Hughes Relates To Pedro

The Journal News has Phil Hughes' reaction after witnessing Pedro Martinez suffer an eerily similar injury to the one the young Yankee did during his terrific start against the Texas Rangers last year.

The Mets #2 starter likely faces an even more arduous recovery period since he is roughly 16 years old than Hughes was when the then 20 year-old went down with a hamstring tear:

It was May 1 of last season when Hughes suffered the same injury in Texas. Seven outs away from a no-hitter, he limped off the field.

"Right when I saw what happened to Pedro on television, I thought, 'Oh, man,' because I remembered that feeling," Hughes said. "It looked like the same thing happened to him that happened to me. I really feel for him."

"The legs are your foundation," Hughes said. "You throw the ball with your arm, but it starts from the feet up. If there's a broken link somewhere in that process, it's tough."

"I thought initially it would be 4-6 weeks like they told me," he said. "It ended up being three months. But I didn't really get my fastball back until September. I was still tentative in August because I was afraid I'd hurt it again. It's tough to get over."

Martinez injured the same leg as well - the left one - which receives the most stress, pressure and weight from a righthander's delivery. It's this leg which provides the extra late-life and velocity pitchers need on their fastball.