Hughes Finds Velocity, Loses Command

Well, all the Phil Hughes detractors who became obsessed with his velocity must have been happy to see him throwing consistently 93-94 mph fastballs. Unfortunately, Hughes had no idea where they were headed.

Reaching back for 94-95 mph on an 0-2 elevated fastball is great, but his command has been much better at 90-91. His characteristically impressive command suffered, as did his overall performance to the tune of six hits and three walks over two innings.

Realizing the ESPN gun can be a bit juiced up at times, I confirmed Hughes' radar readings on MLB gameday which also had him consistently 93-94 and Daisuke Matsuzaka at 89-91.

Sure, Hughes has yet to pitch in a game with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, and it was his first foray into the pressure cooker which is Fenway Park. However, if the youngest pitcher in baseball is unable to give a solid outing Friday at Baltimore, the NY media's trumpets will begin blowing Johan Santana tunes as impatient fans eat it up.

Matsuzaka and Hughes were both awful in the command department last night. And where Matsuzaka has been battle-tested [in Japan and at home], Hughes is still finding his way with six less years on his driver's license. Poor clutch hitting for New York and some timely baseknocks for Boston determined the outcome of this particular contest.

My big gripe is pinch-running Wilson Betemit for Jose Molina in the eighth inning. I - like many of you - first guessed this move as wacky and was supported in the bottom half of the inning as Jorge Posada moved behind the plate. Posada's shoulder is obviously still healing as the Red Sox appropriately ran wild on him without even so much as a throw to second base. The result was an insurance run, pushing the lead from 2 runs to 3 and giving inconsistent relievers like Javier Lopez and Manny DelCarmen that much more cushion.

Joe Girardi will out-think the opposing manager with much greater frequency, but this particular move - like the decision to have Mike Mussina pitch to Manny Ramirez on Saturday - can be chocked up as another example of Girardi out-dueling himself. As it stands, neither team left Boston with a sweep, and another Yankees-Red Sox series is wasted in a season's early going.

Pags: Mechanics Sap Hughes Velocity

Over at Dugout Central, Mike Pagliarulo investigated the velocity loss seen in Phil Hughes' fastball during his first start of the season. According to Pags, Hughes can blame his lackluster radar readings on mechanical flaws and not an injury or inexplicable malady. Certainly this is a possibility, though there may be even simpler reasons.

Let me preface his study by quoting Pagliarulo's conclusion late in the article which claims, "Let's not forget [Hughes] should still be in AA Trenton."

Wait, what? Pags shows how little he knows about Phil's development, considering in 2006 he tossed 116 innings at AA Trenton, striking out 138, walking 32, allowing only 72 hits, with a 2.06 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a BAA of .171. If there was ever a 20 year-old ready to jump to AAA and then the major leagues, it was Phil Hughes.

Pagliarulo is the same opinionated third baseman - and not a catcher/pitcher - who predicted Kei Igawa would be an very good acquisition. He then went on to ream Igawa as a poor move as if he never lauded him in the first place. Let's also remember Hughes is coming off a very strong outing, so the criticism is silly and unnecessary:

The reason Phil Hughes isn’t throwing his fastball faster than 91 MPH is mechanics – and nothing else. Why doesn’t Brian Cashman know this? Because he’s an expert at managing groups, people and processes; he’s NOT a baseball expert in terms of scouting, of understanding pitching mechanics, or understanding hitting mechanics, etc. That’s in no way an insult to Brian. Jack Welch, formerly CEO of General Electric, is one of the most respected business leaders of our time, and he couldn’t build a jet engine or a refrigerator himself. But he could manage the people who could.

So, it’s unfair to ask Cashman the Hughes question since it’s not his area of expertise. It’s like asking Joe Girardi about brain surgery.

The good news is that Hughes’ mechanics are fixable. Whether he is coachable – a trait needed for a player to improve – is another thing. I’m not saying he isn’t coachable; I just don’t know the guy, so I can’t say.

In his last Spring training start Hughes was easily hitting 93-94 mph on the radar gun. The explanation for his 91 mph heater last Thursday may be as simple as Hughes having to pitch in Winter-like conditions.

Whatever the case, the 94-95 mph range may not be his sitting velocity [though his 2007 average velocity was over 92], but rest assured he can rear back for mid-90s heat. Coming out of high school he hit triple digits on the radar gun, but Hughes takes pride in an easy low-effort delivery. Apparently WasWatching and Pagliarulo would rather have Hughes throwing 95-96 mph and give up five runs than what we've seen so far this season.

As a reference point, Detroit requested that Justin Verlander take some off his fastball in favor of movement this year. The same may be true of the Yankees and Hughes.

Hughes Accounts For Velocity Loss

Phil Hughes held a chat today on his weblog and one of the questions he decided to answer asked about his mechanics before and after the hamstring injury. The question also pondered if Dave Eiland's involvement late in the season was instrumental in Hughes' fine performance down the stretch.

This was Phil's response:

After coming back from my injury last season my mechanics were a little out of whack. This led to a little loss of velocity and command. When Dave arrived in September we were able to work out some things and I think that had a lot to do with the success I had at the end of the season. It was nice to finish off the year on a good note so I have something to work toward to get back to my normal self in 2008.

There you have it. The Hughesian velocity-loss debunked. I did a piece on this topic back in September, calling on current Diamondbacks scout Carlos Gomez for the discussion.

On a related note, a Lohud reader relayed what he'd heard from a Mariano Rivera Q&A session hosted by insufferable bore Michael Kay. Here's what Rivera had to say about Hughes and a potential Johan Santana deal, according to Pete Abe:

Rivera is against the Johan Santana deal because he believes Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy will develop into top-flight players.

Hank is getting mighty lonely on that front, isn't he?