Hey Girardi: Here’s What To Do With Wang And Hughes

It’s one of the big questions hovering over the Yankees these days…who should get the 5th starter’s spot -- Chien Ming Wang or Phil Hughes?

After watching most of CMW’s recent starts…and thereby most of Phil Hughes’ extended relief appearances…I believe I have the answer, and it’s an unconventional one.

Until Wang proves himself capable of throwing a reliable (and competitive) six innings, the Yankees should make the #5 spot a two-headed monster.

On days when Chien Ming Wang is scheduled to start, tell him he’s only expected to pitch four innings. No more. On those same days, instruct Hughes that he’s expected to follow with four innings of relief. Those inning totals are FIRM...no room for negotiation.

Hughes can prepare in the bullpen as if he’s going to start. As a result of him knowing EXACTLY when he’ll enter the game (the start of the fifth inning), he can go through his warm-up routine as if he were the starter.

In theory, this would get the Yankees to Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning having only used two pitchers…essentially giving the bullpen a night off. The automatic “bullpen night off” is usually only a given when your ace is on the hill. Imagine getting that guarantee from your 5th starter(s).

It seems lately that Wang has really hit the wall after the fourth inning, often costing the Yankees runs and at times even a game (June 17th vs. Washington comes to mind).

Hughes has pitched well in a relief role, but clearly wants to start. By giving him a pseudo-start in the 5th, the Yanks can keep him working with a starter’s mentality.

This should foster a natural competition between Wang and Hughes, and after a few rounds of this arrangement the Bombers can tally the results and reassess.

Maybe one pitcher will surpass the other and claim the spot for himself. Maybe both will struggle.

Or maybe having the pair work in pre-determined four inning chunks will work well and spawn a whole new line of thinking when it comes to establishing a starting a rotation.

Obviously this is a work in progress and I haven’t worked out all the kinks, but I think it could be the foundation for an innovative idea – something that’s rare to come by these days in baseball.

Unconventional? Yes. But so was Tony LaRussa when he came in the league. Same with Billy Beane when he introduced his “moneyball” strategy.

We’re visionaries. It’s what we do.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle