Article: The Big Switch: Phil Hughes

[John Bonnes]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/2959-The-Big-Switch-Phil-Hughes

[Old Twins Cap]

Didn't look like Hughes was throwing the looping curve ball in Detroit on Friday, but rather, back to the hard slide-piece as his "off-speed" offering. Either way, he is doing more with his fast ball by moving it around, in and out, up and down. Good for now, and hope he can keep it going, down.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I like the Snake Plissken reference.

 

Was the Hughes contract really "widely derided nationally?"

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'll trade a drop of .5k/9 for a drop of 1.5BB/9 any day of the week. Unfortunately with Anderson, it's rarely that nice.

[Gernzy]

I like the Snake Plissken reference.

 

Was the Hughes contract really "widely derided nationally?"

 

"Nationally" means New York. And who cares what they think?

 

I'm glad Hughes is off to a good start with us. Hopefully it will continue!

[Otto von Ballpark]

Was the Hughes contract really "widely derided nationally?"

 

Yes. Not hugely, since it wasn't that large of a deal, but coming off the year he had last year, anything guaranteed beyond 1 or 2 years deserved some skepticism. (Maybe as much from the player's perspective as the team's.) But upon closer inspection, given his age, health, and past bullpen success, it was really a solid gamble for this team.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Hughes is doing exactly what I expected him to do in Target Field. Hopefully he can continue to perform at this level all season.

[iTwins]

I like the Snake Plissken reference.

 

Was the Hughes contract really "widely derided nationally?"

 

There was a lot of "Only the Twins would give this guy a 3 year deal" talk from the big media outlets.

 

I'm glad to see the "gamble" is paying off for the Twins. Hughes was a guy I wanted the Twins to persue because it seemed like he just needed a change of venue. So far, so good!

[halfchest]

Even his bad starts at the beginning of the year were somewhat encouraging. He wasn't getting knocked out after 2 innings and he would put together 4-5 innings of good pitching and things just went south. One of his poor but most encouraging starts was like 2nd or 3rd where he gave up 4 runs in the first and a lot of pitches but came back out to pitch 4 shutout innings. Nothing great, but good to see a guy come back out after a rough first inning and help his team out a bit, give them a shot to get back in it and save the bullpen. Kinda wish they woulda let him go one more on Friday. Maybe had to do with the heart of the order coming in and wanting to come at them with a fresh arm.

[halfchest]

not to get off topic but just glancing at boxscores. Dang Casey Fien got a couple impressive holds on Friday facing Hunter, Cabrera, Martinez. Any word on his injury?

[halfchest]

not to get off topic but just glancing at boxscores. Dang Casey Fien got a couple impressive holds on Friday facing Hunter, Cabrera, Martinez. Any word on his injury?

 

That should read Friday and Sunday. . . My edit feature never works.

[ashbury]

Any word on his injury?

 

What I saw was Fien was examined and it was called a contusion. Presumably it means an x-ray or similar revealed no break. I interpret it as an owie that will be evaluated no sooner than shortly before Tuesday's game, and will be day-to-day rather than DLed.

[TheLeviathan]

Hughes has been an absolute success so far. Let's hope that continues.

[troyhobbs]

I like the Snake Plissken reference.

 

Was the Hughes contract really "widely derided nationally?"

 

I was pretty skeptical of the Hughes signing. The guy hasn't really proved anything in his career up to this point and he could still spiral downward at some point. He looks good right now though.

[JB_Iowa]

I just went back and read a bunch of what was written about the Hughes signing.

 

I would not say "widely derided nationally". There was skepticism as would be expected. Most of that skepticism surrounded the fact that the contract was for 3 years not the amount per year.

 

Pretty hard to assess whether those criticisms are fair 6 weeks into the first season of the deal.

[Pitz]

Kinda wish they woulda let him go one more on Friday. Maybe had to do with the heart of the order coming in and wanting to come at them with a fresh arm.

 

If my memory serves me, I think I read from Berardino that Hughes actually told Anderson that he didn't have 'it' to go back out. Sorry, too lazy to go back and look for a link.

 

Edit: Overcame my laziness:

http://www.twincities.com/News/ci_25734106/Twins-2-Tiger-1:-Phil-Hughes

 

"Every pitcher has a certain amount of pride," Hughes said after an eventual 2-1 win at Comerica Park over longtime foe Justin Verlander. "I felt like my stuff and location were deteriorating. You don't want to give the game away just because you're feeling prideful or whatever."

[JB_Iowa]

If my memory serves me, I think I read from Berardino that Hughes actually told Gardy that he didn't have 'it' to go back out. Sorry, too lazy to go back and look for a link.

 

I read the same thing -- he asked to be taken out. And here is the link:

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25734106/twins-2-tiger-1-phil-hughes-continues-his

[DocBauer]

Really encouraged by Hughes. Given his relatively young age, some past successes, his original prospect standing, his overall stuff if he could harness a bit more, and his splits out of NY, he was right at the top of my wish list. I have not been disappointed. As has been pointed out, even a couple uneven starts at the begining of the season weren't totally discouraging. Maybe it's just me, but it seems none of the Twins starters were "ready" at the begining of the season. Might have been the weird weather, who knows.

 

Still don't think our staff is where it needs to be, or where it can and could be. Gibson has largely been impressive, as been Hughes. Looks like Nolasco is rounding in to form. Love Deduno back in the rotation, where I've always felt he should be. He can be a little wild on occasion, and not sure he's built for 32-34 starts on a season, but really think what we saw last season is the real Deduno, a late bloomer. Boy, if we can just find one more of our youngsters to be ready this year in Meyer, May or possibly Darnell!

[cmathewson]

I'd like to say I expected this. But, the truth is, I didn't know what to expect. I thought he would be better away from the Bronx Band Box. I hoped he would be better as he hit his stride at the peak of his career. But there are warning signs as well. He doesn't have a great secondary pitch. He has wavered between the slider and the curve, settling on the curve and a cutter, and throwing the curve only as a "get me over" pitch to guys who never swing at the first pitch. It's a testimony to how good his fastball is that he can actually pitch seven shutout innings against the Tigers and throw two curveballs--none in tough situations. I'm not sure that's sustainable. But I'll take it, and continue to hope for more.