From
Chad Jennings:
The head-to-head competition between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes has come to an end. The next time they pitch, the top candidates for the last spot in the Yankees' rotation will throw on separate days in separate cities.
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Hughes will make his third spring appearance in Tampa on Tuesday, pitching against the Astros in relief of starter A.J. Burnett. Chamberlain will pitch against the Phillies in Clearwater on Wednesday. He'll pitch in relief of Andy Pettitte.
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So far this spring, Hughes and Chamberlain have been on the same schedule. The made their debuts on March 5, then pitched again on Wednesday, but now that all of the Yankees' starters are pitching in games, keeping the same schedule has become difficult.
Dave Eiland also had this advice for his two young pitchers:
"Phil Hughes, he's got to use his changeup effectively if he wants to be a starter in this league," Eiland said. "Joba's got to be a little bit more aggressive, get ahead in the count more and not have so many pitches per at-bat."
This is all about getting guys more innings for their starters, nothing more. Starters will start going deeper into games pretty soon, so you can't have two guys throw four innings each and expect the rest of the staff to get their work in. Plus, it will be good for both of them to start games instead of one starting and the other coming out of the pen.
