On the Yankees beat

Doesn't matter. He can't pitch.

Don't look up now chicken little cause the sky is falling!!!!

Sky's not falling, its April. Nothing good ever happens for the Yankees in April.

time to pull the plug on Giambi... the rally killing machine.

NO MELKY???

C'mon... you can't be serious with these line-ups!!! Melky doesn't need a day off in April.

Sit Giambi... keep Duncan at first and DH Matsui or Damon depending on the day i guess.

DOC

Injuries look worse than last year. Cano and Giambi look worse than last year. Starting pitching looks worse than last year's minor leaguers. But not to worry, it's only April.

Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks! Hughes Sucks! Husghes Sucks Hughs Sucks!

Alright, I am officially starting to get aggrivated. Where is this supposed "great stuff" that Hughes has.? I haven't seen it. The only above average pitch that he has is his curve ball and he uses it too much. The hitter just wait on it. Send him down and start Olendorf! Do something!

The Yanks will give Hughes and Kennedy a couple more starts each if they continue to bomb the Yanks will turn to either Ohlendorf or Rasner for an interim period of time.

Let AG have a few games at 3B and bench Giambi.

I told you so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See Rule 1 - Rick is Always Right
If Rick is ever wrong,
see rule #1.

So, two of the three players the Yankees resigned are now on the DL. Mariano must be hoping the pattern doesn't continue.

I just skimmed that live thingy -- seems like a lot of people were blaming the new catcher Stewart for Hughes's problems. But once Hughes was gone Stewart had normal communications with the rest of the parade of pitchers he caught last night.

Then afterwards Hughes admits he has a vision problem under the lights at night for which he has had his eyes checked multiple times, and Girardi admits he knew it.

Add this to the fact that, no, he doesn't have a third or fourth pitch that he trusts enough to use more than an average of about once an inning, and often has no command of his fastball, which leaves him with one reliable pitch -- the curve. Nice curve. But still.

Let's hope Andy can stop the bleeding tonight. Oh, and maybe pitch a complete game so the bull pen can recuperate?

Hank was right, we should have traded for Santana.

Don't think for a minute that Hank isn't telling everyone within earshot
"I told you so!".

Transition year.....transition year......

okay did anybody catch what RIEBER put up and then immediately took down?

No, but am counting on you to tell!

Today's Yankees / Mets thoughts
YANKEES: Phil Hughes has to go down to Triple-A. End of story.

He's never struggled like this in his life. He's lost. He won't be able to figure it out up here. Darrell Rasner, welcome back.

Hughes will be back. And he will one day be a top starter. No reason to lose faith.

But he needs to go.

METS: I'm officially over the Carlos Delgado vs. Mets fans story. It was fun while it lasted, though.

Anyone who thinks it was much ado about nothing is dismissing the opinions of half the Mets' fan base. I would say from the feedback I've seen, half of Mets fans think it was a snub and half don't. That's fine. Only Delgado knows what was in his mind. Unless Mike and the Mad Dog can read minds as well as read lips on TV.

By the way, as much as Delgado did a dumb thing by not coming out for the curtain call, he did a smart thing by talking with the New York media for 20 minutes about it on Monday. Totally defused it.

It was as charming and engaging as I've seen Delgado, who sometimes talks down to reporters and gets prickly when asked simple questions like, "Were you trying to hit that home run to leftfield" or "are you upset about striking out four times?"

The story would have gone on another day if Delgado had snubbed the media on Monday. The media considers not talking to the media as the worst of all sins.

Making the media wait before talking to the media is the second worst of all sins.

Charging the media $8.50 for a terrible pregame meal is the third worst of all sins.

Posted by Anthony Rieber on April 30, 2008 9:45 AM | Permalink

Rieber's a trip and he's usually right so I think Phil will be going down to Scranton. Perhaps this humbling experience will be good for him in the long run as we've heard in the past that he didn't exactly have the greatest work ethic, but I don't know if that's true.

I definitely did not like his body language last night and his comments after the game about struggling so badly. Let the kid go to Scranton and get some confidence (along with some velocity and another pitch please).

OOOHHHHH

I had to summon every single ounce (which is in limited supply) of diplomacy not to go profane crazy on him after I saw that.

(I went with this with a seething anger kept in check...)

Rieber,

You ever see Top Gun?

Remember when Goose dies?

"Viper" -Tom Skeritt sais...

"Keep sending him up"

I'm sorry buddy, but your off on this one IMO.

