Phil Hughes making his case. Looking to earn his spot in the rotation.

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Phil Hughes making his case. Looking to earn his spot in the rotation.

November 14, 2008 by Kevin Rozell

Hughes is making his case for ’09 a whole lot better this fall. He pitched a great game today. He had one really bad start this fall, but besides that..he has been pretty darn good. Phil is ahead of the game when you think about it. He is still considered “one of the younger guys” in camp. Phil was rushed to the majors to be honest. I know I wanted to see him as much as you guys did, but maybe he wasn’t ready. He went through growing pains..and that’s what you need to see. He never got into any trouble in the minors, because he simply dominated down there. Maybe this time around..he will be ready to carry the load. Cashman and Girardi stated that he will need to earn the job, and I think they would be pretty happy with his success so far. Of course the Yankees are going after FA starters this off-season, but you can never have enough pitching. You never know what might happen. I’m sure Hughes will get some MLB action this season. It also depends on…if they bring back Pettitte/Mussina..or neither one.

Phil’s Previous AFL Starts:

Last 10 Games: (Current team only)
Date	OPP	W	L	ERA	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO
Oct 07	SUR	1	0	0.00	0	5.0	1	0	5	7
Oct 13	@PDD	0	0	1.80	0	5.0	4	1	1	3
Oct 18	SCO	0	0	23.62	0	2.2	7	7	2	1
Nov 03	SUR	0	0	0.00	0	5.0	1	0	0	8
Nov 08	@SUR	0	0	7.71	0	2.1	4	2	4	3
Totals		1	0	4.50	0	20.0	17	10	12	22

Today’s line:

Peo Javelinas
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hughes, P	5.0	2	0	0	1	6	0	3.60

Hughes, P 80 Pitches, 52 for Strikes

Phil Hughes thoughts:

“Everything feels good right now,” he said. “I feel stronger with every outing.”

“Every time you go out, you work on things, but the big thing for me is to work on innings,” said Hughes, who logged only 69 2/3 frames in the regular season. “But that’s not to say I’m not going to work on my changeup or cutter. There’s been a few bumps with some outings, but overall I’ve felt good. There’s been quite a few good outings out there this year.”

“It’s been where I expected it, if not better,” he said. “I really haven’t felt this strong in quite a while, and I don’t know what that’s attributed to. But my velocity is right around where it normally is.”

“I’m going to take the same attitude I take every year, but obviously the Yankees are going to make moves to put the best team out there they can,” said Hughes. “I’ll go into Spring Training in the best possible shape, ready to make the team. I’ll keep working hard and doing what I need to do.