Written by Greg Fertel
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23 April 2007
I didn't expect the Yankees to move so quickly. Chase Wright will be sent down, and Phil Hughes will be added to the 40-man roster (probably at the expense of Kevin Reese). Jeff Karstens' start will be pushed back to Friday against the Red Sox.
You all know the deal. Hughes had a rough spring training and start to the season, but dominated in his last outing. Is this a consistency problem or has Hughes adjusted to AAA? It's hard to tell. If we were talking about Tyler Clippard, or Ross Ohlendorf, or Matt DeSalvo, or any other prospect, I'd say that it's about consistency. With a guy like Phil Hughes, I think that I am ready to say he's ready.
What can we expect of Phil? First off, I think shouldn't put too much onus on
the first start. Hughes has shown some jitters in the past. I'm not sure what to predict, and I will wait until Thursday to decide on one, when I'll write a longer article on Phil. I do not expect Hughes to return to the minor leagues.
Chase Wright did exactly what we should have expected him to do. Wright was on a role when he came in, but no pitcher can be expected to dominate with so little experience above A ball. He got a little unlucky (some of those Red Sox home runs came off very good pitches), but just did not have the confidence in his secondary pitches to beat the deadly Sox lineup. We didn't see a whole lot of breaking pitches from him last night, and the Red Sox ended up sitting on the changeup. Hopefully, Wright will pick up where he left off in Trenton when he returns. Sean Henn had a lot of problems after his major league ordeal, and it took him the better part of two years to get back on track.
