Oblique: Devious, Misleading, Dishonest?
Hey, that’s what it says in the Dictionary. See “4(b)” below:
oblique (ō-blēk’, ∂-blēk’)
adj.
1.
a. Having a slanting or sloping direction, course, or position; inclined.
b. Mathematics. Designating geometric lines or planes that are neither parallel nor perpendicular.
2. Botany. Having sides of unequal length or form: an oblique leaf.
3. Anatomy. Situated in a slanting position; not transverse or longitudinal: oblique muscles or ligaments.
4.
a. Indirect or evasive: oblique political maneuvers.
b. Devious, misleading, or dishonest: gave oblique answers to the questions.
5. Not direct in descent; collateral.
6. Grammar. Designating any noun case except the nominative or the vocative.
In any event, here’s the story on Phil Hughes trip to the D.L. via the Journal News:
[Phil] Hughes was the subject of great debate prior to last night’s 6-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers at the Stadium until the organization announced he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique.
It was a move completely out of left field.
Hughes lasted only 3 2/3 innings on Tuesday against Detroit, and was pulled after giving up six runs. The struggling 21-year-old made no mention of the problem afterward.
“I guess after the adrenaline wore down there was a little more discomfort than I thought,” he said last night. “That’s when I said something. It kind of feels like a dull pain, a pinch.”
The injury first surfaced a week ago in Chicago.
“He just informed us after the game yesterday, after he came out,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “That was the first we heard of it.”
Yankees team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon got a look at Hughes before the game, and there was no mention of an injury until the announcement was made in the seventh inning.
There is an MRI scheduled for today.
“Going into last night’s game it wasn’t an issue until the last inning,” Hughes said. “I honestly didn’t think it was a factor at all in anything I did.”
Until the stint on the DL was announced, there was a firestorm of speculation about his place in the rotation and nobody in the organization even hinted about the possibility of an injury.
“I didn’t know,” Girardi said. “I had to find out from the doctor. I didn’t know if he was going to miss a start. We don’t throw things out before we absolutely know.”
Some people are not buying it. Cliff Corcoran and Wallace Matthews represent (respectively) some bloggers and mainstream media members who wonder about this move.
But, let us assume that this is a legit injury for Hughes. If so, he’s starting to craft a Pavano like health resume, no? Here’s Phil’s injury history to date:
In 2004, missed time due to a stubbed/broken toe and elbow soreness.
In 2005, missed time due to shoulder tendonitis and a “tired arm.”
In 2007, missed time due to both a severe hamstring pull and ankle sprain.
In 2008, missed time due to a strained right oblique.
Perhaps it’s time for the Yankees to come up with a protection plan for Hughes? After all – again, if this injury is true – he is starting to turn into one brittle little Phil. For someone who’s 21-years old, that’s a pretty long history of breakdowns. Do bubble suits come in pinstripes?
This was a ridiculously negative post. It’s a Catch-22. Either he’s not really hurt or he is hurt and he’s just a younger version of Carl Pavano.
You can call it “facts” but I call it being extremely subjective with what you choose to focus on.
Has Hughes pitched well in 2008? Nope, not by a long shot. Am I disappointed? Extremely. Am I worried? A bit. But you have a suicidal person’s fascination with every possible negative slant on Phil Hughes. It’s like you WANT to jump out the window.
I’m tuning out of WW for a week. I hope that when I get back, I’m refreshed and not as irritated by what I’m reading. I know that I need a time-out. Do you?
if the injury was legit, i guess you might have a basis for the injury-prone card.
i just dont buy it.
to me, i just dont get why you would lie about this; just be honest, say he’s had a tough start to the season, so he’s going down to AAA to work on some issues and clear his head, and you expect him to be back with the club soon.
that’s all it would take.
now they make the organization look ridiculous with the timing of the whole thing, the ensuing cover-ups that now go along with this, and you put more pressure of Hughes to answer questions about this alleged injury, and how it might have affected his results early on… so one lie will now turn in to multiple lies.
the NY media has to smell blood in the water with this news.
MJ – how am I supposed to write a “positive” post about Hughes today? Or, should I just say nothing about him because there’s nothing “positive” to say?
