Hughes makes for another difficult offseason discussion

[jacksonianmarch]

The New York Yankees are rolling and might have the MVP of the league on their team in the person of Mark Teixeira. Now, many people will talk about how ARod is actually the MVP of the team since the yankees are 58-28 since his return. And others will talk about the big four in the rotation or Mo. But the biggest change from earlier this yr is the 8th inning role. First, lets look at the yankees W/L record by month

 

April 12-10

May 17-11

June 15-11

July 18-9

August 9-2

 

All winning records and a really solid 59-33 since April. But the biggest turnaround from the mediocre beginning of the season to the dominant yankees of now is the stabilization of the 8th inning role, and Phil Hughes has been a major player in that role. Hughes' second relief appearance was vs Boston, where Jay Bay took him deep in his first inning of work. From then on, he has allowed only 3ER in 29IP, good enough for an ERA of 0.93. And in that span, he has racked up 12 holds and a save. Just for reference, prior to Hughes ascending to the setup role, the yankees had 8 blown saves. Since Hughes has ascended to the setup role, there have been 2, and none of them by Hughes or Rivera (Coke and Aceves were the culprits).

 

And the official date of Hughes 8th inning role was June 28th, when he notched his second hold. Since that date, the yankees are 29-11. So the same question asked last yr and this yr about Joba will be asked about Phil.

 

Should he remain in the pen long term or should be be brought into the rotation?

 

Well, that question can only be answered by looking at what the team has currently.

 

Locked up on the SP role for 2010 are Sabathia, Joba, Burnett and then the standard filler in Mitre etc. Hughes would slot in as the #5 with the resigning of Pettitte likely to fill that #4 role. That would leave the bullpen with a big hole in its setup role. Can it be filled from within? Thats the difficult question.

 

The Yankees would still have Rivera in the closer spot. Aceves would likely be the swing man with a good amount of hold opportunities. Coke would likely slot into the lefty specialist role. Bruney would likely be back, but at what capacity would depend on his health. If it is the Bruney of late, then I dont want him. Robertson might be able to take a bigger role as he has been pretty solid this yr. Marte will be back up. And Melancon has looked really promising in his brief stay in NY.

 

So, I think the answer is clear. Hughes will go to the rotation and we'll have to sort out the pen early on in the yr. But there will definitely be a lot of debate about our most recent SP to take to a setup role.

[CrespoBlows]

Joe Mauer is definitely the MVP, but I do think that Hughes should go in the rotation.

[Gom]

First of all...Hughes has been really lucky. He's basically a re-hash of Brian Bruney last year. Good movement on his fastball, but 1/3 of the time, it ends up a foot or more away from where the catcher sets up.

 

That said, I think the Yankees will repeat the same exact situation with Joba this year for Hughes nexy year.

 

Relievers are a dime a dozen, with the exception of Rivera and Hoffman. It's much harder to find a good starter than a good reliever.

[diony]

He's gonna be on innings limits.

[jacksonianmarch]

First of all...Hughes has been really lucky. He's basically a re-hash of Brian Bruney last year. Good movement on his fastball, but 1/3 of the time, it ends up a foot or more away from where the catcher sets up.

 

That said, I think the Yankees will repeat the same exact situation with Joba this year for Hughes nexy year.

 

Relievers are a dime a dozen, with the exception of Rivera and Hoffman. It's much harder to find a good starter than a good reliever.

 

He's been really lucky? So he hasnt been good? Jesus you are an idiot. It is funny. You make stupid comments like this to look like you are unbiased in the eyes of sox fans, while anyone with any sort of baseball knowledge can see through your ********. And its funny, you say these things knowing they are wrong, or at least I hope so. Because otherwise, you are just a clueless moron, which is entirely possible

 

So, just to abuse you further...

 

Hughes as a reliever...31IP 18H 5ER 7BB 40K. Yep, "lucky". LOL. He's been f***ing dominant

[jacksonianmarch]

He's gonna be on innings limits.

 

Yes, he will. Just like Joba is this yr and will likely be again next yr. Granted, Joba's IP limit will likely be in the 180 range, Hughes will likely be in the 150-160 range next yr. That is why it is imperative to have a #4 starter who can give innings, like Pettitte can