WHY THE OFFSEASON IS VITAL FOR HUGHES

Phil Hughes had a nightmare 2011 season, there's no two ways around it. Coming off a season in 2010 in which he won 18 games, while making his first All Star team before dominating the Minnesota Twins in the clinching Game 3 of the ALDS, Hughes hit a wall in 2011. Nothing went right for him in this year, a dead arm--which led to shoulder inflammation and a long trip on the DL after three horrific starts in April--followed by up and down results on the mound after he came off the DL in early July. But after all of those disasters, Hughes can wipe his slate clean, and that starts with having a good off-season.

I dug up this video on MLB.com the other day. It's clips from a Spring Training outing Hughes had against the Phillies in 2010. Remember, Hughes was battling for the number five spot in the Yankees rotation. I want you to watch the clip, and tell me one thing you notice about Hughes.



If you noticed that Hughes was a lot slimmer, you're right. As I said, Hughes was battling for the number five spot in the Yankees rotation, so he knew he had to come into camp in shape, and he did. And because of that, he pitched well and earned the number five spot.

Now, if you watch this start Hughes had against the Blue Jays during Spring Training in 2011, you'll notice that he looks a little chunkier. Remember, Hughes had a guaranteed spot in the rotation going into camp.



When Hughes was on the DL this season, there was a report that he came into Spring Training out of shape. Read that HERE.As we all know the Hughes' injury issues at the beginning of the season resulted in diminished velocity. Hughes' average fastball velocity this season was 91.3 mph, while using it a career low 59 % of the time. In 2010 Hughes used his fastball 63.6% of the time while averaging 92.6 mph. The differences may not sound like a lot, but they are. I recall a lot of fans were calling for Hughes to use his change up more to mix things up a bit before the season started, and he did. Hughes used his change up 6.6 % of the time in 2011 compared to using it just 3.5% of the time in 2010. Maybe the decline in velocity helped him become a smarter pitcher. Who knows.
It's obvious that Hughes needs to have a better season than he did in 2011, and a good step in that direction would be to come into camp into better shape instead of looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Unlike a lot of other fans, I still have faith in Phil Hughes. Will he be that ace starter that most thought he could be when he breezed through the Yankees' system? I seriously doubt it. But I bet he can be a solid number two or three starter if he can get his act together. He needs to realize that he can't just blow hitters away and drop his curve ball all the time, and instead use his change up and cutter effectively to mix things up to keep opposing hitters off balance. He'll turn 26 years old next June, so maybe he'll mature as a pitcher more. Hopefully he'll learn from this season, get into better shape, and gear up to have a solid 2012 season in the Yankees rotation.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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