Hughes' spring debut gets positive reviews

BRADENTON, Fla. -- No Yankees pitcher, for a variety of reasons, is under the spotlight more this spring than Phil Hughes. The 25-year-old righthander's velocity took center stage Tuesday, and signs were encouraging.

Though Hughes struggled with his location, his fastball consistently hit 93 mph, according to scouts' readings on the radar gun. "Obviously, this year's first outing was better than last year's," Joe Girardi said. "Much better."

Hughes rarely hit 90 mph last spring, and after a 2011 season the pitcher Tuesday called "a failure," he recommitted himself to getting in shape. The 6-5, 240-pounder reported to camp two weeks early, 20 pounds lighter with what he called a better "body composition."

Hughes relieved CC Sabathia and allowed four hits and two runs, one earned, in 11/3 innings in the Yankees' 7-4 loss to the Pirates. Before the game, Girardi had a blunt assessment of how Hughes came into camp last season.

"You have to have an edge in this game," Girardi said. "If you want to stay and be consistent and continue to get better, there has to be a strong work ethic. Because someone's waiting to take your job."

Girardi, who rarely criticizes players publicly, didn't duck the question of what coming to camp out of shape might say about a player.

"There's a concern," Girardi said. "I've seen him work very hard before. It does question where their mind-set is."

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Hughes went 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 2010 before falling to 5-5, 5.79 in only 742/3 innings in an injury-plagued 2011. He said his offseason preparation for last season probably wasn't what it should have been.

"Throwing as much as I did in 2010 , maybe I thought I needed more rest than I really did in that offseason and maybe didn't push it as hard as I could have," Hughes said. "And I paid for it with a disappointing year. I don't want that to happen again."

Pitching coach Larry Rothschild called Tuesday's's outing "a positive step in the right direction."

Radar readings this time of year generally aren't important -- no one expects Michael Pineda's fastball, for instance, to stay in the 89-91 mph range, as it was in his first start Monday -- but Rothschild said Hughes can benefit from knowing he hit 93 already.

"It was good to see," said Rothschild, who added that Hughes' location wasn't great. "For his own good, it helps to know his arm strength is there."

Hughes joked "100 would be nice" for an ideal velocity for his first outing but said that consistently hitting 92 or 93 is when he's most effective.

"I'm very pleased with that," Hughes said when told scouts had him at exactly that. "Especially considering I probably didn't hit 90 last spring."

Girardi has made it clear Hughes isn't guaranteed a rotation spot -- he's said only Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda are. Expectations throughout the organization for Hughes are high, however, starting with general manager Brian Cashman, who said in the offseason he sees Hughes as a possible "top of the rotation" pitcher.

"He worked extremely hard in the winter," Girardi said. "He knows that there's a competition, nothing's going to be handed to him."

Girardi said he senses an "edge" to the typically laid-back Hughes, who is embracing the competition.

"It's all on me," Hughes said. "Everyone can want you to succeed, but at the end of the day, I have to want it and I have to go out and do it."