Now that we got a couple contests out of the way it’s back to baseball. Well, actually I never really talk much baseball on here. In case you were curious position players joined the pitchers and catchers today for the first full squad workout. It was a zoo in the clubhouse with all the media and guys getting settled in.
Picture day is tomorrow so I have an early morning ahead of me. I’ll talk to everyone again soon.
The Phil Hughes Weblog 
dont forget to shave buddy…
Phil,
I wanted to tell you thank you for being such a great guy and interacting with us fans. Not many players are willing to do a thing such as this blog, especially one as good as you. Good luck this season and with the rest of your career.
Thanks,
BronxBomba
whats business without alittle fun?!
Is that when they take the team picture?
-Greg
Good luck tomorrow 34.
Big smile for the camera ….say “cheese”. You have made many people happy Phil and you haven’t even started pitching yet ..then we will be overjoyed !!!
Nothing better than a great athlete who’s a terrific person too. Your parents did a great job ….congrats to them !!!…
I’ll be in Tampa to see the Yanks April 14th & 15th …I hope you get to pitch one of the games …. :o). I’ll see a few games before then in Yankee Stadium …Opening Day included …I can’t wait for the season to start …
Go Yankees 2008 !!!!!
Sleep well, and wear the clean uniform tomorrow.
who do you hang out with the most around the clubhouse, especially out of the older players that you didn’t come up with? how does everyone feel about the more intensive workouts this year?
by the way, thanks a lot for having this blog and posting contests. it was great following you since trenton! (seems so long ago, huh?) i’m looking forward to watching your major league career (hopefully in pinstripes the whole time!)
Thanks for the awesome contests Phil.
It feels good to talk about baseball again. I love this time of year.
Phil-
I was wondering it you “younger” guys played any good pranks/jokes on each other or the veterans? Any funny locker room stories? I can only imagine… Good luck with your picture…my school pictures never turned out well! Hope your luck is better!
phil i took some nice shots of you during the workouts this past week, let me know if you’d like to see some… i got you and farnsworth chilling on the grass before a drill and some other stuff
picture day! ooo how fun? haha by the way. a random question. dont have to answer. but ive been curious. if you werent playing baseball and making it your career. what else would you be doing? or trying to pursue?
yea giambinyy25fan that would be great…. phughes34@gmail.com
Somebody out there get some photos of Phil, Joba and Ian together!!!
REST UP! I can’t wait to hear Girardi tomorrow! I’m sure you will take a good picture. 🙂
Have fun at picture day. What is Ron Guidry doing down in Tampa, is he a special instructor or something? Thanks. Kevin
Hopefully they get some photos of the Yankee Tri-force of Hughes/Kennedy/Chamberlain… If they do I am buying one to hope I can get all of them to sign it!
Phil, Joba said his best pitch has been the changeup so far in Spring Training, do you have a pitch right now that you feel has been better than before?
Matt
I realize in my earlier comment in this post I sound a bit stalkerish.
I would like to clear up that I’m not, in fact, a stalker. Fan? Yes. Obsessive? Probably. Stalker? No.
can i get a zoolander pose for my desktop pic?
Tell the photographer not to make them look like the mug shots they have in the past. 😆
hey Phil heard you and Joba joined Pettitte for some of his famous workouts, how did that go?
http://aroundthemajors.blogspot.com/
I’d love to know how those workouts with Andy went yesterday. 🙂
They went well. Joba, Ian, and myself are going to make it an everyday thing.
Rebecca,
wasn’t going to call you on it, but….. 🙂
Dynasty: You have no idea how red my face is right now… :-[
Good to hear, Phil. Don’t let Andy kill any of you with them, no matter how much he has his eye on that additional rotation spot. 😉
I’ll take it all your pitches have felt comfortable so far. 🙂
Big smiles Phil!
Are you guys going to make the full workout that Andy does or half (which is still killer, based on your quotes)?
R,
Don’t sweat it. People in glass houses…..
I’d be embarrassed to admit the level of my (very normal and healthy, ahem) fanhood.
