So Long, Old Friend

* (Disclaimer- I may or may not have written this post last night with a half dozen beers in me) *

If there was 1 more nail that had to be driven into the coffin of Phil Hughes' tumultuous Yankee career, it happened over the weekend.  Hughes signed a 3-year/$24 million deal to join the Minnesota Twins rotation next year, in a deal that was a little more than I thought he'd get after the horrible finish to his 2013 but much less than a 27-year-old righty should be getting in this day and age of baseball spending.

I know I said the last post about Phil was the last one I'd write about him, but I just can't let it end like that.  Phil was an important part of my Yankee fandom, my transition to a more educated baseball fan in general, and my evolution as a blogger, and I'll always remember him for that.

You came into my life as a promising young stud, Phil.  I had high hopes for us.  You winning games and leading future Yankee rotations.  Me blushing at home and fanning myself while you struck out the side.  It was a match made in heaven.  Until things started to fall apart.  To be honest, I can't really pinpoint where things started to go wrong, but I knew that you weren't the pitcher I thought you were and I still don't think I'm fully over that.  You were my first prospect love, Phil.  And we'll always have that first spring 5th starter competition.  But now you're really gone and I think we're both better for it.  I wish you all the best in Minnesota.  Maybe I'll come out to visit sometime.  Probably not though.

And So Ends A Sad Chapter In Yankee Pitching History

(Courtesy of Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

17.8.  After 14 combined seasons filled with injuries, bad luck, bad developmental decisions, and just plain bad pitching, that's what the Yankees have to show for their years of team control over Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.  17.8 fWAR.  Or if you prefer the BR version, 13.4.  That's over the course of 442 appearances and 1,225.1 innings pitched, and you don't have to be a sabermetric genius to figure out that's not exactly prime bang for your buck in terms of value.  Hughes and Chamberlain never lived up to the hype as pitching prospects and as of 12 o'clock this morning, with no qualifying offers in their hands, they were free to leave the Yankees and pursue a fresh start with a new ballclub.  Chances are microscopically slim that either will return to the Yankees next season.

Early Offseason Happenings Not Kind To Hughes

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I'm short on ideas today so I'm going back to an old standby, Mr. Phillip Hughes.  It probably seems pointless to talk about Hughes in relation to the Yankees anymore.  He very likely pitched himself out of contention for even a qualifying offer from them let alone a new multi-year contract offer, and his reputation as the organization's biggest developmental pitching flop would make it very difficult to bring him back with any expectations of success.  The Yankee have already set their sights on a bunch of other free agent targets. Time spent considering Hughes as part of that mix would be time wasted.

What A Night For Phil

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It may have looked like the last in a long line of embarrassing late season outings for Phil Hughes last night.  He was ineffective again and he got yanked after recording only 6 outs and after Joe stopped off to argue a bad call with the umpire before making his way to the mound to get the ball.  But it wasn't all gloom and fastballs over the middle.  Phil actually carved out some nice space for himself in the record books last night.

Goodbye To Hughes

(Ahh, the good old days... )

It's been a homestand full of finales and goodbyes, and it continues tonight when Phil Hughes takes the mound in place of CC Sabathia.  After having the rotation rearranged to remove him from what could have been an important series, Phil gets to step back on the Yankee Stadium mound one more time in what will in all likelihood be his final appearance as a New York Yankee.  Unsurprisingly, there's no pregame ceremony planned.  With the way Hughes' season has devolved, there's almost no point in even giving him the ball in the first place.

Joe Goes Back To The Hughes Well For Tonight's Start

(Hope Joe's ready to make this walk again.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Guess that bullpen demotion was just a temporary thing.  After only 1 missed start in the rotation - against the Red Sox this past Saturday - and a pair of meaningless relief appearances, Phil Hughes will re-replace David Huff in the rotation and make the start in tonight's series finale against the O's.

Joe' motivation for making the swap again is questionable at best.  This is the same Phil Hughes who was deemed no longer worthy of his rotation spot after a crappy appearance against the slap-hitting Toronto lineup and the same Phil Hughes who has given up 7 ER on 14 hits (5 of them home runs) in 9 total IP over 2 starts against Baltimore this season.  His weaknesses as a pitcher are what the Baltimore lineup thrives against and if he wasn't getting the job done against inferior competition why would be worthy of essentially getting a promotion against better competition?

Hughes Out, Huff In

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Guess those 1.1 scoreless innings he tossed on Monday wasn't enough to save his job, huh?  Joe announced last night that Phil Hughes will be removed from the starting rotation and moved to the bullpen for the rest of the season and David Huff will be taking Hughes' place in the rotation this Saturday against Boston.  This comes on the heels of Huff's latest solid long relief appearance, also on Monday, and ends weeks of growing speculation about how much longer Joe would stick with Hughes.  Time wasn't on his side after the Yanks failed to find any good offers for him at the deadline, and after another month of mostly poor starts Joe finally decided he had seen enough.

What To Do With Hughes Now?