There's nothing for him down there and the BRIAN CASHMAN MADE HIS BED!!!

Now he and Hughes must get comfy cause there are no other options and if I hear the word RASNER OR KEI AGAIN OUTTA YOU I'M GONNA VOMIT!!!

PLEASE STOP YOU SOUND LIKE GEORGE KING!!!

YOU'RE PRETTIER THAN THIS ANTHONY ;-)

Jim A.,

And maybe some contacts?

Michael PTRS,

I get that you disagree, but still, why take it down?
Death threats?

Death threats HHAHAHAHAHHA

I don't know why he took it down but I've still got it open in a separate browser window...

Jim I disagree...

What if he fails down there too with this negative vibe he's got goin on right now?

THEN WHAT??

I'd rather ride it out and suffer with him at this point we're married to our boy we gotta be with him in this.

RASNER AND KEI SUCK MAN FORGET I'LL WATCH HUGHES LITERALLY CRY ON THE MOUND BEFORE HAVING TO WATCH THOSE JACKA$$es...

Hughes needs to get his mechanics back I agree but I think the kid will be better off not being "SENT DOWN" there's big negative vibe in that too no?

I think it may hurt more than help.

LIke i said to rieber...

KEEP SENDING HIM UP

Phucker

If Hughes has any strength of character he would take a demotion and use it to his advantage.

Hey, I can live with him going out there time and time again. I've stated all along that I think this is a transition year and I did not think these guys would have immediate success, some may never have success, that's the crap shoot known as "prospects". I just don't think we, as Yankees fans, can go all crazy when he loses start after start.

One of the reasons he shouldn't go down is that his former pitching coach, the genius who "created" him is right there in the Bronx with him so maybe there is no reason to send him down. If the Yanks do send him down, it's obvious they are trying to win right now instead of being patient as they said before.

Didn't Bonderman go through this type of thing and bounce back? Heck, look what Troy Aikman went through his first season. I guess the only thing Hughes has in common w/ Aikman right now is the "Aikman Face" (mouth slightly agape, eyes vacant).

Look I don't want to ruin him and I admit it's easy to forget he's still just a 21 yr old kid so I may be sound somewhat selfish and careless with my recommendation but like any fan I'm frustrated and I know you guys remember where I and both of you were standing in the Santana Winter so maybe I'm a little bitter...

I just want to see him up here and hope for the best.

I don't know which would be better for Hughes. Honest arguments can be made either way about whether staying with the big team or going down for a re-tooling would benefit him most in the long run.

I'm concerned, though, about the effect on the team as a whole of having to carry one and perhaps two consistently losing pitchers on the starting rotation.

I don't think anybody is suggesting that these kids have no future as big-league pitchers. But the question of how long the rest of the club can carry them on their backs, especially if the OJT process is protracted, is a legitimate one, I think.

Unless you want Torre syndrome- overworked taxed bullpen and more pressure to score runs on the offense.Pressure on the rest of the starting staff ....

Yeah who ever though MIKE MUSSINA WOULD BE THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES HAHAHA

I feel dizzy hah.

I admit I wanted to do the Santana trade but if you watched Santana last night he wasn't all that good either. He struggled with the Pirates and left with the bases loaded in the sixth last night and was lucky to escape a lot more damage. Would I do that trade today? Of course, I still think passing on him was a mistake but I'm not ready to play the "I told you so" card just yet, I'll give that a year, then I'll print up t-shirts for the few of us that wanted to make the trade and if Hughes suddenly gets some hop on his heater and Kennedy finds a map with directions to the plate, I'll eat the barbecued crow that Bomber had the other day.

Bomber with the barbecued crow reference was well played...LOL

ruse labels this Torre syndrome: "overworked taxed bullpen and more pressure to score runs on the offense.Pressure on the rest of the starting staff ...." but I remember it as what happens to a team with only half a rotation when it plays its heart out to win in spite of the odds. Heroic overcompensation on the part of everybody else had its costs.

Of course that team made it into the off-season and as I keep on saying this one is no worse and there's no justification for writing them off now -- they have as good a chance of making it there as last year's team did.

I really hope I'm am joining Bomber at the 'cue. I'd rather be wrong than right on this one, anything for the betterment of the Yanks is fine w/ me.

Apologies -- my bad. "Made it into the POSTseason was what I meant" --

It's not Torre syndrome it's called "SSS" (Sh*tty Starter Syndrome).

