Pregame notes: Hughes wraps up in extended spring
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Apr 10, 2010 
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Joe Girardi started his pregame media session with a very, very true statement.
“Day games after night games are always a little slow,” he said. “Nothing happens in the time that we leave.”
On this day, the only exception to that rule was Phil Hughes, who made his final extended spring training start this morning at the Yankees minor league complex. According to Girardi, Hughes threw 84 pitches across six innings. He had “five or six strikeouts,” Girardi said.
Hughes will make his regular season debut on Thursday, and Girardi said there will be no pitch limit. “He’s the same (as the other starters),” Girardi said. “He’s built up.”
As for how the Yankees will manage Hughes innings this season, Girardi said the same thing he said this spring: The limit is higher than Joba Chamberlain’s was last year, and so the team isn’t worried about it right now. They’ve told Hughes not to worry about it when he pitches. If they have to adjust, they’ll adjust, but right now there’s no set plan for when they’ll skip his turn in the rotation.
“If there’s a situation where we feel we need to skip him, we’ll skip him,” Girardi said.
Here’s Girardi’s audio.
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• Girardi said he “will not hesitate” to pinch hit for Francisco Cervelli in a big spot this afternoon.
• Who’s the emergency third catcher? “Nino puts the shin guards on from time to time, and A.J. used to catch,” Girardi said. Nino is Ramiro Pena. A.J. is A.J. Burnett. You can guess which of the two is most likely to get out there in an emergency.
• Girardi acknowledged that Brett Gardner probably would have caught the double that got past Marcus Thames last night, but he said he had no problem with Thames diving for the ball. “Marcus did everything he could to get to it,” Girardi said. “But (Gardner) probably does.” Girardi indicated that he might not platoon Thames in left field when the Yankees are playing in a big outfield, but he certainly didn’t commit to that, just mentioned it as something to consider.
• At this time last year — a week into his return to the Yankees lineup — could Alex Rodriguez and his bad hip have tripled on the ball he hit last night? “I don’t think he gets to third base in that situation,” Girardi said. The surgically repaired hip rarely crosses anyone’s mind any more.
• Every reliever except Sergio Mitre is available tonight, but Girardi said Mitre felt good after his 2-plus innings last night.
• A Yankees highlight video of last season was on TV in the Yankees clubhouse this afternoon, but Dave Robertson and the writers seemed to be the only people interested. I don’t think anyone else gave it a second look.
• Good stuff from George King on the bizarre Joe West story.
• Mike Ashmore checked in with injured pitching prospect Alan Horne, who has decided to postpone his rotator cuff surgery and will try platelet-rich plasma treatments. Other news from Trenton: Christian Garcia is waiting for MRI results on his sore elbow. It doesn’t sound like a great situation.
Like Girardi said, not much has happened since last night, so I pulled a random AP picture from the Boston series. It was either that or another shot of a dejected Javy Vazquez.
A Yankees highlight video of last season was on TV in the Yankees clubhouse this afternoon, but Dave Robertson and the writers seemed to be the only people interested. I don’t think anyone else gave it a second look.
—-
Was he watching the bases-loaded jam against the Twins in ALDS?
Boy, Hughes seems primed and ready to go. I’m looking forward to his debut.
That’s pretty funny about AJ catching. Can we say infinitely last resort? He’s been healthy for 2+ seasons now!
Thanks for the news & notes, Chad.
What did Detroit do to deserve such an easy win today?
I’ll be interested to hear from Phil how he thought his “stuff” was; he was very happy with it last time. Of course, as he said, although he’s very confident in his changen (wow!), he needs to see how hitters react in real games before he thinks of it as a plus pitch. I’m really happy that the Yanks told him not to worry about pitch count; I think that if he gets a chance to complete a game, they will let him do it (unlike that Texas game last year). What I’m hoping to see in his next few outs is his FB command get close to where it should be; I love watching Phil paint the corners. If he gets off a few changes as well, that would be nice. I’m looking forward to seeing him get on a roll with his curve because, when it’s right, it’s awfully good.