Andy will be the mama duck with her 3 goslings. 🙂
Give us a run down of what some of those exercises consist of. You only see bits and pieces on TV and don’t get a full appreciation of what goes into it.
I’m so glad life in Yankeeville is back to normal. Andy taking players under his wings. Mike also teaching the younger pitchers. Life in Yankee land is good.
I am going on the Tour this weekend, and I cannot wait!! I have my new memory card ready!!
Dynasty: See the problem with that, though, is that I LITERALLY live in a Glass house.
(If you’re confused just check out my facebook profile…http://syr.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5501136)
yankeechick, have fun. i went 2 summers ago.
lol rebecca.
bethnyyfan,
Andy AND Moose! It’s like those two appointed themselves the official pitcher-mentors. I love hearing all the little nuggets, especially about Moose and his newfound (?) desire to take everyone under his wing. The locker-switching cracked me up. It seems to me, from everything that I’ve heard, that there’s team chemistry to spare this year, which, as a fan, makes me more excited than anything else. Chemistry is what wins championships (Bronx Zoo not withstanding)
R,
Ah, well, at least you’re not the one attempting to throw stones (that would be me 😉 )
I knew you went to SU, so I don’t know why I didn’t mention this on LJ, but I went to LeMoyne.
I think Mike always wanted to help the young pitchers, but he let them seek him out. As opposed to this year it seems like he is seeking out them.
hey phil, I think it would cool if you talked about the stuff you guys do during spring training on your blog. I would love to hear about what goes into being a major league ballplayer. Let us live vicariously through you!
I’ve got an 11 year who is living vicariously through what you share. By virtue of his parents, good chance he was going to be a Yankee fan for life but you are cultivating a lifelong Phil Hughes fan too.
Thanks for sharing.
Dynasty: Awesome! Could totally do without the weather, though.
Phil, would you consider yourself to be close friends with any of the big guys so far in camp, like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mo Rivera, etc.(those type of guys)?
R,
Well, I was used to it because I grew up (and still live) in Rochester, but it’s pretty miserable. In some ways it’s worse than what I was used to, because the snow is more constant. It’s just steady snow all winter long. I was lucky at LeMoyne, though, because our campus was small so we didn’t have far to walk, but I used to party at SU fresh-soph years and it’s rough to get where you want to go. Great campus, though!
Dynasty: No kidding, and I live off campus which makes the walk crazy long.
I am looking forward to the pictueres!
Hey there rebecca, how are things.
settes: They’re pretty good…and yourself?
Good, I just moved out to Los Angeles, so maybe Phil could tell me some places in southern California to check out if he’s still reading…
I assume it’s warm in LA. Which means, I am now very, very jealous of you.
Thanks for the contests Phil.
sounds like you, joba, ian, and shelley are good friends?
Actually it’s pretty chilly, 50 degrees or so
Any rookie hazings or pranks going on in the clubhouse?
That one about Kyle Kendrick was pretty funny.
wudup phil. we’ve showed you a tremendous amount of love at the iYankees Blog. you should stop by sometime. keep up the good work.
http://www.thebronxzoo.wordpress.com
Phil, I know you are a baseball card kind of guy. Me and a friend do a baseball card blog about what we buy, and we’re trying to add more to it. If you have a chance check it out, and everyone is welcome to stop by.
Come by and comment, let us know what you collect and if you want to trade stuff. =)
http://cardboardproblem.blogspot.com/
settes: Still warmer than the 26 it is here.
Settes: Still warmer than the 26 it is here!
Thanks for giving us all a chance !!!!
Have a great day tomorrow !
Yeah I dont miss that
hey phil,hope you have a good day tomorrow.my nephew will be there again tomorrow.the other day he got his picture taken with shelly duncan and an autograph. when i told him i post on your blog he is like i gotta get his autograph,lol. enjoy the day and practice.
I love that Phil reads all the comments and then leaves some of his own!! This blog rocks!!!
No doubt a zoo with the animals of the press there. Nice that all the guys are together and ready for the season ahead. Whatever you do, please do not look like one of those scowling mug shots. And you’re not hockey players so you all have your teeth and can smile!
