[新聞] Phil Hughes focusing on 2009

[appshjkli (Red Spider Lily)]

  Phil Hughes focusing on 2009

  http://0rz.tw/1958v

  BY MARK FEINSAND

  DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
  Saturday, November 29th 2008, 8:35 PM

  What a difference a year makes.

  Last winter, Phil Hughes was one of the hottest commodities in baseball, the

  centerpiece of a proposed trade between the Yankees and Twins that would have

  landed Johan Santana in pinstripes.

  Now, as the Yankees pursue free agent pitchers CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and

  Derek Lowe, the 22-year-old Hughes is uncertain whether he'll even be in the

  majors when the 2009 season starts.


  "It's just one of those wait-and-see things," Hughes said from his family's

  Southern California home. "We'll sign whoever we sign this winter, and I'll

  go to spring training with the same attitude that I always do. I don't worry

  about the things I can't control."


  Last offseason, the Yankees decided not to deal their prized prospect,

  passing on Santana and allowing him to move across town to Shea Stadium,

  where he starred for the Mets in 2008.

  Hughes was handed a starting job before spring training even started, with

  most experts inserting him into the No.3 spot in the rotation ahead of Mike

  Mussina. Putting a lot of weight on his shoulders, the Yankees expected

  Hughes to take charge in his first full season in the majors and help the

  Bombers continue their run of 13 consecutive years in the postseason.


  But after ineffectiveness and injury ruined what was supposed to be Hughes'

  breakout season, second-guessing about the Santana deal began, and many began

  to question whether Hughes would ever live up to his seemingly unlimited

  potential.

  "Last year went the way it went and all the sudden the questions came up

  like, 'Will he ever be Phil Hughes?'" general manager Brian Cashman said. "He

  never had the chance last year."

  Hughes battled through a dismal April, going 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in six

  starts before landing on the disabled list with a fractured rib, costing him

  three months.

  "The last start I made, I was hurting," Hughes said. "The starts before that,

  I really didn't feel it at all. It would be easy to say I was hurt the whole

  time, but I'm not the kind of guy to do that. It wasn't the case. I was just

  struggling."

  It took Hughes some time to regain his form in the minors, prompting the

  Yankees to leave him there until September, when he made two final

  appearances at the big-league level before heading to the Arizona Fall League

  to get more innings under his belt.

  Hughes went 2-0 with a 3.00ERA in seven AFL starts, but if you take out his

  disastrous outing on Oct. 18 in which he allowed seven runs in 2-2/3 innings,

  Hughes posted a 0.99 ERA in his other six games. He struck out 38batters in

  30 innings, routinely hitting 94-95 mph with his fastball - something he

  didn't do during his time with the Yankees last season.


  "I was there for the innings, but at the same time, I didn't want to go out

  and get walloped every time I took the mound," Hughes said. "I worked on some

  things, got my innings in and was pretty successful at the same time."

  While Hughes bulked up his innings total, he also used the time to work on

  his cutter, a pitch he started to develop late in the season after he decided

  to scrap his slider altogether.

  "My slider wasn't working at all," Hughes said. "I worked a lot this fall on

  my cutter and my changeup, and both have come a long way."

  Having pitched 99-2/3 innings this year between the majors and the AFL,

  Hughes is hoping to get his total up to 150-175 next season, putting him in

  line to approach the 200-inning mark by 2010. Although Hughes hasn't proven

  to be the front-line starter the Yankees expect him to be, it's easy to

  forget that he's still just 22, an age at which many pitchers are still

  toiling in the lower levels of the minors.

  With Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain penciled into the rotation and the

  Yankees expected to sign two - if not three - starters this winter, Hughes

  will be fortunate to have an opportunity to battle for the fifth spot when

  camp opens in February.


  "Especially the way my season went, that's realistically going to be the

  case," Hughes said. "I had the same attitude in spring training when I was 19

  and had no shot at making the team as I did last year when everyone expected

  I would. I'll just work hard and see where that takes me."


--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 118.160.47.85
※ 編輯: appshjkli       來自: 118.160.47.85        (12/01 20:07)
推 joe6304105:每年都嘛focusing
推 lahugh:不期不待沒有傷害