Just updated with Girardi’s audio.
“A.J. used to catch”
but CC doesn’t want to throw to him so Pena gets the nod and a new controversy is born!
AJ also played 3d base, so if Alex goes down……..boy, what an athlete this guy is, lol.
M, I imagine Phil is incredibly excited. No matter what he said last year about being in the pen, it was always obvious that the kid wanted to start – and badly. His injuries, while frustrating for us, must have been 100 times so for him. It’s his time now, so have at it, Phil.
I noticed, by the way, that he is not as broad up top as he was last year. Last year, he went to that institute and he looked like a linebacker, lol. He still looks very good, but I think he lost some muscle (or whatever).
thanks for the Post article – this is gaining a life of it’s own!
Chad, as the guy on the Cablevision commercial says “dude, you rock!!”
Thanks!
Yanks got rid of Javy because he couldn’t pitch, so now he’s back and guess what he still can’t pitch.
Rishi, I love the Sox for also not keeping quiet about West. Did he really think the teams were going to take this lying down? The fashion stuff is out of line – he’s beyond help at this point; arrogant doesn’t begin to describe him.
Lets hope the Hughes rules work better than the Joba rules. Pretty annoying, just let them go out and pitch.
“Players whose success — from at bat to at bat or inning to inning — will be obsessed over and/or used to needle Yankee fans:
Austin Jackson
Johnny Damon
Hideki Matsui
Melky Cabrera
Ian Kennedy
Phil Coke
Brian Bruney
Chien-ming Wang
Anyone else?”
Joba Chamberlain
So, Angel Campos wants to be part of a perfect game? GD showing that pitch to Asdrubal Cabrera well outside the zone.
I know, Betsy! Would love to know if there is a response from MLB or something…it’s seems a bit ridiculous. I mean, shoes have to be a certain color? Are they dye testing all the different color reds people wear?
Pedroia had some very classy things to say in the context of the whole Joe West issue and how the umps were trying to “speed up” the game:
“According to Pedroia, umpire Angel Hernandez shouted at Derek Jeter when the Yankees shortstop asked for time while at the plate Tuesday night.
“The pitcher gets to throw the ball on his time. There shouldn’t be anybody yelling at you to get in the box,’’ Pedroia said. “Derek Jeter is a Hall of Fame baseball player and the umpire is yelling at him. That’s embarrassing. That should never happen. Being an opposing player, it made me upset. I’m playing against him and I want to see him hit. Who doesn’t? That’s not how it should be.’’
http://www.boston.com/sports/b....._surprise/
A day game.Thank u!!These night games are killing me
Let’s just hope that Hughes rules. And Joba rules. I can’t take too much more of it from the media.
Austin Jackson
Johnny Damon
Hideki Matsui
Melky Cabrera
Ian Kennedy
Phil Coke
Brian Bruney
Chien-ming Wang
Anyone else?”
Joba Chamberlain
***
You can add Phranchise to that list too. Also Vizcaino, the young guy we sent to ATL. People think real high of him.
Pedroia and the Sox’ comments have been fantastic. If Angel Hernandez wants to deny time to Jeter, that’s fine (though is it necessary?). Yelling at him is WAY out of line and it shows a complete disrespect to the game. If John Hirschbeck thinks Jeter is the classiest player he’s umped, I imagine most umpires feel the same way. He never argues, never disprects these guys. You can deny time without scolding him. Ugh.
I don’t personally hate any Red Sox players except for Paplebon due to his antics. I’m just very happy that they spoke out – and even Francona is worried about West umping any more of the Sox games. I don’t blame him. Joe has handled this differently, but I bet he feels the same – Cash, too.
“thanks for the Post article – this is gaining a life of it’s own!”
The Yankees leaked this silly story intentionally to embarrass Joe West. If West didn’t shoot his mouth off this story never gets out into the press.
If West wants to talk about “embarrassing” behavior publicly, then lets talk about truly embarrassing behavior.
The bigger issue here continues to be how the umps for some reason want to be a central part of the narrative of the game. They really seem to crave attention and acknowledgment that they are central actors in the national pastime rather than individuals who are only supposed to officiate.
