Davidoff: Erase any thoughts about Hughes going to the bullpen

Forget that the Yankees lost a 2-1 thriller to Boston at Yankee Stadium Monday, because these Yankees simply aren't giving up a six-game lead (seven in the loss column) to these Red Sox.

Don't forget that Curtis Granderson looked helpless in his seventh-inning at-bat against Jon Lester. The Yankees won't. They'll make sure Granderson has no important, late-inning matchups against lefties come playoff time.

Yet if you really want to jump ahead to a hot-button issue, let's discuss this thought:

Phil Hughes could do what Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon did Monday. But Bard and Papelbon couldn't do what Hughes did.

That's why, as sexy as it sounds to put Hughes back in the bullpen this October, keeping him in the starting rotation gives the Yankees their best chance to repeat as World Series champions.

Hughes took the loss in this game that split the series, 2-2. Nevertheless, you heard only positive words about him afterward.

"He came back," Joe Girardi said, "and he really gave us a very good chance to win."

Added Jorge Posada: "He kept us in the game. He was fun to catch. He's got that kind of stuff."

That's because, when Hughes allowed the Red Sox's two runs in the second inning, a long day seemed very likely for the home team. At that juncture, Hughes had thrown 57 pitches already, 37 in the second, and you wondered how much longer he would last in the 92-degree heat.

He lasted four more innings, expending another 57 pitches to get those 12 outs. Kerry Wood, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain all worked, but none to exhaustion.

"I just tried to back off and throw quality pitches, give us some length," Hughes said. He mixed in more curveballs, and he retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced.

The modest Hughes didn't play up the mental fortitude required to hang in there on a hot day, against a tough opponent. Suffice it to say, you could see other Yankees starters not faring as well in such a scenario.

Did someone say A.J. Burnett's name? No? Anyway, he pitches Tuesday night, after getting pushed back two days because of back problems. Who would you rather have in a big postseason start, Burnett or Hughes? How about Hughes or Javier Vazquez?

Hughes easily has the stuff to match either of those veterans, and he even has some postseason experience as a reliever both last year and in 2007.

When the Yankees appeared on the verge of acquiring Cliff Lee from Seattle, they thought they'd wind up either trading Vazquez or switching Hughes to the bullpen. Making Hughes a reliever would ensure that he'd stay within his prescribed innings limit of 170-175, and it also would improve an area of concern.

However, the bridge to Mariano Rivera appears less rickety than it did even a week ago. Chamberlain has looked better since Girardi took him out of the eighth-inning role. David Robertson has pitched well for a while now. Logan serves as a perfectly good situational lefthander. And Wood has managed to clean up the messes he makes, so far.

As for the relative values of a quality starter versus a good reliever, I yield the floor to John Smoltz, who said this to Baseball Prospectus last year: "I mean, you need a good closer to get you to the playoffs, and you need a good closer to win in the playoffs, but without great starting pitchers, a closer doesn't mean a lot because you can't get to him."

We're not even talking about a closer. We're talking about a setup man. Wasting Hughes' talents in that role? Forget about it.