Thanks for being such a great person and interacting w/ the fans Phil! I want to wish you and the Yankees the best. GO YANKEES!!!!
Yes, it’s great to read about Andy and Moose mentoring the young pitchers. I think that there is much to learn from those two.
Phil, Yankee fans are SO excited about this year. We kept our “big 3” and the vets re-signed. We’re all excited to have Joe Girardi at the helm, he was a fantastic field manager when he was the catcher and I loved to hear Hank compare him to “Billy Martin without the baggage” as Billy was brilliant.
At the beginning of the off season (which started too soon), we were in complete turmoil. Would we be able to re-sign Mo and Po and Andy? Arod is walking! Torre refuses the contract! The Santana sweepstakes begin (thankfully the Twinkies overplayed their hand and we sat pat!) and we had to consider losing you or Ian and Melky and who knows who else? Then there was the Mitchell report which is not comprehensive and focuses (unfairly) heavily on the Yankees….we were all reeling!
Then slowly it all came back together and all was right again. How it all unfolded was a drama for the ages in Yankee fan land. And there have been plenty of dramas over the years in Yankeeland but this was crazy.
I know your family had a ban on baseball talk over the Christmas holidays….mine did too and we are NUTS about baseball esp the Yankees. But we were unsure and unhappy over a lot of the off season.
But now all is well….Mo, Po and Andy re-signed…Arod is here for 10 years and hopefully we get to watch him smash all kinds of records…we kept our BIG THREE which everyone is SO excited about…..and it’s the last year at the House That Ruth Built….and spring training is getting underway.
THE FANS ARE SO EXCITED NOW!!! What a relief…what a change from how depressed we were for a few months.
Best of luck to you guys, especially you young guys….see you in the Bronx!!!!
Sorry for going on and on…I’m just so excited for this season as are all Yankee fans I know. And thank you for giving us an outlet to talk about the team which we love.
LETS GO YANKEES! CLAP CLAP CLAP!
~ Beth
Phil, I have a question for you. What do you think when the NY papers say they should have traded for Santana? Do you feel you can be a # 1 starter within the next 2 years? Also, Do you feel the innings limit put on young pitchers helps or hurts them in the longrun?
Thanks.
I’m really glad we didn’t trade you for Santana, Phil. (And I’m not just saying that to kiss up to ya. :P) I’m having a lot of fun reading your blog and all the fans comments. It’s awesome to interact with someone who lots of fans look up to! Thank you for doing this blog and have fun at spring training today.
Phil,
First time posting read the blog all the time. I wanted to say thank you for allowing us to be a part of your professional life. My family is all Yankees fans beginning from the days my grandfather made his way to the NYC from Italy. My father and I are huge fans and so happy to see you on board. I remember the day/minute you were drafted call my father and told everybody around me, “just remember the name, Phil Hughes” I can’t wait to see you pitch this year. Best of luck and we are all behind you!
Phil
I’ll be at LEGENDS on Sat. hope to get some good Pic’s of you & the some of the other guys & maybe a ball LOL
phil,
i was wondering, which american league stadium has been the worst for you so far? by that i don’t mean atmosphere, i mean worst field/clubhouse/dugout conditions. not trying to knock Tampa/St. Pete, but the Trop barely edges out the Metrodome as the worst I’ve ever been to…
smile big for the pictures today phil! hope it’s warm down there in sunny florida… only 30 degrees here in southern virginia brrrr!!
glad to hear that andy is teaching you some great workouts… i know that when he worked out with roger, it seemed to really help his pitching.. thanks again for the blog. keep us updated on the behind the scenes stuff.. =)
Hey Phil is there a way I can contact you to set up a Q&A session?
Robert Pimpsner
rpimpsner@baby-bombers.com
Hey Phil was Big Mark taking the pics also tell Vinny to have your #34 clean and pressed,LOL
Rebecca/Settes,
21 degrees in Chicago, and snowing AGAIN…. man, I can’t wait for games to start (and snow to stop…).
