Phil Hughes

In the hours following Stephen Strasburg's Brendan-Fraser-in-The-Scout -level debut for the Nationals on Tuesday, my buddy Howie posed this question to me (@danhanzus ) via Twitter:

Most trade value: Mauer, Hanley, Pujols or Strasburg? I say #Strasburg easy.

The Yankees apparently have a "plan" for Phil Hughes that will take effect in the coming months, allowing him to stay within his pitching limits this season, in other words the Joba Rules turned Hughes Rules.

Joe Girardi and Dave Eiland have it set up so that they could give Hughes an extra two weeks of days off over the next two months.

The Yanks do have four scheduled days off in June, and an additional five off in July. Add the All-Star break on top of that, then yes, the Yankees plan does schedule out correctly.

When one looks at the line of Phil Hughes' start Monday night against the Boston Red Sox, they see five innings pitched, six hits, five earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. The big stat, however, was the two home runs, a solo job to David Ortiz and a three-run jack to the newly-rejuvenated J.D. Drew.

It was a rough night to be a pitcher in the Bronx last night. Nine pitchers in total were used in the contest between the Yankees and Red Sox. Of the nine, five gave up runs in the 11-9 Yankees win.

The starters were not good. Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka   had a bad first inning in which the Yankees scored five runs. The righty lasted 4.2 innings, giving up nine hits. Three of those nine were doubles. The Yankees scored seven runs off Matsuzaka before he was taken out with two outs in the fifth.

The Yankees took two of three against the Twins over the weekend, but lost the finale in stinging fashion when Mariano Rivera gave up a grand slam in the eighth inning. New York will have to bounce back from that blow quickly, though, as it welcomes the arch rival Red Sox to Yankee Stadium for a quick two-game set.

The Bombers (24-13) have taken four of six from Boston (19-19) already this season with all of those games being played at Fenway Park.

In the midst of their worst offensive slump of the season and having loss four of five, the Yankees return home to open up a seven-game, three-team homestand against the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

The Yanks and Twins enter their three-game set with identical 22-12 records, good for second best in the Majors behind the Rays and tied with the Padres.

Like New York, Minnesota has done it with a mix of good hitting and solid pitching. The Twins lead the AL with a .277 batting average and are second with a 3.51 ERA.

I don't like admitting that I'm wrong.

I put admission of error somewhere between getting a Novocaine-free root canal and being the Jim J. Bullock center square of a human centipede.

But right is right, and it's starting to look like that's exactly what the Yankees were when it came to their handling of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.

Wednesday night against the Tigers was another big night for the farm system's golden boys. Hughes was brilliant over seven shutout innings, and Chamberlain was throwing gas in the eighth for another scoreless inning of relief.

Back in Spring Training , the Yankees put Phil Hughes into a competition with other pitchers like Joba Chamberlain , Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves. The four pitchers competed to see who would be the Yankees fifth starter. Obviously Hughes won the job and since then, he is making it seem like there never should have been a competition.

After being held scoreless earlier in the day, New York responded with their own shutout in an 8-0 triumph over Detroit Wednesday evening at Comerica Park. The teams split the day-night doubleheader with the Tigers winning the afternoon affair, 2-0.

With the win, New York ended a season-high three-game losing streak. Detroit’s two runs in the bottom of the sixth in the first game were the only two Tiger runs scored in the doubleheader.

My Double G Sports fantasy baseball team which is competing in the Battle of the Blogs continues to struggle and has hit a new low. I am now officially in last place in the Willie Mays Division and am ranked 13 out of 20 teams.