Great article by Rob Neyer today on how to make the Yankees “perfect”

Neyer had the following to say:

It might be too late. But I wonder if the Yankees should send Phil Hughes to their secret compound in Tampa and retrain him to throw six innings at a pop. Because lately the Yankees seem to have only three starters, and these days you need four in October.

Is it too late to have Phil Hughes stretch out to six innings? Can the Yankees survive in the bullpen without him? The answer to both is yes and yes.

Earlier in the year I didn’t think the Yankees bullpen was managed well by Joe Girardi and, much to my surprise, wasn’t very good anyway. Hughes has stabilized he eighth inning, but during this time Phil Coke and David Robertson have developed nicely, Damaso Marte has gotten healthy, and don’t forget the great year Alfredo Aceves is having. The key to all this is Robertson. In the second half he has an ERA of 2.95 and reduced his WHIP over a tenth of a point by cutting down the walks. Even with some control issues his strikeout rate can survive a bout of wildness. I believe you can hand him the eighth inning in a key spot and play situational lefty/righty thanks to the depth of the bullpen. You might even be able to use Marte as a crossover setup man since his career splits are pretty even.

Can Hughes stretch himself out in just a little over three week? I think it’s possible. First, you have him start all of Mitre’s slots the rest of the year. I calculated about 4 starts left. Have him go 3 innings for two starts and build it up to five innings in starts three and four. It’s only going to add about 15 innings to this year’s total. You have to assume he would get about half those innings out of the bullpen. Remember, he pitched about 70 innings between the majors and minors in 2008, and that doesn’t include his winter ball. It can be done.

Normally I wouldn’t be for this type of change in September. I believe in a strong bullpen and the Yankees have virtually locked down six outs of every game. The problem is no team is good enough to play fast and loose with a Game 4 in every series. That’s exactly what you would be doing starting any of your current options. Joba Chamberlain is not going to get the job done. The kid isn’t mentally or physically up to the challenge. Anyone who is holding out hope has a better chance of running into the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus these days. Scariest thought the rest of 2009 for a Yankees fan: Down 2-1, on the road, and Joba Chamberlain pitching. Enough said.

Great idea by Neyer and a great article.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

View all posts by Mike Silva
Mikes website

Tags: Chad Guadin, ESPN, Joba Chamberlain, Josh Towers, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Rob Neyer, Sergio Mitre