Hard-Hitting News: Phil Hughes grew a beard

[Brock Beauchamp]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ex-yank-hughes-fresh-start-twins-article-1.1703165

 

Pretty much a puff piece but I found it somewhat interesting that Hughes already bought a home in Minnesota.

[LimestoneBaggy]

It's not a neck beard; we are not impressed.

[LimestoneBaggy]

Oh yeah, and he's also a former Yankee, so I'll be fighting the knee-jerk reaction to boo........

[JB_Iowa]

I could hardly stand to watch the Red Sox last year. Those scraggly beards are NOT a good look.

 

Phil's looks good, though.

 

I'm just hoping that some of the humor and "looseness" we are reading in the various spring personality pieces translate into an atmosphere where the guys want to "go to work" and have fun playing the game -- and that it eventually translates into wins. (Okay, additional talent will help that but I'll take anything that might alleviate some of the day to day grimness of the last few years).

[Squirrel]

"He admitted that he was unprepared for the Minnesota cold when he went to Twins Fan Fest a few weeks ago. He brought only a hoodie and a light jacket, figuring that he'd spend most of his time indoors. It was 26 degrees below zero one day."

 

 

Lol! Welcome to Minnesota, Mr. Hughes.

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

Pretty much a puff piece but I found it somewhat interesting that Hughes already bought a home in Minnesota.

 

Why is that surprising? I suspect most MLB veterans just buy a house/condo near their home ballpark. Higher-end/luxury housing is probably pretty limited on the rental market, and a lot more hassle than just buying outright.

[Monkeypaws]

NY Daily News is kind of a scandal-tabloid sort of paper - interesting they would look at an ex-Yankee in such a nice light. They must have liked the guy.

[DaveW]

He's already impressed Twins' teammates with his sense of humor -- Joe Mauer thinks he's funny and the two laughed Tuesday over a fan offering Mauer suggestions on improving his swing.

 

That was so nice of Stat to offer a free trip to his one on one baseball academy!

 

[TheLeviathan]

I could hardly stand to watch the Red Sox last year. Those scraggly beards are NOT a good look.

 

I don't want this thread to feel left out, so here goes:

 

This is yet another reason to give Stephen Drew a 65 year contract worth 8 billion. We'll have like, the most super amzing, flawless person to ever play shortstop ever and he'll be able to shave that scraggly beard due to not having to worry about the playoffs in the near future.

 

Whew, now we can go back to Hughes having a yard......

[snepp]

That was so nice of Stat to offer a free trip to his one on one baseball academy!

 

Here's another satisfied customer.

 

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/118okes.jpg

[jokin]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ex-yank-hughes-fresh-start-twins-article-1.1703165

 

Pretty much a puff piece but I found it somewhat interesting that Hughes already bought a home in Minnesota.

 

A trifle more meaty stuff from LEN3 today. Hughes is evidently completely abandoning his slider, which he relied on for nearly 24% of his pitches last year, in favor of reviving a cutter, which he had essentially abandoned the last 2 seasons, and upgrading his curve.

 

I wish Neal could dig up more info on this new approach by Hughes. ie,

 

1) Is this new plan based on input from the Twins pitching braintrust?

2) Are there arm issues from overuse of the slider that precipitated this change?

3) Is there an attempt through this new plan to cut back on his fly-ball tendecies?

[JB_Iowa]

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25243055/twins-phil-hughes-reconnecting-long-lost-curveball

 

Per Berardino, he talked with Anderson about it in the off-season. It goes back to his more successful 2010 and 2012.

 

Sounds like he lost his feel for it when he had back troubles last spring and then may have rushed his return without getting all his pitches back so leaned more on the slider.

[jokin]

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25243055/twins-phil-hughes-reconnecting-long-lost-curveball

 

Per Berardino, he talked with Anderson about it in the off-season. It goes back to his more successful 2010 and 2012.

 

Sounds like he lost his feel for it when he had back troubles last spring and then may have rushed his return without getting all his pitches back so leaned more on the slider.

 

Thanks for the link, JB. I'm glad they're apparently all on the same page with a solid game plan. This is the type of situation where a pitcher is earnestly searching for answers, that Anderson has obtained positive overall results. Things must have been becoming desperate for Hughes; according to Pitch F/X, he didn't throw any sliders in 09, 10, 11, and only 4% in 2012, before his heavy reliance on the elbow-straining slider in 2013- that 24% number is quite a heavy "lean". His 2013 numbers indicate his control didn't leave him, he just became eminently more hittable, witnessed by his OBA of .286, 15% whiff rate, and a marked increase in LD% and decrease in GB%. And not only his Slider was hittable, so was his FB and CU.

 

Hopefully full health, a new slate, and a new plan can create more movement on all of his repertoire of pitches.

[diehardtwinsfan]

A trifle more meaty stuff from LEN3 today. Hughes is evidently completely abandoning his slider, which he relied on for nearly 24% of his pitches last year, in favor of reviving a cutter, which he had essentially abandoned the last 2 seasons, and upgrading his curve.

 

I wish Neal could dig up more info on this new approach by Hughes. ie,

 

1) Is this new plan based on input from the Twins pitching braintrust?

2) Are there arm issues from overuse of the slider that precipitated this change?

3) Is there an attempt through this new plan to cut back on his fly-ball tendecies?

 

I thought I remember reading KLAW saying something about his slider being a terrible pitch... Not a bad idea if it's a below average pitch.

[jokin]

I thought I remember reading KLAW saying something about his slider being a terrible pitch... Not a bad idea if it's a below average pitch.

 

Unfortunately, he previously junked the cutter after it turned awful early in 2012. Getting rid of the slider definitely should help his elbow health, but he's going to need a solid new approach and a clean bill of health to turn the cutter and the slow curve back into effective out pitches. All eyes on Andy for getting it done.

 

I think people are going to come to realize that this signing is a higher risk/reward type than merely a bad year bounce-back play. Could be a spectacular success story, or another Pelfrey acquisition, only @ 3 years, instead of 2.

[JB_Iowa]

I think people are going to come to realize that this signing is a higher risk/reward type than merely a bad year bounce-back play. Could be a spectacular success story, or another Pelfrey acquisition, only @ 3 years, instead of 2.

 

At least it is interesting and there is some raw material to work with.

[jokin]

At least it is interesting and there is some raw material to work with.

 

Yup. This is going to be a compelling story, on many levels. 1) We'll all be pulling for him- seems like a good guy, very talented, but caught up in the Yankee vortex, 2) it's a huge chance for Andy to rewrite his legacy, 3) this a huge opportunity for the club to stabilize and bolster the rotation as the next wave arrives and gains their sea legs while ideally quickening the pace on the return to relavancy and contention-status.