Really, you want me to “ignore” Phil Hughes today when he’s the big story in town?
Sorry, but, you should know by now that I’m just not in the Yankees “puppy dogs and candy” pushing business here. I’m always going to write about what’s going on in Yankeeland – whether it’s “positive” or “negative” news.
Really I think this is just a PR move to protect the organization from the Johan Santana fallout of Phil’s troubles. Rather than send him outright to AAA they are taking the more circuitous route of having him skip a start, throw on the side with the pitching coach and then a couple rehab starts (guess where). This is just the long way to AAA.
Still think he’ll be fine.
I thought it smelled like bullshit last night, I’m not going to lie, but now I’m just going to assume it’s for real. Would Cashman and Girardi really have Phil go through all this — lying to the media — just not to demote him? I find that hard to believe. If Phil slipped up and said something contradictory, it would totally blow up in their faces and make everyone look ridiculous. I also give Phil credit for not using it an an excuse, which would have been easy enough.
But it’s so funny that you call him injury-prone. As soon as I heard this news I knew people would. Abraham has been saying this forever, even though the first time he “went down” was actually because of innings and not an injury. And stubbed toes and hamstring snaps while throwing curveballs seem more fluky than anything else. But whatever — he’s the new Carl Pavano, of course.
By the way, the guy in that photo of the safe suit looks suspiciously like Mike Mussina.
Is Josh Beckett Pavano-esque? Because he has missed time almost every season. Oh, but Josh Beckett is an ace, hmm, that makes things harder.
Hughes has had, to this point in his career, ONE significant injury and that was last year. We will see what this one turns out to be, but dude, the kid is 21. From 18-21 he’s stubbed his toe, had a tired arm/reach his innings limit, pulled his hamstring and injured his ankle in the recovery, and strained his oblique. Not a single one of those are really serious when you think about it. Pavano, aside from his few healthy years in Florida, had a history of SERIOUS and MAJOR arm injuries in Montreal, which was generally repeated here.
Knock on wood, but thats not the case at all. I know you really want to hate Hughes and feel vindicated for hating him in the past, but Wang had an “injury history” before being called up and has basically been a horse since. Shit happens…
The whole organization is on the hook with this Hughes thing–especially Cashman. They didn’t just tout Hughes as a promising prospect, the Yankees PR machine aided and abetted “The Future” and “Phil Phranchise” stuff. Then, Cashman convinced a skeptical owner not to trade Hughes for the best pitcher in baseball.
So instead of just demoting a 21-year old kid to AAA, they’ve backed themselves into a corner. You can’t just demote “The Future” of the “Phranchise.”
And so here we are in oblique world.
The team [Hank] threw the checkbook at A-Freud, sadly I might add. $300 million in the end. No way they could afford Santana at $150 million and that albatross of a new ballpark at $1.3 billion(!) and counting. Only the government can legally print money.
The second-guessing over Santana should die now.
With Giambi, Mussina, Abreu, Pettitte, and Farnsworth, the Yankees have about $70 million coming off the payroll after 2008. Then add another $26 million with Damon and Matsui coming off after 2009.
They’re going to throw $100 million easy at Mark Teixeira next year. Santana would’ve been a done deal.
Actually, the Yankees have a chance to take $81 million off their payroll this coming off-season.
Joel, what are you talking about? The Yankees didn’t hype Phil Hughes. He was universally praised at the number-one pitching prospect in baseball by all minor-league publications and scouts. It’s not like the Yankees “created” buzz or hype. They also did not create his minor-league numbers, which were dominating.
“Phil Franchise” was started by Pete Abraham. So unless he somehow speaks for Cashman and the organization, and is a part of their “PR machine,” I think you are severely misinformed.
baileywalk–They most certainly did create major buzz and hype by refusing to trade Hughes for the best pitcher in baseball. They said, in effect, that this kid is going to be so great that he’s worth more than Johan Santana going to Cooperstown as a Yankee.
We can argue over the role beat reporters play as part of a professional team’s PR machine, but the substance of my argument is right: the Yankee brass is using this oblique stuff to protect themselves and Hughes from major embarassment.