LOL Jim A. --- "SSS" -- :-D

One year of watching them deal with SSS was enough for me.

so where is the KNOW IT ALL"S who said the Yankees will never think about sending him down? where are they?? Rick said it the stage and demand is big. Like i said mantle was sent down early and came back a beast. the pressure is too much for the kid right now

Jim A: I'll cook the crow for you come September when Hughes is sharp and still well below his innings limit; making him ready for October baseball. By the way, I still hate you. Can you stop cheering for the Penguins, PLEASE?!?!

Rick: If that was really you and not an imposter, you've just reached "Ant Status" in my book. I tried to be cordial, but that just exemplifies any reason I dislike how you post and kind of makes me sick. Here's hoping it was an imposter and you'll come around to clarify.

All:
I'm not about to defend Hughes right now and last night certainly required me to drink between his outing and the Ranger game, but I will say I predicted bad things before the game started. The deck was stacked against him before it started: bad weather, vaunted Detroit Lineup, new catcher. You talk about Stewart having no problems with the other pitchers out there, well I think Stewart had some Yankee Stadium jitters early in the game because the little I saw of him during Ranger game intermissions, he looked even more lost than Phil did. One thing I did say last night is that I do think Rasner will get a spot start and I think it will be before May 5. As of Saturday, Rasner and IPK were lined up on the same starting schedule, but then there was an SWB rainout on Saturday, so Rasner pitched Sunday lining him up with Wang. Now, that doesn't make much sense as far as timing, but I could see SWB tinkering just a bit. Why do I think Rasner will get a spot start before May 5? Well, on May 5, we can bring back Moeller. Between now and May 5, Stewart will probably get 2 starts for the Yanks. Rasner has raved about how much he enjoys pitching to Stewart and how good their repoir is. To me, that represents the best time to bring Rasner up for a spot start. I'm not saying Hughes will be flip flopped with him at SWB, but he might. Rather, I'm thinking that instead of bringing up someone like Britton again (who the Yanks never used before optioning him for Edwar), that they'd bring up Rasner, skip Hughes a start, and have Hughes be an option in the bullpen for 5 days or so. Cashman has indicated the team will discuss whether Hughes makes his next start, so I'm being realistic here.

As far as 3b: Chad Jennings, who blogs SWB, is guessing that Sean Henn will be called up. If that's the case, then it will be Ensberg at 3b and Gonzalez will be our bench playing utility IF. I understand the thought process there, but why not call up Cody Ransom (not to be confused with Colby Rasmus)? Part of me wanted to say, "let's give Eric Duncan a shot"; remember him? Well, he's actually been hitting pretty well at SWB this year and hits even better with regular playing time (while Shelley was at SWB, he was losing some ABs). I just don't think it would be all that good for his progression though as I'd rather see him hit at SWB for a bit more of an extended period. On a related note, Wilson Betemit will be playing a rehab game at SWB tomorrow, so he could be back with the team very soon.

the PRESSURE MY A$$

WHATS WRONG WITH LETTING HIM LEARN ON THE JOB YOU ACT LIKE KENNEDY OR GODFORBID IGAWA AND RASNER ARE GOING FARE ANY BETTER???

YOU SOUND CRAZY AND SALACIOUS LIKE RIEBER NOW STOP IT

NEW RULE ANYONE POSTING SUCH PESSIMISTIC NONSENSE REGARDING HUGHES, KENNEDY, UUUUUGHGAWA OR RASNER MUST POST AS "G. KING"

NEW RULE!!

WHERE IS HYD WHEN YOU NEED HIM!!

"Then afterwards Hughes admits he has a vision problem under the lights at night for which he has had his eyes checked multiple times, and Girardi admits he knew it."

That excuse is Pathetic.

What the heck is going on? This Kid is messing up each time he opens his mouth. So I guess Igwa can say he found it hard to pitch becasue he was in a new country.

Honestly Igawa pitched better than Hughes of this year.

What could possibly be the truth is that teams figured him out even though he had small amount of starts

Mike -

They are not going to let him possibally go another few loses with no wins and deal with this crowd, the Pressure is too much because alot of numb nuts was calling him the next rocket. ACE of the staff due to a few good outings . when he first pitched against MLB talent in spring training a few years ago he sucked then he was iffy last spring and this one he never compelled a series of dominant starts against MLB talent. Igwa in pinstripes done better than hughes this year and that is fact. I hate to say it but i would like the Japanese pitcher get another start maybe he learned something. Some people is blaming the C and the weather , Detroit for hughes demise last night , so let me ask this is Ross THAT good that he was able to shut down that very same team under the same conditions???? was the pen that good that the tigers were held to the 6 runs that Hughes gave up. if Ross is that good then perhaps he needs to be in the rotation

Diane

Now I'm being quoted by you ! Wow I was typing as fast as I could which isn't very fast at all just to post on this dagnabit blog so I went with "first thought sink or swim" as contrasted to "first thought best thought".You get the drift.

