A HUGHES MOVE WILL HAPPEN... SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY

I wanted to bring an interesting, yet pretty obvious Tweet to your attention about Phil Hughes from Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger from last week. I've been thinking about it alot. I know, call me sad and pathetic. But in a nutshell, it's from the 24th of June about Phil Hughes because Lord knows, this hasn't exactly been the best season for him as a starter. Chalk up last night's performance as good, but whenever he's out there, you never know what you're going to get.  Below is something McCullough wrote, check it out and then let's discuss...

AL exec on basic dilemma of (theoretically) trading Phil Hughes: If he’s good, why trade him? If he’s struggling, what will you get?
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughSL) June 24, 2013

Now look, I’ve been hammering Hughes pretty good.  My take is that if he’s going to be good, then now is the time. If he was over-hyped, let’s accept it and find a place to send him.  This is business now, not about whether the guy is likable.  I want to win as a Yankee fan and no one likes to hear that they could be on the trading block, I get that, but this has been going on since 2006 with Phil Hughes.  This over-hyped, “This guy has the stuff” whisper has been happening since Jason Giambi stated that Phil was the next Roger Clemens, read HERE.  Hey, maybe we shouldn’t have hung on every word Jason Giambi said, right? Lesson learned.

But going back to my point.  Sure, if Hughes is “good”, there wouldn’t be much of a reason to trade him, after all, we’d need him.  The problem is, he’s not good, he’s bad this year and with Ivan Nova having a strong appearance in his most recent outing back and Michael Pineda possibly being back “soon”, you really gotta wonder what happens to "Golden Boy" Hughes, right?  Now, I’m going to suggest something that others have also stated. I’m not breaking new ground here, but I think it’s smart, kudos to the ones that suggested it before me.  Put Hughes in the pen and leave him there.  He’s better in short spurts. He will be forced to pound the plate, no mistakes, no time to think.  He was a huge success in 2009 and I’d love to see that form again.

Now you can say “Well, what about Joba Chamberlain?” I say, his time is up and according to George King III of the New York Post, it may become reality... read JOBA COULD BE ATLANTA BOUND.
The solution is to move Phil Hughes in, move Joba out.  Maybe you move him down to the farm or maybe you move him to a team that's in line for a new closer.  Give Joba a chance to blossom without the pressures of New York, because it’s clear to me, he can’t hack it.  This guy was so much fun to watch a few years ago… now we cringe when he comes in.  He’s about as unsteady as Boone Logan.  And while we’re on that, why are we hanging onto that lefty and we let Clay Rapada go? Logan’s days in pinstripes must be over right now, right?

Whatever the case, Phil Hughes needs a new role or a new team and the one thing that fans and writers don’t do well is speculate teams and trades.  You know who does that better than anyone? The General Managers. They know the needs, they know the wants and I know Brian Cashman is working the phones on this one.  It’s true, Andy McCullough reports it right… that AL Executive may state the obvious, but it’s clear that if the timing is right, whether Hughes is good or bad, if there is a combination that works… a deal will get done. 

I wonder what’s going to happen next, don’t you?

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.