I figured I would wake up to this today. After Phil Hughes' utterly dominant two-inning, six-strikeout performance last night at least one columnist is speculating the New York Yankees are stretching him out for a return to the starting rotation.
Manager Joe Girardi said no.
"That had nothing to do with tonight," Girardi said after the game, shaking his head at the suggestion he might have been stretching Hughes out a bit. "Looking at their lineup and the hitters he was facing ... we felt it was best to stay with Hughes at that point."
Hughes has a 0.86 ERA as a reliever and has not allowed a run in 15.2 innings over 12 appearances. I have little doubt that, stretched out a bit, Hughes could be an effective starter. And, that he will be long-term.
Here are some other stories making news around the Yankee Universe.
- Detroit rookie pitcher Rick Porcello loves the new Yankee Stadium.
"The coolest thing is there are a lot of similarities between the old stadium and this one. You look at certain parts of the ballpark, and it looks a lot like the old stadium. Then you've got the amenities of a new stadium, like the big video board out there in center. You get the old-stadium feel with all the benefits of the new stadium. I like the balance of it."
Take that, Kevin Millar!
- Mike Mussina will appear at Old-Timers Day Sunday. He says he is very comfortable with his decision to leave the game.
"I'm doing nothing," Mussina said on March 10, grinning. "And when I walked through the weight room, I knew why I'm doing nothing. I feel good being retired."
It's too bad Moose doesn't have an itch for a Pedro-Martinez like late-season return. The Yanks could use him.
- Notre Dame will face Army in 2010 in the first football game at the new Stadium.
- Jason Giambi bought his old Yankee Stadium locker for $50,000. As for as I'm concerned the Yankees didn't get nearly enough from the Giambino. I think maybe $118 million would have been the right price.
-- Check out 'Bless you Boys' for the Tigers' viewpoint on last night's game.