Hate to say it but Yanks are gonna have to send Hughes down for a few starts to get his head together. Nothing wrong with that. Liriano was sent down too. Sometimes kids have to slow it down and re-group. Can't do that in the bigs. Is it me, or does Cano look like he is in need of a B-12 shot? He has no energy at all and is starting to look lackluster in the field too. Robby and Giambi are killing us.
I have an idea for a quick shot of energy:
1. Sit Cano and Giambi down for at least 2 games.
2. Put Duncan in at first, the kid Gonzalez in at 2nd.
3. NEVER rest Melky - keep him in centerfield, and keep Damon in left.
4. Matsui is the regular DH - once in a while spelling Abreu/Damon in the outfield.
5. Let Melky bat 2nd, Jeter 3rd and Abreu 5th. Either Duncan or Matsui should be our clean-up hitter until ARod is back.
6. Put Joba in the rotation and let Ohlendorf share the set-up role with whomever has the hot hand in the pen at that time.

Whaddaya think?

ruse,

I know exactly what you mean I get caught up in 'desperation typing' to get on the blog at all and then I catch myself having posted 'offseason' in place of 'postseason' --

Actually I thought you got everything except the label EXACTLY RIGHT, that's why I quoted you -- that whole death spiral thing that reminds me of how an injured body puts too much weight on an uninjured limb and ends up with two bad legs and a bad back ...

I don't Bomber I've got a sentimental affinity for the kid that pretty much makes me totally worthless in regards to a true sense of objectivity in this case.

I'm just disappointed i guess. I had and still have high hopes for him.

With that said...

I HEREBY RECUSE MYSELF FROM ANY FURTHER HUGHES CONVERSATION.

IF I SEE RASNER UP HERE I MAY MOVE FROM MANHATTAN TO SCRANTON LOL...

FOR REAL...

AND IF KEI DARES WEAR THOSE SUNGLASES I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL MAKE F%$^KING VOODOO DOLL!!!!!

The best thing for Hughes right now is for him to go to AAA and get his confidence back. I think that if he stays, the pressure to have a good start may be unbearable for the kid. He'll be back and he'll do the job. But for now, he needs to go down there and work on his game.
As Anonymous 11:46 wrote, the Mick went down in his rookie season and it didn't hurt him any.

Call up Rasner and either give him a start, or give Ohlendorf the start and make Rasner the long man out of the pen.

HYD:

Too many penalties for the Blueshirts, again. Two PPG for the Pens and they just aren't giving the Rangahs any clear lanes for shots from the point.

Just heard that Avery is out for the rest of the post season.

PTRS: I'm here and I'm really torn. You see, I've been following Hughes since the Yanks drafted him. MiLBTV and YouTube are among the greatest things out there to let you catch a guy pitching. I LOVE Hughes, but he's not right right now. His mechanics are off and he needs a better opportunity to work on them. I'm not saying that I'm on the "send Phil to SWB" bandwagon, because I'm not, but it's more than just bad luck and bad weather and bright lights. My concern is, that despite unparalled composure for a 21 year old, that his confidence might get rattled at some point. Confidence is the only reason he's not throwing his changeup and slider. If he was confident in them, he'd use them, but he's not. The Yanks need to bring in some sort of "special assistant" to work with their pitchers this year. I like Eiland, but I think he's overwhelmed with the number of pitchers he's working with right now that need work. Let's look at this:
2 rookie pitchers in the starting rotation - need I say more?
1 aging pitcher who needs to reinvent himself and who is working with him there?
1 ace who is working 2 pitches into his arsenal (I didn't call them new because he's used them before, but only in limited supply, now they're becoming a weapon)
1 100mph nutcase in the bullpen
1 100mph gem who while pitching in the bullpen needs to work on his 2nd and 3rd pitches and a potential switch to becoming a starter
A handful of kid pitchers being interchanged between SWB and the Yankee bullpen
A merrygoround of catchers

With all of the special attention needed, these Yanks need a special assistant.

