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anyone>?

he cant stay in pen, he'll lose the arm strength he's built up

what to do?

If Hughes pitches like he did his last start (mediocre), I think he'll get optioned to AAA, and Wang will take his place in the rotation. It's not an easy situation though, and there's no clear-cut answer.

I think the team should let him follow Hughes schedule though, as Hughes doesn't seem to go that deep into games yet. Let him have his throw days when Hughes has his throw days, because they should at least be able to get him 2-3 innings during Hughes's starts. If he doesn't get all the innings he needs, could they just simulate the rest in the pen on his "start" days?

per Pete

wang starts tomoro

phil to pen

im ok with wang taking phil spot

but send him down to pitch as a SP, i dont like him being a RP

Pharmcat wrote:im ok with wang taking phil spot

but send him down to pitch as a SP, i dont like him being a RP

I think he'll be fine as a reliever, I just don't see the point in halting a pitcher's development when he is FINALLY clicking after 2 full years of being up and down. His stuff is finally sharp, he is finally striking guy out again, and most of all he is finally confident again. He must pitch every 5 days, here or in Scranton. I guess they are just looking for a short term fix to the bullpen and value Joba more long-term.

Cashman said it's a short-term fix.

I think the Yankees are just protecting themselves in case Wang bombs out again. I don't think this has anything to do with strengthening the bullpen. If Wang gives them a great start, or two good starts, I think you'll see Hughes quickly optioned down. That way they don't waste an option on Hughes, if Wang bombs, by sending Phil down, only to quickly call him up.

It sucks because I think Hughes can improve faster by just experiencing major league hitting, than going back down to AAA where he has clearly mastered the playing field. If Wang pitches like the 18 game winner though, the team will be better off; I just hope it doesn't stunt Hughes' development at all. We'll probably need Hughes again starting at some point as Burnett, Pettitte, and Joba aren't exactly ironmen.

PR07 wrote:Cashman said it's a short-term fix.

I think the Yankees are just protecting themselves in case Wang bombs out again. I don't think this has anything to do with strengthening the bullpen. If Wang gives them a great start, or two good starts, I think you'll see Hughes quickly optioned down. That way they don't waste an option on Hughes, if Wang bombs, by sending Phil down, only to quickly call him up.

It sucks because I think Hughes can improve faster by just experiencing major league hitting, than going back down to AAA where he has clearly mastered the playing field. If Wang pitches like the 18 game winner though, the team will be better off; I just hope it doesn't stunt Hughes' development at all. We'll probably need Hughes again starting at some point as Burnett, Pettitte, and Joba aren't exactly ironmen.

Well we did already use Hughes' option for this year so I don't think that is really a deciding factor, but you are absolutely right about everything else in terms of the Yankees covering themselves if Wang bombs.

How about this hypothetical though. Wang pitches well enough to remain in the rotation and Hughes is really good out of the pen, making the pen a lot better and helping the team overall (like the way Wang has been out of the pen over the past week or so). Would you be quick to send him back down to AAA just to start or do you put the team ahead of one player's development (which we're not doing by keeping Joba in the rotation)? I'd send him down personally and bring up somebody like Melancon, who should be here to begin with.

I don't really understand all of the in's and out's of the options system. Do you care explaining that more thoroughly? I only know that you get so many for a player, and you only want to use them only when it's absolutely necessary.

I don't keep Hughes in the bullpen long-term whatsoever. By keeping him in the pen for more than necessary, you're only setting yourself for constant criticism and media attention of "Hughes to the pen", and I've already had my fair share with Joba. He's a clear-cut starter, and needs to get starter's work.

However, I don't envision it as an issue because I don't see him being lightsout like Joba was. I don't think he has the electric stuff or bulldog mentality of Joba on the mound to simply ramp it up for an inning or two. That's not an insult, it would be like saying Verlander is better than Porcello in the pen (power guys generally are). I do think he can be effective in the pen, just won't be the dominant force or create the hoopla that Joba did. I don't really expect him to pitch more than 5-8 innings before he's sent down though.

i dont like phil as RP

send him down to SWB and let him pitch as a SP

for RP, melancon needs a shot, but he needs to be eased in b4 facing the wolves....the blowouts are a perfect time for him to get acclimitized to the majors

Phil still has an innings marker he has to hit this season. Him spending any substantial amount of time in the bullpen is a terrible idea. Much as i'd like to see him continue to face major league batters, moving him back to AAA is still the much better option here.

It's not like the team lacks long relievers. Aceves can always go a few if necessary and God knows what Tomko is doing on the team if he can't at least eat innings.

It is what it is. Wang needed to go back to the starting rotation. If they sent Hughes down and Wang bombed they would need to bring someone different back up and they don't really have anyone they can just bring back up. If Hughes goes down, he has to stay down for 10 days unless someone goes on the DL. It would be difficult to DL Wang again. So they would need to make up an injury for someone in the bullpen to bring Hughes back. If Wang pitches well, I bet Hughes goes back down right after. -Jitpal

Edit: Also his innings limit would be around 170-180 this year so this week or two in the bullpen might not be the worst thing for him so they don't exceed those limits. -Jitpal

A 170 to 180-inning limit is large enough that it should be manageable even without having to do stuff like this to keep his workload down. He's at 54 innings a third of the way through the season. At worst, they would have to limit his outings in a few starts in Scranton. It may be that they're thinking ahead to the playoffs already and would want Hughes on the postseason roster since it's possible that Joba will be shut down at the end of the regular season. But even still, I don't think there's enough need to scrimp on innings right now to justify screwing up Phil's routine.

petitte sucks...

ccvle wrote:petitte sucks...

yes he does

seriously,looking at just the last three seasons stats it is sabathia,wang, burnett. Petitte's ER is ok but he's been giving up too many hits and walks for my liking.

no way andy was ready to pitch tonight, he couldnt even cover 1st

the guy is hurt and should not be pitching

JOe G needs to be stricter and not take players at their words for injuries...we just gifted this game to TEx

I wouldn't mind Hughes making Andy's next start. He's clearly not 100%, and laboring out there. This isn't last year where Sidney Ponson is our #3 starter, if Andy's hurt, he needs to step aside because we have a guy who can fill the void.