Decentralizing, baby.

Phil Hughes out at least 4-6 more weeks before he can even step on a mound, thanks to his ankle sprain that was only supposed to keep him out a couple days.



Per Rotoworld.

Who does Brian Cashman think he is? J.P. Ricciardi?

if you had asked me yesterday the yankees rotation looked like this:

mussina, wang, pettite, clemens, clippard.

now that clemens is out for monday (and maybe more) it probably looks like this:

mussina, wang, pette, clippard, desalvo/igawa/??? (Desalvo has to sit in AAA for 10 days before he gets called back up)

I believe they will be allowed to call DeSalvo back up if someone goes on the DL. They could always DL Mientkiewicz since if he has a concussion he should miss at least a few weeks and have DeSalvo take his spot, and then send Britton down and call up one of the Duncans or Andy Phillips to back up Phelps (although they would have to clear a spot on the 40 for any of those guys).

from what i've heard on sprots radio, DeSalvo will be recalled and Minky will head to the DL, so that leaves Phelps as the only first baseman on the roster (I looked at their 40 man and they do have a first baseman and a middle infielder but no major league experiance)

They should pitch Kei Igawa. I mean, at least see if you can get him to do decently so that you can trade him to the NL.

He's under contract through 2011 - nobody would even want him anyway.

EDIT: It may be 2012, if he has an arbitration year after this deal expires. Either way, he won't be in high demand.

igawa pitched today for scranton. they wanted to finish reworking his mechanics. after 7 innings of work today (3 runs, 2 earned, 6 hits, 2 walks, 9 Ks), he appears as ready as he's gonna be for a return to the rotation next weekend.

clippard could pitch monday in chicago and chase wright would fill an empty spot on tuesday. if you discount clemens, the rotation could settle into something like this: pettitte, wang, moose, igawa and either clippard or wright.

the only reason to activate clemens at this point is if yankee management thinks it has a team capable of contending for the wild-card. otherwise, they have to think about -- i hate to use the word "rebuilding" -- maybe "transitioning" works better.

pettitte could walk away from this mess at the end of the season, too. and wouldn't it be ironic if clemens -- the guy who can't quit baseball -- found that baseball quit on him first? if the yankees back off, who would want him?

DeSalvo is going to pitch Monday. They can recall him, even though he's been down less than 10 days, because of Mientkiewicz going on the DL.