WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR HUGHES & JOBA?

We are about 5 1/2 weeks from the 2013 baseball regular season wrapping up. One may have to wonder what to expect of some of the players who in their contract year with the Yankees.

There's Robinson Cano, who will make us all nervous until a deal is finally done and he's locked with the team for possibly the rest of his career.  Curtis Granderson may be finding a new home if the Yankees choose not extend him another offer for a few more years.

Hiroki Kuroda plays on a year-to-year contract, but given his performance throughout this season, I say give him another year or two. These are just to name a few. But I really don't know what to make of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. I'm concerned for a few reasons. They came up through our farm system with Hughes being a first round draft pick in 2004. The signs of hope came to light when he made his debut back in April of 2007. He was hit around by Toronto. Then his second start against Texas where he went 6 1/3,  throwing a no-hitter, he pulled his hamstring.  Everyone remembers that.

Then, back in 2008, both were supposed to anchor the rotation with former Yankee and current San Diego Padres pitcher Ian Kennedy. Remember that?  The Yankees were selling us the trio as the bright future for years to come.  I bought it, and so did you, I bet.

We were excited that with young pitching, we were going to be a force to be reckoned with. It didn't work that way.  They struggled in their starts, and we were left with question marks in rotation that year.  In 2009, Hughes became a reliever where he pitched phenomenal.  In 2010, he went back into the starting rotation and has been there since.  Hughes has been lost as of late no question.  His starts make us cringe, not because he will be awful, but because he is hittable. It's really that simple.  How many of his starts would have been of better quality if the Yankees held up to their end of the bargain and actually hit? Look at his last start against the Angels.  Only 1 run in 6 innings.

When the offense is sleeping and you're not getting the run support, it mirrors the performance on the mound.  Am I saying we should keep Hughes?  Not exactly, I am saying maybe his numbers would be more favorable had the bats did their jobs during his starts.

I know Phil hurts himself with his hittable fastball. Hitters prey on it, no doubt about it, but Yankee Stadium has always been a hitter's haven.

Then there's Joba. We were all mesmerized when he first came on to the scene back in 2007.  He was virtually unhittable throwing in the high 90's and his fist pumping gesture coming off the mound. We all came to the realization that we found the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera, so we thought.  Then, the "Joba Rules" were set in place. Capping his pitch count to keep the arm fresh and prepping him for a starting job the following year. It made sense at the time, trying to keep a then 22 year old from wearing himself out at such an early stage in his career. But the toggling between starting and relieving may have caught up to him. Injuries really set back his course most recently.  His oblique injury earlier this year for instance...

Last year he was shutdown for Tommy John surgery followed by breaking his ankle on a trampoline. Joba has been an enigma this year. For a while, we hoped to see vintage "Joba of 2007", but he never came remotely close.

As the two are in the final stretch of their time in Yankeeland, there's no telling what may be of both Phil and Joba. They're both still young and have a good chance of reviving their careers and talents elsewhere, but I wonder if the will here in the Bronx.  I doubt it.  Some say Phil would be a better pitcher in NL parks with the majority of their ballparks having deep outfield dimensions. It's also been indicated by Andy Martino of the NY Daily News, that Phil has stated he would be open-minded in a relief role when he hits the free-agency market in the off-season. Who knows?

Joba just needs a fresh start with a clean slate and maybe new faces to help get him back on track and that can happen anywhere. Again, it just probably isn't the Bronx anymore.

We shall see...

-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
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