(Courtesy of the AP)

Thanks to his gross ineffectiveness in his 9 previous starts, the Yankees elected to push Phil Hughes back to yesterday, preventing him from pitching in a meaningful game against an AL Wild Card competitor over the weekend.  Strategically it was a smart decision, although the same argument could be made for CC Sabathia, and it almost paid off in spades when the Yankees came within 9 outs of sweeping the Orioles.

Now they face the same dilemma with Hughes heading into this weekend's big series with Baahhhhhston and yesterday's rain-shortened outing did nothing to move the confidence needle in either direction.  Yes, it was Hughes' first scoreless outing since May and we should all be very proud of him for that, but his overall body of work this summer still isn't nearly good enough to trust him with the ball in an important game.  If he wasn't good enough to pitch against the O's, why would he be good enough to pitch against a team 8 games better than the O's?

Atta Boy, Phil...

Hey, who was that out there today in the Phil Hughes jersey?  Was that him?  Throwing a scoreless outing?  With no walks??

Holy hell, that WAS Phil Hughes!  Way to be, Phil.  That's how you build free agent value.

Jesus, Phil...

My thoughts exactly, Dr. Ian Malcolm.  My thoughts exactly.

Market Heating Up For Hughes (Updated)

It's been deathly silent on the Phil Hughes market for at least a week now, but things are finally heating up in the final hours before the deadline.

Bob Nightengale first reported that the Yankees had started receiving offers for Hughes a little while ago.  Chris Cotillo has followed up on that by reporting that 2 offers are in already and the Yankees are working to make a move.  There's only a few hours left before the deadline, so if something happens it'll have to come together very quickly.  More on this story as it develops.

** UPDATE 2:43 PM- Joel Sherman reporting that the Braves talked to the Yankees about Hughes but a deal is unlikely in these final minutes. **

** UPDATE 3:17 PM- That's it.  Nothing.  No moves for Hughes or Michael Young, who was also a hot rumored name in the final few hours.  Yankees will stand pat with Soriano and their returning players.  Cash scheduled to address the media in a few minutes.  **

Did Joe Hurt Hughes' Trade Value Last Night?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The main talking point from last night's game, besides the obvious one of how awesome a win it was, was Joe's decision to go to the hook quickly with Phil Hughes in the 6th inning.  With 2 outs, a runner on 1st, a 1-run lead, and Hughes at only 80 pitches, Joe had seen enough and went to Boone Logan to face lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland.  Moreland hit the second pitch he saw from Logan for a 2-run homer to deep center and the lead was blown, setting up the eventual 9th inning dramatics.

Personally, I think Joe made a bad call yanking Hughes and going to Logan when he did.  To me it was a classic case of the matchup binder winning out over what was happening on the field, and I thought the situation on the field gave Hughes (and Joe) enough wiggle room to allow him to face Moreland and take one more shot at ending an inning that should have already been over.  At the same time, I can understand why Joe made the move.  Hughes had given up 2 consecutive hits on balls up in the zone, he hadn't been all that sharp, and if Hughes gives up one more hit to blow the lead everybody is going to be killing Joe today for not going to the 'pen.  It was a lose-lose situation for him either way and unfortunately the decision he made turned out to be the wrong one.

Yanks' Deadline Strategy With Hughes Is Perfect

Assuming, of course, that what Joel Sherman reported in The Post yesterday has some truth to it.  That's a disclaimer that always has to come with any Sherman report, but if the team's strategy he laid out is actually what they're following then it might just be the smartest thing they've ever done with Hughes.

Basically it comes down to the Yankees not being willing to move Phil Hughes at the deadline just for the sake of moving him, which is the right approach to take.  According to Sherman, they're looking for more than just a stopgap or some mid-level prospects in return for him.  They want a position player with some years of control left - something the future lineup could really use - and if they don't get that they plan on keeping Hughes and making him a qualifying offer this offseason.  If a team is willing to sign him and forfeit the pick, the Yanks get another compensatory 1st round draft pick next year.  If no one is, the Yanks get Hughes back for another year in his prime and get another chance to move him at next year's deadline.

At worst, they come out with an extra 1st round pick in the 2014 draft if they follow this plan.  That's pretty good value for a guy who they weren't going to re-sign anyway.  At best, the Yanks get a useful piece that can help re-tool the lineup and achieve next year's payroll budget goal.  Anything less than that and the Yankees are better off keeping Hughes for the rest of this season, be it as a back end rotation guy or in the 'pen.  Kudos to Cash and the front office for being smart enough to realize that.  Now let's see if they follow through on the plan.

Do You Hear That, Phil?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Do you?  You should listen to it a little closer.  That's the sound of Michael Pineda coming.  That's the sound of your rotation spot disappearing in about a month, and possibly a nice chunk of your upcoming free agent money with it.  Take a look around, buddy.  You're the weak link in the rotation, and the truth is you have been since the minute Ivan got DL'd.  You're sitting with a 5.09/4.43/4.41 split now, with just as many bad starts than good this season after another Phil Hughes 101 clinic last night- missing in the strike zone with fastballs, inconsistency with the offspeed stuff, no ability at all to put hitters away with 2 strikes.  It's all just getting old, dude.  You're waking up today coming off another stinker and Pineda is pitching again tonight down in Tampa.

