UPDATE 5:03 p.m.: Brian Cashman told Peter Abraham that the move is just a temporary bullpen fix and that Hughes will be a starter in the long term.
According to Peter Abraham (hat-tip to YankeeBoy98 for giving me the heads up), Chien-Ming Wang will start tomorrow for the Yankees and Phil Hughes is headed to the bullpen. Not sure how much I like this more, but I guess that all depends on how Phil Hughes does out of the pen and how good Chien-Ming Wang's sinker is.
The one thing I hope is that the Yankees continue to develop Hughes as a starter, because in the long run I think he will be a very good one.
What do you guys think about this?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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19 Comments:
Abraham just said Cash said it's just a temporary thing, and he'll still be a starter.
But, what if..
What if Hughes absolutely dominates like Joba once did out of the pen, what then?
Redsox do this with Justin Masterson they use him as a starter and in the bullpen. Yanks could do the same with Hughes. Hughes will be good from the bullpen he throws 93-95 and has a great curve.
I hope Wang does good. Hopefully he could return to his 2007 form where he won 19 games. 6 strong innings is all I want out of him tomorrow, and if he does do so, he'll definitely deserve another start.
Id rather see Hughes develop in the minors and let our bullpen develop more in the majors. Yeah he may help a bit in the bullpen but next year Pettitte will most likely be gone and Hughes will fill that role. Id rather have a Hughes conditioned to start with a bullpen not in question beginning next year. I think the bullpen has been doing a pretty good job latley.
I agree Anon.
Develop Hughes in the minors? I think most of us know Phil Hughes doesnt have anything left to prove in AAA.
Its not about proving anything. Its about conditioning and having him 100% ready for a full season of pitching next year.
-G
I would think that they will put Hughes in the pen as a temporary option in case Wang blows up again. If Wang pitches well, they will send him back down to pitch every day and be an insurance policy.
Keep Hughes in the bullpen until Bruney is healthy. Then you can send him down to the minors and continue his devolopment.
I agree with both crossfire and anon. But, if Bruney is back and healthy and Wang is back to himself, then let the kid keep his development going as a starter in the minors. He'll be called back up come playoff time anyway.
Hughes in the pen is insurance for Wang. Also, we forget that Hughes has a limit on innings this season anyway, so it doesn't hurt his overall progress to get some 'down time', so to speak, in June. Wang is a starter and was very successful at it, you can't keep him in the bullpen. Plus he takes too long to warm up.
If Hughes is going to throw AT the pen, then I'm all for this.
"AT the pen"?
Great message to send Hughes who has pitched well and is showing signs of "getting it" at the big league level.
If Joba's best place is the rotation, how can the same not be said for Hughes. Someone will have to explain the logic to me.
Can't wait for Wang to give up 12 runs tomorrow afternoon.
Wang will dominate 2moro!!! you heard it here first!
why not go 6 man rotation?
Last night would have been the perfect night to sit Pettitte. His back was hurting and they had the perfect opportunity to start Wang and see how he did before deciding anything with Hughes.
My opinion is that Wang needs to be in the starting rotation. I have been a bit confused as to why so many think that the beginning of the season was the real Wang and not just a blip on the radar of what has been a great run by a very good pitcher.
There isn't a single team in the majors that wouldn't love to have Wang.
As for Hughes, he pitched great and I have been a huge supporter of his. I envision him as a starter next year and for many years to come.
But this is about this year. At only 23(in a few weeks) Hughes will hopefully have a long, great career ahead of him with the Yanks. For now, he is a great insurance policy for them and we all know that sooner or later a pitcher might go down and Hughes will be ready.
And if Wang blows up again, it may even be sooner. But I hope Wang has a great start. It only adds to our depth.
Great points, Crossfire.
Mike
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