Good article- it's nice to be able to get excited about a prospect and not live in absolute certainty he'll be traded for yet another New York underachiever come July.
Dave Eiland is the Thunder's pitching coach? What, Kevin Mmahat and Clay Parker are unavailable?
I've surfed the entire morning trying to find one newspaper article that isn't praying for a Hughes for Lee/Soriano trade just so they can have a few weeks worth of articles to write. I couldn't. I am also certain Torre would just love to get his hands on a Carlos Lee, a "veteran presence" who knows how to play the field and hit the baseball. Brian Cashman may be all that stands between me and a brain aneuryism should the Yankees give up on this guy.
Good to see the Yankees have him on an innings limit and are being careful about stretching him out beyond his total from last year.
I still expect them to call him up in September, but not have him pitch. He'll probably start next year with Columbus, but once he shows an aptitude there I could imagine him being called up to join the big league rotation at any time next season.
I actually think that the Kazmir trade will help us on this. If Big Stein wants to trade him, all Cashman has to say is, "George, look at the terrible press the Mets get every time Kazmir pitches. We can't have a Kazmir Trade." Then, when the deadline comes ands goes, George can boast that he was smarter than the Mets.
1 I'm almost surprised he's not pitching for Trenton. The guy never could get major leaguers out, but I figured he could get AA hitters out forever. And goodness knows the Yankees are always willing to fill out their minor league rosters with old non-prospects.
"Cashman has already rejected an offer of Kansas City's Reggie Sanders for Hughes, despite the Yankees' need for an outfielder." I sure hope he didn't have to think too long about that one...
I'm willing to go on record to say that if Hughes is traded this year, then Cashman and Torre should be fired. I have this awful, sinking feeling in my gut that it will happen, but then maybe its just my being Jewish.
Reggie Sanders? Please, please, please let even the idea of this have been a joke. Repeat after me: Do NOT trade any top prospects for an outfielder. Matsui is progressing well, I expect him back in August at this point. Its not worth it to lose a top prospect for a month of what is likely to be a mediocre slugging OF bat.
There's an article in the Times today declaring that the Yanks need to literally do everything in their power to land Willis (read: trade Hughes). I will be very very mad if this happens, and I wish the press would get off their "trade everyone in the system for stopgap talent" bandwagon..
I hope Ken Goldstein at BP doesn't get mad at me for copying this, but I think his take on Hughes is intriguing:
"... despite the fact that he just turned 20, it's fairly apparent that Hughes has the ability to retire big league hitters right now. With 2006 looking like it might be the first year since 2002 that only one team from the American League East gets into the postseason, Hughes has impact potential this year, if the Yankees have the guts to put him in the rotation."
Amen. I know a lot of people here want to see the Yanks take it easy on Hughes, but I agree with Goldstein. It's certainly a better option than trading for a minor upgrade over Chacon/Wright.
But what's the real upside to throwing a 20 yr old in the rotation now? Sure, maybe it works for a while, but even then, where are they? How many pitchers join the rotation that young and hang around for very long at a high level? It seems to me most of the big names that always get dropped when it comes to the prototypical "great" modern-day starters didn't start to pitch 200+ innings in the bigs until age 24 or 25. I want Phil Hughes to be lighting it up for the Yanks for 10-15 years, not 3.
Dave Eiland is the Thunder's pitching coach? What, Kevin Mmahat and Clay Parker are unavailable?
I still expect them to call him up in September, but not have him pitch. He'll probably start next year with Columbus, but once he shows an aptitude there I could imagine him being called up to join the big league rotation at any time next season.
Well, that's my dream, anyway.
"If I fail, which happened to me a lot at the beginning of my time in Double-A, it hurts extra because I know a lot of people are counting on me."
He had what, three or four sub-par outings to begin his stint in AA before dominating in his next three starts? This guy is driven.
"Cashman has already rejected an offer of Kansas City's Reggie Sanders for Hughes, despite the Yankees' need for an outfielder." I sure hope he didn't have to think too long about that one...
Reggie Sanders? Please, please, please let even the idea of this have been a joke. Repeat after me: Do NOT trade any top prospects for an outfielder. Matsui is progressing well, I expect him back in August at this point. Its not worth it to lose a top prospect for a month of what is likely to be a mediocre slugging OF bat.
"... despite the fact that he just turned 20, it's fairly apparent that Hughes has the ability to retire big league hitters right now. With 2006 looking like it might be the first year since 2002 that only one team from the American League East gets into the postseason, Hughes has impact potential this year, if the Yankees have the guts to put him in the rotation."
Amen. I know a lot of people here want to see the Yanks take it easy on Hughes, but I agree with Goldstein. It's certainly a better option than trading for a minor upgrade over Chacon/Wright.
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