And guess what?  This time the Yankees won't shuffle guys around and roll out the red carpet for you in the bullpen.  They don't need to do that this time.  Things are just fine in the 'pen.  Maybe you'll get put on the phantom DL with more shoulder fatigue.  Maybe you'll get sent down to Triple-A to hang out with Ivan.  Maybe you will get sent out to the bullpen, to be Adam Warren's caddy and D-Rob's sock washer.  It doesn't really matter anymore.  What matters is that your act has gotten tired and Pineda is on his way.  He's coming and he's not coming just to be a placeholder for Andy's back.  He's coming for your job.

Want To See What No Command Looks Like?

There you have it.  36 pitches, 17 swings, 0 misses, 6 hits, 2 walks, 7 runs.  Phil Hughes joined a couple of select clubs in historical Yankee and baseball futility last night and it's not difficult to see why.  He was fastball-heavy again, and left almost all of them either right in the middle of the plate or way off the corners.  To make matters most, a lot of those fastballs middle and away as you right to left were thrown to left-handed hitters, putting them in perfect position to extend their arms and make solid contact, which they did.

It'd be easy to try to tie this back to Hughes' issues throwing inside or his need to work his offspeed stuff more, but that would be a moot point in this instance.  His offspeed stuff was just as bad, dropping right over the heart of the hitting zone or way off the corner.  Phil just had nothing last night, and it was the latest in a long line of examples of how frustrating his "hot and cold" career as a starter has gone.  As I mentioned earlier this morning over at IIATMS/TYA, if Hughes has officially settled at his ceiling of #4 starter, he might not be looking at offers as big as once thought after this season.

(Pitch plot courtesy of Texas Leaguers)

Phil Phinally Starting To Phigure It Out?

(Courtesy of the AP)

Phil Hughes last night- 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K

Phil Hughes last 4 starts- 28 IP, 23 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 30 K

He's commanded his fastball, he's mixed his offspeed stuff well, and he's really starting to find the handle on The Slutter.  Hughes has lowered his ERA from 10.29 to 3.60 in those last 4 starts and he's been the best pitcher in the rotation in that time period.  Could this finally be Phil putting it all together and becoming the pitcher we all hoped he would be?

So How Was Phil's Pitch Location Last Night?

(Fierce!  Courtesy of the AP)

After I opened this box last Monday, you knew I wasn't going to let it just be a one-off piece.  Phil Hughes made positive strides in his pitch location last Thursday, and not surprisingly it resulted in his best start of the year to date.  He had another strong start last night, going mano-y-mano with David Price, so it would make sense for his pitch location to be good again, wouldn't it?

Did Phil Pitch Inside Last Night?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After his downright disastrous start last Saturday, I took a venture into the PITCHf/x realm on Monday and determined that, for whatever reason, Phil Hughes was not pitching inside to hitters.  He really hadn't shown stellar command of his 4-seamer in either of his first two starts, and the fact that he was working away and missing away made it much easier for hitters to look for a certain pitch in a certain area and tee off on it.  Having done that analysis just a few days ago, I couldn't very well sit by and let his start last night go un-analyzed.  So let's play another round of America's newest favorite Yankee-related game, "Did Phil Pitch Inside Last Night?"

Hughes' Inability To Pitch Inside Isn't Doing Him Any Favors

(Pretty sure it's not the ball, buddy.  Courtesy of the AP)

For a season that's only two weeks and eleven games old, it's already been an incredibly trying one for Phil Hughes.  After losing a lot of ST time due to another back issue, Hughes returned to the rotation a week ago Saturday and got touched up pretty good by the Tigers.  He made his second start this past Saturday, in place of Andy Pettitte after being skipped over for the top of the rotation after the rain-outs in Cleveland, and turned in an even worse performance, one of the worst outings of his career.

After picking out the flaws in Hughes' approach in 2012, I thought he would be able to turn things around this season if he improved his fastball command and cut down on his early-count fastball usage in favor of his offspeed stuff to keep hitters off balance.  Not only has he failed to do that through his first two starts of this season, he added another frustrating wrinkle to his game on Saturday when he failed to pitch inside effectively to either right or left-handed hitters.

Hughes To Be Activated Off The DL, Will Start Tomorrow

(Bringing out the old school Photoshop for this story)

How about a little good injury news to take us into the weekend?  With guys taking balls off various parts of their bodies every other game (phrasing), I think we could all use a little pick-me-up, right?

Well via Donnie Collins and Cash, we've got one.  Collins first reported that Phil Hughes had been scratched from his scheduled final rehab start for Triple-A SWB tomorrow while confirming that there was nothing physically wrong with him, and Cash put the pieces together for us by telling reporters that Hughes will indeed start in place of David Phelps tomorrow in the second game of the Yankees' weekend series against the Tigers.

Knowing the way the Yankees tend to take it easy on guys with injuries, and knowing Hughes' checked history with his back, this has to be a sign that he's 100% healthy.  I can't see them making this move if there was even a sliver of doubt about that.  Assuming Kuroda is still on schedule to make his next start, and he should be after throwing a bullpen with no reported problems earlier today, the Yanks have their projected starting rotation back together sooner than anticipated.  And I'll drink to that!