Thoughts On Hughes's Good Start & The Postseason Rotation

Has Phil Hughes finally turned the corner? He seems to have, although there have been times in the past when when that corner was in the rear view mirror. His last couple of starts have been encouraging and last night's was even more so. I loved the fact that he gave the Yankees 7 strong innings and helped them keep the lead in a close 2-1 game. He made one mistake, a home run to Hechevarria. He also reached a milestone, with his 500th career strikeout.

It seems as if Hughes and Ivan Nova are in a competition to make the postseason roster.Unless Freddy Garcia gets hurt, only one of them will make it. So, assuming Andy Pettitte returns from his injury, we are looking at a postseason rotation of Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte and Garcia in the first round. (I believe Garcia will get the nod as the 4th starter based on his track record.) Either Hughes or Nova will be added if there is a second round. Of course, that all goes out the window if Pettitte fails to return. 

But the postseason isn't here yet and, if you fed me truth serum, I would say that there is a chance the Yankees won't even make the playoffs. There is still more than a month's worth of games to be played, and anything can happen.

Other Notes:

* Speaking of Pettitte, it was good to hear that he threw more than 60 pitches yesterday and that he will be on a mound very soon. The Yankees are hoping he gets in about 2 starts before the playoffs. I just hope there are no setbacks.

* It was also good to hear that Alex Rodriguez might be making his first rehab start this weekend. It sounds to me like he might be back with the Yankees before the middle of September.

* I was wondering why Mark Teixeira wasn't put on the DL, since he is expected to be out around 2 weeks with that calf strain. But I forgot that Saturday is September 1, the day the rosters are allowed to expand. September already. Where did the season go?

* When I heard that Rafael Soriano left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters after his blown save the other night, I was really disappointed in him. After all, this is the second time this has happened. On Twitter yesterday I was calling for him to be disciplined. But the Yankees seemed to have led it slide, probably because of the year he is having. They did the right thing.