Kuzul

In the Yankees' world these days, good health is hardly anything to take for granted. But if we're willing to live in a fantasy world for a moment and employ ceteris paribus, or hold all things constant with good health, the Yankees have to be pleased with the performance of their top three starting pitchers so far.If CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda can avoid the injury bug, the Yankees will have a very formidable trio atop their rotation. It's those other pesky two slots in the starting rotation that are causing manager Joe Girardi and the Bombers' fans agita these days. Between homegrown products Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova, the Yankees are in a constant state of wonder and analysis attempting to figure out why their performance varies so greatly from month-to-month and even game-to-game during the course of the season.In Hughes, the Yankees have a pitcher who seems to fit the description ...

Most fans are well aware at this point of the New York Yankees' plan to cut payroll down to $189 million before the start of the 2014 season. Entering the 2013, the Yankees have at least 10 significant players on their roster that can or will be free agents after the season. Their budget plans will make it next to impossible to bring back everyone. There are players the Yanks would like to bring back but won't be given a chance to. There are players the Yanks will have no interest in re-signing. Then there are the players the Yanks absolutely want and need to bring back, but the price may dictate a different outcome. The following is a list of players for whom a big 2013 season could mean a major contract in the future.Begin Slideshow

The New York Yankees off-season has been a quiet one due to ownership implementing a new frugal stance. Instead of story-lines about signing the biggest free agents, Yankee fans were relegated to watching the realities of missing the 2013 postseason grow by the day. So as a result, fans, the media, and bloggers alike have been provided with plenty of things to grumble about. And for the first time in almost two decades, the paved regular-season road to October that the Yankees build during the off-season is no longer a smooth ride. But in reality, not all hope is lost yet; and here are three reasons why.Begin Slideshow

New York Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes was forced to leave Game 3 of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday with a stiff back, according to ESPN's Buster Olney: Phil Hughes left tonight's game with a stiff back. If the Yankees climb back into this series, his availability would be an open question.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 17, 2012  Hughes was lifted in the fourth inning after giving up a solo home run to Delmon Young and walking Andy Dirks.Hughes posted a 4.23 ERA and 1.27 WHIP while going 16-13 for the Yankees this season. He had a strong game in the Yankees' 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Game 4 of the ALDS, allowing just one run in 6.2 innings.From the poor play of Alex Rodriguez to Hughes' injury, there's been a lot of turmoil in the playoffs for a team that posted the best record in the ...

Here is one thing we can all agree on: CC Sabathia cannot pitch every day.Thankfully for the New York Yankees, neither can Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers or Jared Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels. The burning question, however, is whether the other Yankees starters can measure up to the rotations they might face during the postseason.The Yankees failed to acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline either because they felt the price  was too high or because the anticipated return of Andy Pettitte, the winningest pitcher in postseason history, will more than offset the Angels' acquisition of Zack Greinke and the Texas Rangers' trade for Ryan Dempster.Pettitte is the wild card in the Yankees' postseason expectations. He and Sabathia are accustomed to big-game situations.That cannot be said for the rest of the rotation. Hiroki Kuroda has been the most consistent starter after Sabathia, and Phil Hughes hit his stride in late June and has ...

2012 has been an up-and-down season for the New York Yankees thus far. Some players have been surprisingly hot, while some have been uncharacteristically cold. The team as a whole has gone on hot streaks and cold streaks as well, usually coinciding with the offense.Players like Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Raul Ibanez have been red-hot to start the 2012 campaign, and are really the only reason that the Yankees have managed a 20-15 record at this point in the season.  The heart of the order has stumbled out of the gate, as has the starting pitching staff as a whole, and when Mariano Rivera went down with a season-ending ACL injury, even the Yankees' greatest strength, their lock-down bullpen, took a major hit.However, as of late, things have begun to turn around for a handful of key Yankees figures. If these guys can keep moving in the ...

When the season started, things weren't looking good for Phil Hughes.He had a 1-4 record with a 7.48 ERA,  and he was pitching himself out of the rotation with poor performance after poor performance.David Phelps was attempting to pitch himself into the rotation and Andy Pettitte is returning to the Yankees on Sunday, so it seemed like only a matter of time before Hughes got demoted.A little over a week ago, I wrote a story stating that Hughes was on the verge of losing his spot when Pettitte came back to the team.Lately, it seems like Hughes may finally be turning everything around.In his last two starts, Hughes not only has given the Yankees back-to-back wins, he's given them back-to-back quality starts.On May 6, Hughes overpowered the Kansas City Royals for 6.2 innings, six hits and seven strikeouts, which was his second win of the season.And then on Saturday against ...

Phil Hughes recorded his second straight poor outing on Saturday against the Angels en route to a 7-1 loss.It took Hughes 84 pitches to record just 10 outs, and he allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks. Two of the eight hits were home runs.Rookie David Phelps—making his Yankee Stadium debut—came on in relief of the struggling Hughes.Phelps was fantastic through 5.1 innings, allowing just one run on one hit and two walks. The one run was a home run by Vernon Wells. He also struck out four.The home run by Wells was the first baserunner allowed in Phelps's young career.On the season, Phelps currently owns a 1.08 ERA over 8.1 innings. Opponents are currently hitting just .038 against him, and his WHIP currently sits at 0.36.Hughes, on the other hand, has pitched just eight innings in two starts this season. Through those starts, Hughes owns a 9.00 ...

In two starts this season, Phil Hughes has yet to show the New York Yankees that he belongs in the team's starting rotation and in turn, could be sent packing to the bullpen when Andy Pettitte returns. Hughes pitched worse than he did in his first start against the Tampa Bay Rays when he went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out five. Against the Los Angeles Angels in his second start of 2012, Hughes went 3.1 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out six. When Pettitte does make his inevitable return, it will be either Hughes or veteran Freddy Garcia that will get the boot since, at the moment, they are the Yanks' two worst starters. Hughes has the advantage over Garcia because of his age and upside, but if Garcia can prove that he ...

HIROKI KURODA vs. ERVIN SANTANA compared to C.J. WILSON vs. PHIL HUGHES: If you looked at Kuroda and Santana’s career stats vs. the active hitters prior to yesterday’s game, the Yankee win was already a lock. Not taking anything away from Kuroda, but no one foreseen a less than an inning away from a complete game performance considering his last and only two both took place in 2008. Kuroda also did have some success and experience against Angels Albert Pujols back when he was a Dodger, and that is advantage that the other Yankee starters don’t have. As for Santana, the majority of the Yankees bats have always whacked the heck out of him except for Swisher, he came into the game with a career .182 average against him. Swisher came into yesterday with a hot and confident bat, which proved lethal. Still, as a whole the Yankees had hit almost .300 against ...