Phil Hughes on his decision to sign with the Twins

[Parker Hageman]

The Minnesota Twins will formally introduce Phil Hughes as their newest members at 4 PM on Thursday but NY Daily's Mark Feinsand spoke to Hughes regarding his decision to sign with the Twins. Here are some of the highlights:

 

Did Hughes have other offers?

 

According to a major-league source, the Mariners made Hughes a two-year offer with a club option for a third year, but Seattle refused to guarantee the third year. The Angels, who play roughly 10 minutes from Hughes’ family home, also came after him with what the source described as “a nice one-year deal.”

 

Why opt for a three-year deal instead of a one-year value-builder?

 

“I’ve played my whole career on a year-to-year basis, so to finally have a little bit of security was really appealing,” Hughes said. “Obviously I would have done (a one-year deal) if that was all that was out there, but there was interest from teams about bringing me in long-term. That was something I really wanted, so I decided to go in that direction.”

 

 

What went wrong in New York?

 

“I don’t know if it was the pressure of the contract or just the pressure of New York,” Hughes said, still seemingly searching for answers. “I’ve dealt with that before, but sometimes if you start off poor, it can have a tendency to snowball on you – especially in that market. Struggling mechanically, it just seemed like I couldn’t get on that track and get myself going again. It was a perfect storm of bad things going on that I couldn’t get myself out of."

How does he feel about moving to Target Field, a pitcher's park?

 

“I’m not really sure what kind of impact it will have,” Hughes said of his move. “I know I’ve pitched well in the Central division in the past. I’ve had a few good starts at Target Field; it’s obviously a bigger stadium than Yankee Stadium, which can’t hurt.

 

“But I’m not just counting on the stadium helping me out. I’m 27; I feel I can still improve and get better. That’s more of my focus than just pitching in a bigger ballpark and getting lucky.”

[ashbury]

Is there a live feed for the press conference?

[Parker Hageman]

Yes, it will be on FSN at 4 PM central.

[Thrylos]

Also on the Official Twins page per the @Twins twitter account

[ashbury]

I misread my Pacific coast clock and thought it was already underway.

[Craig in MN]

“I know I’ve pitched well in the Central division in the past. I’ve had a few good starts at Target Field; it’s obviously a bigger stadium than Yankee Stadium, which can’t hurt.

 

This comment about pitching well against the Central got me looking at hist stats, and I was pleasantly surprised. Hughes is widely known to have a 4.54 ERA overall, 4.90 ERA at Yankee Stadia, and 4.10 on the road.

 

By my quick (hopefully accurate) figuring, Hughes has a 3.84 ERA against his new AL Central competition (Chi Cle Det & KC). That's a very small sample size, but it's promising (and some of those came in Yankee Stadia so even that could be exaggerated).

 

More promising to me is that 44% of his innings have been against AL East teams, and he has a 5.10 ERA against them. Eliminate those, and he has a 4.10 ERA against everyone else.

 

If you give him a little benefit for getting out of Yankee Stadia, a little more benefit for pitching in Target Field, a little more benefit for getting many fewer starts against AL East teams, a little more benefit for getting many more starts against AL Central teams, then things start to get interesting. Not all of those effecs may be legitimate, but it's easy to piece together an argument for him sneaking in a sub 4 ERA performance. It certainly is a move that has a lot of nice signs.

[Gene Larkin Fan Club]

A bunch of road games at Fenway probably don't help a pitcher's stats much, either...

[ashbury]

The short clip I saw so far doesn't look like a man who feels confident - sighing and groping for words. I think the coaching staff has some work cut out for them starting in February.

[JB_Iowa]

The short clip I saw so far doesn't look like a man who feels confident - sighing and groping for words. I think the coaching staff has some work cut out for them starting in February.

 

Have you watched him over the years? I haven't so I don't know his usual demeanor. Seemed diffident during the press conference as opposed to the smiling, confident Nolasco but for all I know, that may be typical for him.

 

P.S. Let's hope that his taking Scott Ullger's number is good for both of them. Of course, if Ullger wanted to retire, that would be okay, too.

[ashbury]

Have you watched him over the years? I haven't so I don't know his usual demeanor.

 

Fair enough; I debated even throwing that out there, it's not really more than a first impression, and I can't pretend I know what goes on between his ears.

[jokin]

The short clip I saw so far doesn't look like a man who feels confident - sighing and groping for words. I think the coaching staff has some work cut out for them starting in February.

 

"shellshock" comes to mind

[Paul Pleiss]

If you give him a little benefit for getting out of Yankee Stadia, a little more benefit for pitching in Target Field, a little more benefit for getting many fewer starts against AL East teams, a little more benefit for getting many more starts against AL Central teams, then things start to get interesting. Not all of those effecs may be legitimate, but it's easy to piece together an argument for him sneaking in a sub 4 ERA performance. It certainly is a move that has a lot of nice signs.

 

If Puxantony Phil can get his ERA anywhere near 4, even his away from Yankee stadium 4.10 would be a vast improvement for him and the Twins. The more I look at this signing, the more I like it. "Hughes your Daddy" might not be a front end starter, but I like his chances of putting up much better numbers in 2014.