Phucker

I'm not calling Rasner the second coming or anything but he has pitched the best ball in the IL so far this season.He deserves a look see + he can't be any worse.

Mike from Jersey - I agree with everything except Joba in the rotation. Not yet.

I also agree with those who say that Hughes should go down. I don't mind young pitchers struggling - but they need to at least eat some innings - only going 3-5 innings is just not acceptable.

I love all these people who want Joba in as a starter. It's not like he was overpowering in spring training. He is a reliver and will never be a good starter. Keep him where he is!

It looks like my last post stole some thunder from you guys. I repeated what Mike from jersey said and that's not the case. It took me a gazillion times to get that post in.
"Server Error"
"You're not authorized..."
whatever.

Anyway, I apologize.

Mike: I wouldn't put Chamberlain in the rotation this season. If the Yanks have the lead going into the 8th, the game is over most of the time.

It looks like my last post stole some thunder from you guys. I repeated what Mike from jersey said and that's not the case. It took me a gazillion times to get that post in.
"Server Error"
"You're not authorized..."
whatever.

Anyway, I apologize.

Mike: I wouldn't put Chamberlain in the rotation this season. If the Yanks have the lead going into the 8th, the game is over most of the time.

Hughes just doesnt look like the same pitcher from last year. His fastball is sitting between 90-92 and doesn't throw his changeup enough. He got Jones swinging on a nasty 71 mph change, actually threw 2 in a row, then nothing after that. If he's not at 94-95 like he was in the minors, and he's not throwing his 3rd and 4th pitches, he's in for a long year. No pitcher can survive with just fastball curve. Peavy survives with 2 pitches, but like Joba, his fastball/slider combo is deadlier due to the fact they are coming at similar speeds.

I know the cards were stacked against him since Stewart looked miserable behind the dish ( should have been called strike 3 on Sheff before he hit his HR ) and the weather was crappy. Still his fastball is running to the right, hard. Im no pitching coach so I dont know what needs to be done to fix him, but physically and mentally he's not right. I hope he can figure it out here in the bigs, but its not the end of the world if we send him to Scranton for a month. His next two starts will determine what will be done.

Oh and as far as Santana, I still would NOT have done that deal. Everyone forgets how important Melky has been to this club in 08. When he's not in the field our defense is garbage, he's made a half dozen ESPN highlight plays already and is on pace for 30 HR's, he wont keep that up but a 20/20 year is well within reach. So Hughes, Melk and Ian would have been needed to finish the Santana deal. On top of that by paying Santana all that money, I bet we would have been outbid by the Mets for Teixeria. So which would you guys prefer =

Hughes
Melk
Ian
Teixeria

or

Santana

Thats pretty much what it would have come down to in the end.

The Hughes comment about the lights bothering him is akin to Igawa's "the ball is too big" excuse. Don't wait to say it when you are losing, it makes you look foolish.

Let Hughes borrow Igawa's sunglasses at night (cue Corey Hart) and let's get on a roll.

Go back and read this blog about the same time last year when full panic mode had set in and you will get a good laugh. Here are some demands we fans made:

1. Fire Torre
2. Fire Cashman
3. Move Jeter to 1st base
4. Trade or release Farnsworth
5. Trade Damon
6. Trade Abreu to Chicago

Does any of that sound familiar? Let's just relax and let the guys get healthy for a bit. It's way too early for a full scale panic but it is ironic that the two guys who carried the team this time last year are now on the DL.

HYD: Sorry about your Rangers and Avery :)

Jim A

Make my shirt a 2XL!!!!

Big Rick....running the deuce! You got it big man...I'll order them if they still apply in one year.

Jim...not time to panic as of yet, I just dont want Hughes to lose his confidence and composure. When that happens pitchers try to overthrow the ball, leading to possible injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that Phil turns it around and pitches like a #3 for the yanks before the year is up. I just want to be very careful how we handle this situation to avoid long term physical issues. That thing that has me scratching my head is where are the extra 2-3 ticks on his fastball? He used to sit at 93 and crank it up to 95, now he cant locate his fastball at 91. Just like Liriano, its all about confidence to let it fly. Control was never an issue for Phil at any level, even last year his WHIP was excellent, he's trying to aim the ball instead of just throwing it.

DRU

Hughes is pitching tight,can't relax ,he's pressing ,it's all in his head.He knows he's on everyone's radar.

Dru- regarding Hughes aiming the ball, read my post on the next thread.

ruse - you got it buddy.

jim - couldnt agree more