WHY MISGUIDED HUGHES SPECULATION GETS US NOWHERE

I think it is entire unfair to float an article about a starting pitcher possibly being put into the minor leagues to get "stretched out" only 1 week into the Spring Training season. I mean Andrew Marchand’s a bright guy, he's respected, but is there really nothing better to do than to float the possibility that Phil Hughes may need to go to the minors if he doesn’t get the 5^th spot? Can we at least start the competition this Spring before we start floating ridiculous speculation? I'm not a real big fan of that. Sure, anything could happen, but seriously, it's week 1 of spring training.

Andrew Marchand wrote his piece titled Hughes to minors? Not impossible. Read it HERE. In the short piece, it suggests that Joe Girardi would need to make a “tough” decision about Phil and Girardi went on to say “I expect Phil to bounce back.” Now, I’m not sure if I hated seeing Marchand’s headline, or the fact that the article itself didn't give me a clear sense that there is actual concern about Hughes and a chance to be sent down if he didn’t make the 5^th spot. Let’s be honest, there’s nothing in his article that even suggests it, in fact, Girardi said this: “There are a lot of different things we could do for him, He has had success in the bullpen.We have to decide what is best for him and us.”

Look, I may be a fan blog, but I also get journalism. Reading Marchand today, I still don’t know if the Yankees are interested in sending Hughes down if he loses out or if he's making the whole thing up. I say simply, can’t we talk about this later? It's February 24th. There’s plenty of Spring ball to be played… it’s way to early for this crap. Read Marchand, he speculates...nothing more... and this is under the ESPN flag. I don't get it. I read plenty of other stories today about Phil Hughes, none of them speculate like this, why?

Klapisch: Leaner Phil Hughes turns focus to No. 5 spot

Hoch: Yanks looking for improvements from Hughes

LoHud: Known and unknown at the back of the rotation

Maybe I'm just tired. Or then again, maybe I DO get it. It's Spring and there are no scandals surrounding the New York Yankees this year...it's too quiet. I guess we’re all just hanging on anything to get readers these days.

For the record, I love Marchand, but I’m lost on this one.

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