquiring about players??
does cash just call a team & ask would you do a nady,kennedy trade for a cf & pitcher & go from there or does he start emailing teams,is there a web site where you make posts about wich players are available???
i think something is going to happen soon.i am getting that feeling.
i just hope first & foremost we get a decent pitcher to slide in the 4th spot.this will take a ton of pressure off the whole pitching staff & allow joba to slide into the 5th spot where we can play with his innings much easier.
“The Yankees still have interest in Mike Cameron and floated the idea of a Nick Swisher for Cameron swap.’
They better not.
“I wasn’t excited about Tex before the signing – I didn’t think it was a good idea – but now I’m through the roof. Spring Training just can’t come soon enough.”
Betsy, absolutely ditto.
“I still have very high hopes for Hughes.
As for Kennedy: well, I’m done with him.”
Carla, absolutely ditto that also.
Moving right along . . . . .
http://zellspinstripeblog.com/.....to-update/
Arod’s Miami home
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....Dslideshow
“The Yankees still have interest in Mike Cameron and floated the idea of a Nick Swisher for Cameron swap.’
“They better not.”
Not even Cas believes that.
Cash*
“how do you go aqbout inquiring about players??
does cash just call a team & ask would you do a nady,kennedy trade for a cf & pitcher & go from there or does he start emailing teams,is there a web site where you make posts about wich players are available???
i think something is going to happen soon.i am getting that feeling.”
CB and SJ can answer this better than me. I’d guess they call him first. He puts out a hypothetical “what if” and they cont. from there.
“hughes needs to pitch to ml players & has nothing to learn in the minors.”
how may times is that going to be repeated in the face of reality? hughes needs to spend a considerable time at triple a until the game actually gets boring to him at that level and is chomping at the bit to pitch in the majors.
baseball is a game best played relaxed. pitching for the new york yankees at age 20,21 or 22 is not relaxing. it’s exciting. ironically that kind of excitement isn’t what you want.
matt garza had his breakout year at age 24. at age 22 he pitched 50 innings at the mlb level. at age 23, he threw 83 innings in the majors. that’s the way the twins do it, and it’s almost always the right way.
garza was bored with the minor leagues by the time he actually came up for good. he also wasn’t happy being so long in the minors, but that didn’t stop him from benefitting from paying his dues at that level despite his protests. the pro game doen’t depend on rah rah college energy. that’s for amateurs. garza was a seasoned pro by the time he pitched his first full season at age 24.
a pitcher like buchholz can toss a no hitter on youthful energy, but he can’t maintain it except for a short stretch. great games at a young age in the majors do not show the pitcher has nothing else to learn learn in the minors. they just shows potential.
hughes is good, really good actually. he just needs to get used to the pro game where the games just keeps coming at you everyday and you don’t too high or too low. the pro game is a grind. a player needs something else besides excitement to carry him through a whole season.
players that get overly excited get very tight when things go wrong, and things go wrong for the best players. if you rush a player too fast what he learns is how to choke. bring him a long slowly like garza was and you get a player who learns to handle adversity and pressure.
hughes is every bit as good as garza and maybe better. he just needs to come along at his own pace.if he does, the yankees will likely have an all star caliber pitcher during his age 25-30 years.
One of my favorite aspects of the New Stadium is the return of the auxiliary scorboards…I’m certain some of the older guys ( GB7 are you out there ) will recall them at the original Stadium and may agree…..I remember when going to Giant games there how they would be altered to suit football….Swisher staying is a must, as he’ll be rejuvinated in Pinstripes and he’l hit 30 hr’s….Multi dimensional ballplayer, something the club has been missing for awhile…..
Brandon: IIRC, in 2000, Cashman found out about David Justice by accident. He had to call the Cleveland Front Office to give someone a WS ring, and just happened to find out that Justice was available…
If Phil stays healthy, he’s going to be a top-flight pitcher. However, due to being rushed and being injured (never a good combination), Phil’s missed important developmental time. The kid has a terrific head on his shoulders and a terrific arm (and fortunately, THAT hasn’t been injured). What Phil needs now is at least 1/2 year at AAA to (a) pitch consistently and (b) work on his secondary pitches. Once he gets in a groove consistently, his FB command will return. That’s actually the most important thing. Phil’s curve and cutter have so much potential, but he needs to work on throwing them with consistency in the minors without the pressure of having to win in the big leagues. The major leagues are not there to develop pitchers – that’s what the minor leagues are for.
