@ Pat F:
to be fair, lester has better stuff and is left handed, but i get your point. I guess time will tell.

i definitley see what you’re saying. but it’s important to remember most people are going to get the same boost in stuff that hughes has gotten as a reliever. it’s easier to air it out for an inning. so the question isn’t really can he do what he’s doing now as a starter, because the answer is he probably can’t, and few could maintain what they can do for one inning over 6+. the question is can the stuff he has a starter be enough to be a successful starter. i think it can. and that’s what i was saying i’ve seen signs of. game 3 of the alcs stands out more than anything (i know it was a relief apperance, but he went nearly 4 innings) as well as the two texas performances, the 9 k vs. baltimore, etc. it certainly hasn’t been wildly impressive, but enough that i think he deserves a bigtime chance to see if it can happen. again, i’m not saying i know for sure that hughes can be a starter, and maybe he is fit for the pen long-term. i’m just saying i personally have seen more than enough that warrants us giving it a serious look, and we certainly have not done that yet to date. give him a full season at this level, maybe two or three, like the red sox did lester, to work through things and get comfortable, and then let’s see what we have. if not, he can always go back to doing what he’s doing right now. it’s not easy, but it takes extreme patience, and again lester is a perfect example. 4.76 era, 4.57 era then boom 210.1 innings and a 3.21.

@ Pat F:
i don’t agree, i’ve never, not even that night in texas, seen hughes throw like hes throwing now. If he could do that as a starter, i’d be ecstatic. I’d love him to be a starting pitcher if he could throw like he’s throwing right now, I’m just not convinced he can. I’d give him other shots though, i’m not gonna francessa this situation even though it sounds like i am. This is the first time I’m actually excited about Hughes.

Corey wrote:

Pat F wrote:
small sample sizes on both counts, just very small with one. phil needs to get more of a chance to start, but if that chance can’t be right now and they think this won’t stunt his growth as a starter, he’s certainly a huge asset out of the pen. i’m concerned that this will have some sort of negative impact at some point, similarly to the way i have not liked joba being yoked back and forth between the rotation and the pen, but what do i know. for now, he certainly looks outstanding in the pen and i’m enjoying that. agree that if he’s there, he needs to really be there. no baby gloves. 8th and maybe even 7th are his.
sure sample size…but…if you watch hughes pitch as a starter and then as a reliever, its like your not even watching the same guy. IF hughes shows the ability to be an effective starter, then sure make him a starter. But, he fills a huge roll this year and you gotta keep him in there…at least for this year. I trust hughes more then bruney, or anyone else in that pen for that matter.
Makes ya wonder what kind of reliever kennedy could become when hes back from his devastating ailment.

yes and no. hughes has never gotten a chance to start consistently, with no more than 11 consecutive starts in any given season. sure he looks different now than he did *most* of the time as a starter, but he has also shown flashes of what he’s showing as a reliever as a starter. now he’s just doing it consistently as a reliever. but there is little, if any, evidence that he can’t do it as a starter to. this may just be when it all happened to come together again for him, and was going to happen starting or relieving. i do agree with you that he still has to prove himself as a starter in order to be kept in that role and not explored in other roles. i just hope he gets that chance.

The Rivera and Wetteland combo was one huge reason why the Yankees won in 1996. Why not see if the Hughes and Rivera tag-team can do the same for New York in 2009?
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Be careful, Steve. It’s this kind of talk that will never allow the “Joba-to-the-bullpen” crowd to die. I agree with the rest of what you have to say, however.

Pat F wrote:

small sample sizes on both counts, just very small with one. phil needs to get more of a chance to start, but if that chance can’t be right now and they think this won’t stunt his growth as a starter, he’s certainly a huge asset out of the pen. i’m concerned that this will have some sort of negative impact at some point, similarly to the way i have not liked joba being yoked back and forth between the rotation and the pen, but what do i know. for now, he certainly looks outstanding in the pen and i’m enjoying that. agree that if he’s there, he needs to really be there. no baby gloves. 8th and maybe even 7th are his.

sure sample size…but…if you watch hughes pitch as a starter and then as a reliever, its like your not even watching the same guy. IF hughes shows the ability to be an effective starter, then sure make him a starter. But, he fills a huge roll this year and you gotta keep him in there…at least for this year. I trust hughes more then bruney, or anyone else in that pen for that matter.

Makes ya wonder what kind of reliever kennedy could become when hes back from his devastating ailment.

Which isn’t to say Steve and Yagottagotomo are wrong about using Hughes for multiple innings for as long as he is coming out of the pen. By all means, Yankees, do that.

I still believe that Hughes can be a starter in this league and I hope the team doesn’t pull the plug on that idea (or give into the same mania that has surrounded Joba’s role as a starter vs. a reliever).

That being said, I agree 100% that the Yanks should deploy Hughes as they did Rivera in 1996. Not only will putting him in for two innings at a time get him the work and innings he needs to stay on course for, potentially, a 180 inning season in 2010, but it also deepens the Yankee bullpen by putting Aceves, Coke, Bruney, Robertson, and Tomko in a position to share the 5th and 6th inning duties.

I love the idea of using Hughes in front of Rivera and, as I said in last night’s game recap thread, I was upset at Girardi for not letting Hughes have first crack at the 8th inning after doing so well in the 7th.