Hank Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees have neither Johan Santana nor Joba Chamberlain in their starting rotation this season, and now they won't even have Phil Hughes holding down one of those spots for the next couple of months. The skidding starter, who was placed on the disabled list after Wednesday's game with what the Yanks originally called a strained oblique muscle, is expected to be out until at least July with a stress fracture in the ninth rib on his right side after undergoing X-rays and an MRI exam yesterday, GM Brian Cashman announced.
"In four weeks we'll see where he is in the healing process. ... Starting pitchers take longer than anybody (to come back) because they have to build their arm strength up and their ability to go deep in games," Cashman said before last night's series finale against the Tigers. "We presumed (Hughes' problems were) more mechanical and maybe getting to be a confidence issue because of that, but now we know. This certainly explains why his fastball command ... has been uncommonly off."
Source: New York Daily News
"In four weeks we'll see where he is in the healing process. ... Starting pitchers take longer than anybody (to come back) because they have to build their arm strength up and their ability to go deep in games," Cashman said before last night's series finale against the Tigers. "We presumed (Hughes' problems were) more mechanical and maybe getting to be a confidence issue because of that, but now we know. This certainly explains why his fastball command ... has been uncommonly off."
Source: New York Daily News