Phil Hughes Injured? I Guess So...

OK, so Phil Hughes is actually injured; a stress fracture in the 9^th rib. Apparently he won’t be back until July, which really means he won’t be back until August. Yesterday, I said I would bet my left nut that he wasn’t really hurt. Thankfully, that was only a figure of speech!

This is terrible news for the New York Yankees, especially when Ian Kennedy continues to look overmatched by major league hitters. Darrell Rasner or Kei Igawa will be starters for the next few months. Awesome!

Last night, on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Buster Olney said that Hughes might have broke his rib coughing. Coughing?!? Seriously, who breaks their rib by coughing? Look, Hughes is far too young and hasn’t pitched long enough to be labeled “injury prone.” He’s only 21, and his body is probably still developing. But at the beginning stages of his career, he’s already started traveling down a dangerous path, a path paved by oft injured players as Ben Sheets, Rich Harden, Ken Griffey Jr. in the 2^nd half of his career, and Carl Pavano since he signed with the Yankees.

In Peter Abraham’s blog, http://yankees.lhblogs.com/, he wrote about Hughes’s injury plagued young career:

2004: Made only three starts for the GCL Yankees because of a fractured toe on his left foot.
2005: Had two stints on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
2006: Only healthy season. Went 12-6 with a 2.16 ERA.
2007: Tore left hamstring on May 1 and did not return until Aug. 4.
2008: Stress fracture in rib cage.

5 years…4 injuries…not the best way to start off a young career.

To all Yankees fans who are worried about their team thus far: Fear Not! The Yankees have been in 3^rd or worse at this point of the season 5 out of the last 5 years. How many times did they make the playoffs in those 5 years?

5 times!

Phil Hughes Injured? No Chance!

“I thought I saw something different than what he put down,” Hughes said. “The sequence [of signals] made me think curveball, but he called for a fastball,” Phil Hughes said after his 3.2 innings, 8 hit, 6 run performance on Tuesday, April 29th. Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News then reported that, "Hughes says he has had his eyes checked several times recently and while he has "above-average" eyesight, he experiences some blurriness during night games in certain stadiums because of the glare from the lights."

Are you serious Philip?!?

After the game, when GM Brian Cashman was asked about the possibility of sending the 21 year old righty back the minors, he said, "The question's been asked (internally). If we decide to do something, we'll talk to the player first. But I think it's fair for us to discuss it."

Then, last night, in the middle of the game vs. The Detroit Tigers, the Yankees announced that Phil Hughes was placed on the 15 day DL with a strained oblique muscle. First of all, what the hell is an oblique muscle?!? Second of all, I'm willing to bet my left nut that the only thing hurting Phil Hughes is his psyche.

Now I'm not against this move at all. Claiming Phil Hughes has a strained "whatever" is a very good move by the Yankees. Essentially, what they did was send him back to the minors to rework himself and figure out why he's been pitching so poorly. Now the Yankees can say hes "rehabbing" his injury, and Philip doesn't have to suffer the embarrassment of being sent down. They can keep him there for as long as they want and just keep saying hes not healthy yet. The New York media is tough, and babying Hughes is the right way to go about it. After all, he doesn't even turn 22 until late June!

Either way, hopefully this "injury" fixes whatever is wrong with Phil Hughes. Whether he needs new contact lenses, needs to fix his mechanics, or needs to regain his confidence, the Yankees need Hughes to be effective. Good or Bad, he will always be the guy the Yankees DIDN'T trade for Johan Santana.

However, if his minor league numbers and the way he pitched in September are any indication of Hughes's future, I'm pretty sure he'll eventually be ok.

And if not, wouldn't C.C. Sabathia look pretty nice as the Yankees opening day starter next year?