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Phil of confidence

BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com

April 24, 2008

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CHICAGO - Next to nothing about Phil Hughes says 21.

His cool demeanor belies that he is barely old enough to buy an alcoholic beverage, or that many of his peers are still in college. He handles the demands of media and fans with ease. And he is savvy enough to know that four starts do not a season make. So Hughes is not panicking over his slow start.

He is 0-3 with an 8.82 ERA going into his start tonight against the White Sox. But when asked what he thinks when he sees those numbers, Hughes didn't get defensive or snap at the question.

"It's early," Hughes said. "If we're in August, and it's like that, I should be worried. I probably wouldn't be here [if that was the case], but I should be worried."

But Hughes is not worried about his ability to straighten things out. That does not mean he isn't frustrated or disappointed. He is both. However, Hughes also is confident in his ability to get major-league hitters out with some regularity.

The main thing Hughes is aiming to fix is to stop falling behind. That means both falling behind in the pitch count, which gives hitters a leg up, and falling behind by putting the leadoff hitter on base. Hughes has fallen behind too many hitters, allowing them to sit on pitches and wait for one they like. He has also allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base far too frequently.

Leadoff hitters are batting .471 (8-for-17) off Hughes. That's been a killer for him this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, opponents have scored in eight of the 10 innings the leadoff batter reached base against Hughes but just one of nine innings in which he retired the leadoff hitter.

"I've got to try to steer away from being too fine, make them put the ball in play," Hughes said.

That has been an issue for both Hughes and rookie Ian Kennedy, trying to be just too "fine." The result is that Hughes is allowing more than two batters per inning to reach base. He has given up 25 hits and 10 walks in 16 1/3 innings.

Tonight, Hughes said, is "a new day, a new start."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi does not seem overly concerned about Hughes. Girardi knows Hughes has the talent to succeed at the major-league level. And he said he has no reason to think Hughes has been shaken psychologically by his early struggles.

"I wouldn't worry about it unless I saw his approach change," Girardi said, "and I have not seen his approach change."

Hughes all but laughed at the idea that he would lose confidence due to an 0-3 start. "If I did, that would be pretty bad, it being so early," Hughes said.

Tonight, Hughes's mind will be on pitching better, but not because he needs to do so to maintain his confidence. He'll be aiming for greater success "just from the standpoint that we need to win."