Let’s just hope that Hughes rules. And Joba rules. I can’t take too much more of it from the media
It was a mistake to keep both, one of them in the past could have been bundled into a trade for a mature pitcher. Joba’s value has at least been diminished and we still have two projects.
Rishi, the good thing about all this is that West is not getting away with it – at least not by the Sox and Yanks. Heyman ripped him good yesterday and apparently MLB is NOT happy with him.
CB – how do you mean the Yankees leaked the story? He gave it directly to the Record (or another NJ paper)
Good for the Yankees – I wonder how many other pathetic and embarrassing incidents Joe West has to account for? What’s next, telling them what underwear to wear?
“A day game.Thank u!!These night games are killing me”
Roger,
Yanks vs. Rays or El Classico? Where is your attention going to be focused?
This may be forbidden to say around here but I like Pedroia..he could play on my team any time.
Rishi, CB is referring to the fashion stuff. No one knew about that except the Yankees…..and they leaked it to George King because they are ticked off at West. This makes West look even worse than he already did.
I just thought it would all be over by now
If you can get Yankee fans and Red Sox fans on the same page, you’ve done something remarkable!
Ah – thanks Betsy – althought, I do remember a lot of commentary over why CC changed shoes mid-game
“The fashion stuff is out of line”
There have always been uniform and equipment rules and umpires have enforced them before.
The only thing embarrassing in this whole umpire storyline is Joe West himself. To use another of his favorite words – what a pathetic individual.
Additionally, I like what Pedroia said. I’ve never had a problem with him, unlike some other Red Sox. I can’t stand Beckett, Youkilis, Manny, Pedro, Papelbon, and Varitek. However, Pedroia isn’t that bad. He doesn’t say stupid things and he’s a pretty good player.
Apparently ESPN’s Keith Law went off on Joe West for his comments. I couldn’t find an exact transcript, but found a summary:
-The money quote, paraphrasing; “It’s ironic that West used the words ‘embarrassing’ and ‘pathetic’ because that’s pretty much exactly my opinion of Joe West.
-West’s incompetence is legendary, and he’s a showboat know to try to provoke players and managers.
-Law is surprised the longer games bother West, he would have assumed West would like the extra opportunities to blow calls and get his face on camera.
-West is so bad, scouts watching college/minor league games refer to pitches away from lefties but called strikes everytime anyway as “Joe West strikes.”
-Basically, Joe West is the embodiment of everything that’s wrong with major league umpiring; the show-boating, complacency, incompetence, and inflated sense of self-worth.
(Summary courtesy of commenter Brien Jackson at http://www.i-yankees.com/?p=19685.)
Please tell Alan Horne not to see Dr. Galea for his PRP.
Rishi, very true!
Pat, there actually has to be blue on shoes or it’s some kind of violation?
“how do you mean the Yankees leaked the story? He gave it directly to the Record (or another NJ paper)”
Rishi,
I was referring to the shoe story that Chad linked to in his post, not the original West story in the Record.
They’re leaking this ridiculous story about West making them change clothing just to get it out in the open about how petty West is.
That’s in response to West’s completely inappropriate comments about how the yanks and sox play.
I’d have to guess the yanks and sox are in discussions with MLB to try to get West blocked from their games – at least behind the plate.
Just reading Tito’s comments today about feeling “uncomfortable” with West, I’d think that’s where this is going.
And that would be extremely embarrassing for West because it would preclude him from working a big chunk of the post season, including the Series.
Yankees heavy addition of TWIB if people are interested.
“I’m not a magic person.”
Skippy, I don’t like Law, but that’s hilarious; thanks!
I’m getting some p90x garbage
This week in baseball isn’t on for me.
CB, I hope so, too. I don’t even want him umpiring any game at any position in any game either team is involved in. It’s sad, but I wouldn’t put it past him to blow a call on purpose to screw either the Sox or Yankees.