I think Phil has all the right stuff to be a big winner- (he’s already shown at a young age that he’s a clutch performer). A little patience goes a long way, so let’s be patient. No matter what happens with Andy, Phil should start in AAA. If he pitches well, he’ll get some starts up in NY anyway.
“Brandon: IIRC, in 2000, Cashman found out about David Justice by accident. He had to call the Cleveland Front Office to give someone a WS ring, and just happened to find out that Justice was available…”
WOW..LOL called for a ring and got another back.
Brandon (CC/AJ/Marky Mark..Sheets ?) GO G-MEN !
January 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am
“how do you go aqbout inquiring about players??
does cash just call a team & ask would you do a nady,kennedy trade for a cf & pitcher & go from there or does he start emailing teams,is there a web site where you make posts about wich players are available???
i think something is going to happen soon.i am getting that feeling.”
CB and SJ can answer this better than me. I’d guess they call him first. He puts out a hypothetical “what if” and they cont. from there.
————————————————————
If the GM knows what he’s doing, he’s aware of what the other 29 teams need. They’ll look at what they have and try to match up, and, yes, they’ll make a less than equal proposal to see if there is any counter offers. They’re also aware of what teams are trying to get rid of, for what ever reason…like when NYY and Cashman knew that Philly was trying to rid themselves of big money contracts, and NYY took both Abreu and Lidle. I’m sure that the cost for Abreu alone wasn’t anymore than what the Yanks paid for both.
Randy, I agree with you completely. Any true competitor wants to be in the big leagues, not the minors, so that’s a good thing. The important thing for Phil (and I don’t think we have to worry about this with him – his head is on straight) is that he not sulk and fret about not making the team. He has the confidence of his organization; his job is easy – just go out and do what he was born to do. He’s got the goods – he doesn’t have to struggle constantly the way less talented pitchers do.
Brandon: Pretty much!
PAT M
January 11th, 2009 at 11:49 am
One of my favorite aspects of the New Stadium is the return of the auxiliary scorboards…I’m certain some of the older guys ( GB7 are you out there ) will recall them at the original Stadium and may agree…..I remember when going to Giant games there how they would be altered to suit football….Swisher staying is a must, as he’ll be rejuvinated in Pinstripes and he’l hit 30 hr’s….Multi dimensional ballplayer, something the club has been missing for awhile…..
————————————————————
Loved the old aux. scoreboards. It made “The Grand Old Lady” look like a real ballpark and not like every other park. I also wish the fenses were like the real YS….going from 3 feet high in the corners and rising up to 8 feet in right center to 12 feet and then down to 4 feet in left center and left field. I also miss the roof in right field. Try as the might have in remodeling, it wasn’t the same. The flagpole and monuments on the field gave the place it’ “holiness”.
Correction: I also wish the ***fences*** were
At the original Stadium the clunking of subway tracks and screeching wheels could be heard from center field as the trains went by or made their stops.
The big scoreboards drowned that good noise out.
The reality is that these guest bloggers are getting a huge opportunity to attract an audience. You’d expect them to provide their best, most thoughtful and interesting work in an attempt to impress potential readers.
Equating typos in this context to comments on a message board is pedantic and asinine.
GB7
The aux scoreboard was also one of the lasting impressions associated with Larson’s perfect game. You almost never see a clip of that without a quick shot of the aux.
And, oh I forgot.
Go Giants.
up 3-0
Nice post, Chris! Don’t listen to all the whiners and complainers. I’ve noticed that none of them have written a guest post!
And I agree totaly about Phil Hughes. Let’s wait and see what we’ve really got in him this year. I think we’ll all be glad we did!
totally agree.
nice post!
Great blog on Phil Hughes. I also hope he is given a shot in spring training to make the rotation. Once he has mastered the changeup to go along with the great curve and fastball I believe he could become a 2 or 3 starter down the road. A homegrown power pitcher would be special. Ira
mlb network just did a barry larkin analysis of his hall of fame chances with him sitting there. verducci, heyman,harold reynolds. of course everyone said he’s in. what are they supposed to say.
not saying he shoud be or not, but that is not exactly what you’d call a objective journalistic
panel because he’s sitting right there.
rice was just on and talked frankly which was interesting, he basically said he didn’t understand why it took so long.
mlb network has potential , but some of their stuff like the larkin thing are pretty lame.