Phil, enjoy the warmth…
its great to finally get to some baseball well soon anyway . hope the reporters give andy a break, he need the brave and right thing by tellin the truth so i hope andy now can focase on the team. this year should be very interestin with u young talented guys
Hey Phil I’m bummed I missed the contests but hey congrats to those who won, awesome prizes. But I just wanted to say kick some @ss this season and know that everybody north of DC is pretty jealous you all are in Florida, I’m in Vermont, its single digits and we’re bracing for yet another snow storm. Enjoy the sun and don’t forget the SPF.
I’m in New york and its pretty cold but in march im going to spring training down in tampa so i get to see you play and get to enjoy nice weather!
Phil Thanks for the insite and getting us closer that we ever would hope to get into the interworkings!
Phil, when do pitchers start throwing live BP? I’m very excited to see what the veterans have to say about you this year.
Don’t get any ketchup on your jersey!
Phil, I can’t wait to see you lead this young group of pitchers into the new Yankee stadium and create many new memories for Yankee fans. Good luck this season…..
Check out these EXCLUSIVE scandalous pics from spring training today. Phil, did you see these?
CLICK HERE
Hey Phil,
Any chance you could get a picture of that window I keep reading about next to your locker? Words just don’t do it justice.
Have fun Pitching BP!
You must be so excited about getting started down there with the team. Getting out there in the warm weather and playing ball after a long off-season is the stuff you live for. I know I enjoyed it (even though I only played high school and college ball). You are so blessed to have the talent to play baseball for a living! I hope you have enough fun for the rest of us who wish we were in your shoes:) Take care and have a good time tomorrow!
good call jyates129,
a pic of the window/ocean decor would be awesome…lol
I’ve been coming out to Tampa since mid January to support you guys. Is it weird to see how much the “crazyness level” raises once guys like Alex report to camp? I swear when he showed up, he brought 500 fans there just for him. You’re really great with the fans, thanks Phil!!!
This is so cool. A Yankee talking to us in a blog.
YankeesDaily
phil i figure you’ve been in Tampa each Spring the past few years, thought I’d ask….. what’s the best place to eat around there? i was there last year, and im going again this year, so i wanted to know
phil, you are the man! keep up the good work!
Any perdictions on how many games you will win this year? Who on the staff is the most help to you with pitching?
I think the Yankees will be very happy they did not trade you good luck this season. Very cool blog.
Phil, Good luck with picture day. the key to a good picture is not to smile too big….
Yeah… when it comes to team pictures, I always used to go for the ‘international soccer crouch’, regardless of the sport. A mean face is always better than a smile. Just ask the ladies….
Ahhhhh… What a life it must be. A single, nice looking fella, known as the future ace and savior of the New York Yankees. You must have to beat the womens away with Giambi’s used game-day socks, Phil !!!
descriptive, no?
Do they take your baseball card pictures now too?
Phil, Who you like on Survivor?
Phil, this picture of you is absolutely wonderful
http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?src=quick&contractUrl=1&family=editorial&phrase=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20yankees#
(Found the link through LoHud)
Sorry, meant here
http://cache1.gettyimages.com/xc/79899201.jpg?v=1&c=NewsMaker&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1935FB17706AA75D20181445BB90DA234A3E30A760B0D811297
Hey Rebecca are you stealing my thunder? 😛
Hi Phil – I think it’s amazing that you have a blog and interact with your fans on a regular basis – it’s a nice change of pace for the professional sports world, and a sign that you are a very grounded individual. I am very excited about the upcoming Yankee season, and this is largely because Cashman stuck to his guns and held onto you, Ian, and Joba. It was the right move in so many ways, and the future will prove so. Keep up the good work.
Also, I have my own Yankee blog on WordPress: http://projecta13.wordpress.com – I am going to put your site in my Blogroll tonight. If you have the time, check it out (it received quite a bit of attention in the NY Media last year for its over-the-top support of A-Rod, but I have toned it down this season – just straight up reporting on A-Rod and the 2008 Yankees). I would be honered to be in your Blogroll, but that’s entirely up to you. Good luck this season, and I hope to hear from you.