It really is amazing how negative Yankee fans are being towards Granderson and NJ, because they “replaced” their beloved Matsui and Damon. What is even more amazing is that these same people have wanted to ship those 2 out of here for a bag a balls at various points in the past 2 years.
Like CB said, Grandy fantastic in the Boston series. He also plays a premium position, something Damon has not been able to do for years now. NJ has shown even if he is not locked in he will get on base. Jeez, half the people on here were declaring Price the CY Young winner last night, and NJ got 2 hits off of him.
If these 2 guys came on board in any other year, fans would be ecstatic to have them. If you wish Cashman would have just resigned Damon and Matsui, fine that is your right. But do not hold it against NJ and Granderson, 2 very good players and people, who have already demonstrated in just 4 games they can really help this club be great. If you are going to whine everyday at least direct it at the “right” person in Cashman. It is silly, juvenile, and honestly pathetic to direct your anger at Grandy and NJ.
CB
Both!Barca-Real on tv and the Yankees on my Laptop
““I’m not a magic person.””
Edgar Renteria?
LGY, I couldn’t agree with you more.
“Robinson Cano has this vision of a beautiful place called the rest of his career, where he has the patience to swing only at strikes, the bat-speed to drive in 120-plus runs and is so trusted by his manager, is given the responsibility of protecting Alex Rodriguez in the lineup.”
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.....-potential
great quote by Robertson…..”a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work….unless you play for the NY Yankees”
Let me venture a guess:
Chad won’t post the game thread until 15 seconds before the game.
betsy,
birdie, birdie start for Couples…back must be feeling a bit better today.
Betsy
There is a color restriction for each team. I know the Yankees can’t wear all white cleats but don’t know what colors they can wear.
I’ve seen guys asked to change shoes before. Also change mitts. Pitchers seem to be focused on more than position players. I know that if they have tattoo sleeves, they are supposed to have them covered on the mound and I’ve seen them have to take off “jewelery” too.
You all still on the Jose West (or whoever his name is) story?
Please
Get
A
Life.
“I’m not a magic person.”
This proving, not just anyone can work for Keebler.
“There is a color restriction for each team. I know the Yankees can’t wear all white cleats but don’t know what colors they can wear.”
Now that I didn’t know about no white shoes. Any reason why?
Blake, ooh, I hope he can keep it up. I’m not expecting him to win, but I would love to see him do well. I didn’t realize he was tearing it up on the Champions tour. Freddie is so loved, especially at Augusta, that it would be wonderful to see him hang around.
Pat, I can understand that tatoo and jewelry rule; the other stuff? Maybe it’s done all the time, but it just makes West look ridiculous.
I hope Edgar Renteria is doing it without the help of a magic person.
The Twins just hit their 14th home run of the season.
Rishi, thanks for posting! If Cano lives up to his potential, look out!
I find that interesting that no one except D-Rob looked at the video; I like that – it shows that they realize last year was last year and they have to go out and do it again this year.
The Yankee / Red Sox players should take up a collection and buy Joe West an authentic sundial to speed up night games.
Betsy, I usually don’t like Law either, but that mini-rant was pretty good.
Super excited to get to listen to Joe and Tim again….sike.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports.....1489_x.htm
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees fifth starter Phil Hughes allowed one run and six hits over six innings in an extended spring training intrasquad game Saturday.
It was the second and final extended spring game for Hughes, who will make his first regular season start Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.
Hughes says he’s “absolutely ready.”
Hughes struck out six, throwing 56 of 84 pitches for strikes.
Gary Sanchez, a 17-year old Dominican catcher, had two of the hits — both singles — off Hughes.
A number of top Yankees prospects — including outfielder Slade Heathcott, taken in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft — played in the game.
Trevor
Not sure if it’s an MLB or Yankee rule.
I read an interview with Alex where he said he always loved the look of the white cleats the players used to wear when he was growing up but the rules don’t let him wear them now so he can only break them out for the AllStar game where he’s allowed to.
The Man in Black has taken up residence inside of Edgar Renteria.
Betsy, slow down the posting postunha and give others a
Don’t say that, Sabean will want to extend him.