[InfraRen]

I think this could prove to be a value signing. Lots of positives about him. Seems like a smart dude with a strong work ethic. Wonder if it's something about NYY with these 1st round pitchers. Joba didn't pan out. Hughes hasn't. Ian Kennedy figured it out AFTER he left NYY. Let's hope!

[TheLeviathan]

You'd think this press conference would be about as unnerving as your average clubhouse media pile in New York. Strange.

[D. Hocking]

He could have simply developed an aversion to talking to the press from his years in New York. Once something like that becomes a bit ingrained, it takes awhile to overcome. Even if he objectively knows the Minnesota press is a different animal, it might be awhile before he is relaxed talking to reporters.

[B Richard]

It's always fun to speculate, but I'll reserve judgment for when he takes the field after pitcher and catchers report

[Thrylos]

If you have a change, take a listen back to his talk with Mackey and Reusse at 1500. Much more natural.

 

Heck. He might had to go to the bathroom during the press conference.

[D. Hocking]

If you have a change, take a listen back to his talk with Mackey and Reusse at 1500. Much more natural.

 

Heck. He might had to go to the bathroom during the press conference.

 

He could have simply been distracted and/or mezmerized by the Sid's circa 1975 tape recorder.

[Thrylos]

Gets even better, here is this tweet from Mike Berardino.

 

No wonder Hughes looked kinda stressed in that presser... Plus this speaks volumes for the First Scout.

[JB_Iowa]

I thought he sounded more confident in his one-on-one interview on FSN than in the presser itself (but the questions were pretty much re-runs).

 

And yes, its a shocker that TR never met/talked to him before today.

[Chance]

Gets even better, here is this tweet from Mike Berardino.

 

No wonder Hughes looked kinda stressed in that presser... Plus this speaks volumes for the First Scout.

 

First Scout? I have heard this twice now. Here and about Kris Johnson. What/who is First Scout?

[Thrylos]

First Scout? I have heard this twice now. Here and about Kris Johnson. What/who is First Scout?

 

That's what I call Ryan, same way I call Gardenhire the "manager of the millennium".

[Chance]

That's what I call Ryan, same way I call Gardenhire the "manager of the millennium".

 

Now that I get who you were talking about, do you care to elaborate on TR not talking to him. Do you like this? Do you think he slacked?

[minn55441]

I thought he sounded more confident in his one-on-one interview on FSN than in the presser itself (but the questions were pretty much re-runs).

 

And yes, its a shocker that TR never met/talked to him before today.

 

this makes perfect sense. Last off season, Terry met with every free agent personally and couldn't give the money away. He learned something. Don't meet with them until they accept the money.

 

Terry is no fool. What ever it takes to win.

[Thrylos]

Now that I get who you were talking about, do you care to elaborate on TR not talking to him. Do you like this? Do you think he slacked?

 

Let me put this on other terms: You get a new job to a new company on a Monday. All the negotiations and agreements have been made between your headhunter and their HR people. On Friday there is a press release that you are hired and your first day at the job. That is the first day you meet your boss. What does that say?

[minn55441]

That is the first day you meet your boss. What does that say?

 

Terry is not the warm and fuzzy kind of boss that you run up to and give a hug.

 

Makes perfect sense.

[jay]

“Right from the get go, they were the most aggressive team. The overall fit – the ballpark, the city, pretty much everything about it – just seemed right.”

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/hughes-ready-prove-worth-twins-disaster-season-article-1.1538813#ixzz2meZqWUgQ

[Chance]

Let me put this on other terms: You get a new job to a new company on a Monday. All the negotiations and agreements have been made between your headhunter and their HR people. On Friday there is a press release that you are hired and your first day at the job. That is the first day you meet your boss. What does that say?

 

I see your point; however, there is also an agent in play that does all the work for him. Think of it like a hiring agency. The company manager goes to HR and tells them to hire another worker. They, in-turn, call up hiring agencies and ask what they have. The agency then calls the client and lets them know that they will be working at the company (pending physical and drug test).

[JB_Iowa]

this makes perfect sense. Last off season, Terry met with every free agent personally and couldn't give the money away. He learned something. Don't meet with them until they accept the money.

 

Terry is no fool. What ever it takes to win.

 

LOL. It was surprising to me because Hughes has been around the game for a fair amount of time and the Twins had been interested in him previously.

 

It wasn't just that they hadn't met recently. It was that they had never spoken before:

 

 

• Mike Berardino ‏@MikeBerardino
  First time Terry Ryan ever spoke with Phil Hughes was today, the day he signed him for $24 million over 3 yrs. Not even a prior phone call.
  

[TheLeviathan]

First Scout? I have heard this twice now. Here and about Kris Johnson. What/who is First Scout?

 

I would call it trolling personally.

 

As for Ryan, I'm sure they didn't talk personally because the Twins came after him hard through his agent, he liked the fit, and there was no reason to talk personally. Both sides wanted it done so the business side of things completed the deal.

 

So I'm not sure I find it that odd or an indictment of Ryan, it just shows what an aggressive approach that exceeds the competition (in this case, in our willingness to go three years) really does trump all that other stuff.