Hey! I’m from Taiwan. I’m 14. this is the 4th year I’ve been watching baseball.
I love baseball , and of course the yankees.
Just hope you all have a great year.
I just hope one day I can see the game in yankee stadium.
Phil, you are one lucky man not to be in NY today. NYC finally got its first snow storm man.
Milkwazabadchoice: You are NOT kidding!!!! It is snowing like crazy.
Dreaming of summer Saturdays in the Bronx,
~ Beth
Seriously, that workout sounds intense! Any chance you could get someone to publish the regimen so I could use it at my gym? Also, any thoughts about taking a picture of that fake window by your locker and posting it on the blog? Have fun in the sun today, its snowing and gross up in Boston.
Great article about Phil on Yankees.com, seems like everyone is hungry this year, coming into camp in shape. It says Phil is leading all the sprints, way to be!
wooo, front of mlb.com today has an article on phil
Hey Phil, I read on yankees.com you are getting your velocity back. I’m looking forward to you pitching soon. Keep up the good work. Hope you help us bring home 27!
Said manager Joe Girardi: “You watch him and he leads the groups in running. He just looks like an athlete, a thoroughbred and a leader.” (about phil)
the article goes on further about the whole johan deal… but we’re happy to keep you phil
I just read on Yankees.com that Molina and Posada noted that your velocity has increased.
I think your first full initial season in the big leagues is going to be huge. In 5 or 6 years when Santana’s career will begin to go the other way, the Yankees will be so happy that they have a young pitcher who’s about to enter the peak years of his career.
At the end, you may go down as the greatest Yankee pitcher of them all.
I just finished reading the article on Yankees.com and like a few people have already said, it’s a well put together article on you Phil!
Although some of the press already has our rotation behind the BoSox, I think you, the rest of the rotation & the pen are going to be a force to be reckoned with! Keep up the great work and can’t wait to watch you and the whole team in action in two weeks when I get away from the snow in NJ and head down to the sunny weather of Tampa!
Phil, it looks like you are off to a great start this spring. Keep it up!
Opening Day starting pitcher… Phil Hughes. I’d love to see it! It would be so fitting after all the trade talks.
Hey Phil,
Your one of the best pitchers I have ever seen pitch!
I went on the yankees website http://www.yankees.com and heard you are getting better velocity!
Good Luck in 08!!
My favorite number is 27 ;-] get it!!!
Phil is our guy.
In Phil we trust.
World Series, here we go.
picture day!! that was on Yankees on Deck last year.
Hey Phil…….I cannot tell you how excited I am that baseball is FINALLY back!! I just finished reading an article on my Yankee Homepage about you. I hear Molina says you “Have more pop” (in your pitches) this year! And, Posada agrees! NICE. VERY NICE. Girardi even said you lead the group in running and commented on how you look like a leader. It is very exciting to hear that you are starting the season feeling more comfortable and trusting yourself on the mound. And your comment on earning every bit of what you want is SO true. For everything in life~
I am counting down the days until Opening Day! I just can’t wait to go to a game and see you pitch!
~Rebecca Rowe
Phil, you guys all look great in your pics. Tell Joba he looks great, he seems to be in great shape this season. Your pics came out great, I like the serious ones.
So far about 8-9″ of snow here in the Lower Hudson Valley area. And it’s still coming down like mad. Can’t wait to be in Tampa in a few weeks.
Phil
They’re saying you got more POP on the ball….see you tomorrow
wow, congrats on the article about you on the nyy site! good to see they are saying wonderful things about you…keep up the great work!
I loved reading the article but it reminded of that horrible night in Texas. We were drunk (not literally) with joy over the prospect of our rookie phenom pitching a no-hitter and then pop went the hamstring. I remember feeling crushed that night….like nothing could go right in this season.
I’m so happy to hear you’ve got more of the RIGHT POP, Phil. Here’s to a successful 2008!!!
~ Beth (in cold and snowy NYC!!!)
Pfft, you all think 9-10 inches of snow is something?
Amateurs.
(says the girl stuck in Syracuse)
hope they take nice pics of you
Well, I wish you good luk this season]
me 2