On his blog this week Phil Hughes announced that he has been pain free for nearly a week and will begin his rehab assignment soon.

The following day Joe Girardi responded to that comment when he announced that Hughes would undergo a bone scan this week. Assuming that would go well he set an approximate timeline for the 21-year-old's return to the Bronx.

"You're talking about six weeks, at least, (once he's cleared)," Joe Girardi said to the NY Daily News. "Maybe quicker. But he's been off awhile."

That time frame puts him at the end of July or more likely the beginning of August for his return. But with Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and Joba Chamberlain entrenched in the rotation and Darrell Rasner and Ian Kennedy battling for the final spot Hughes won't exactly have a rotation spot waiting.

Hopefully this will force the Yankees to at least consider moving Hughes to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. There are other reasons to consider keeping him in the pen past this season as well.

The first reason to move him immediately is that there is simply no room for him in the rotation. Before his last start, Rasner has been pitching very well registering quality starts in five of his previous six starts. Even after getting shelled by Oakland yesterday he has decent numbers with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Even if he does remind too many Yankee fans of Aaron Small or Shawn Chacon the Bombers should try to ride his wave as long as they can.

Besides they have Kennedy to fall back on. Kennedy has been on the DL since May 28, but has already begun to rehab after straining his right lat muscle and should return soon. There is no guarantee he will return to the majors once he is ready, but since his initial demotion to the minors Kennedy has pitched better and the Yankees may try to take advantage of that.

Whether or not there is room for Hughes in the rotation could be irrelevant. Throughout his short major league career we have seen a decent fastball and a strong curve, but little else. It has been his failure to use his changeup effectively and his lack of any other quality pitches has driven up pitch counts and kept him from going deep into games. Keeping him in the bullpen, where he would primarily throw two pitches anyways, could be what changes his career.

The last and perhaps most important reason to keep out of the rotation could be his injury history. Since he was drafted 23rd overall in 2004 he has pitched just one season injury free. Not all of them are major injuries to be worried about, but when you add them up he seems to be quite injury prone.

In July 2004, Hughes is shutdown the day after his first professional start because of elbow stiffness. Then in August he breaks his toe while running in his hotel room. He pitches just five innings that year. In June of 2005 he is placed on the DL with shoulder tendonitis. In 2007 he pops his hamstring just two starts into his major league career. Then he suffers an ankle sprain while rehabbing from that injury.

This year of course everyone remembers his mysterious broken rib, which was probably self-inflicted when he threw himself down the stairs in frustration of a terrible season.

With such a long track record in such a small period of time it is certainly debatable that this kid could be the next Carl Pavano. Not a good sign. Once he returns he should be given an opportunity to show what he can do as a setup man before hopefully taking over Joba's former role as the eight inning guy.

By pitching out of the bullpen Hughes will be putting less innings on his arm each year while still getting the chance to workout his stuff at the major league level if starting is in his long-term plans. With his fastball/curveball combo and his injury history putting him in the bullpen could be what's best for his career. Who knows? Maybe he could be one hell of a closer one day.

Just when it seems like the Rangers were healthy again they find out that Sean Avery is going to require surgery for his wrist according to Steve Zipay's Newsday Blog.

Avery did not skate yesterday in practice and instead took the day off to have a CAT scan on the wrist, but it was just supposed to be precautionary. He skated today without shooting, but after results of the scan came in it was determined he has been playing with a fractured wrist.

There is no word on exactly how long he'll be out. "Hopefully, it'll only be a week or two," he told Zipay. "But I don't live in a reality world."

Speculation into this particular rumor has sparked much debate among fans. Many see him as the next Arod, pointing to the fact that at just 24 years of age he has compiled amazing stats like 138 homeruns and a career .929 OPS. Cabrera would certainly fit into the middle of the Yankees lineup well and at the same time provide the much needed right handed power threat they are going to need.

Miguel CabreraAt the same time fans critical of the deal are certainly right in their concerns pointing to his lack of defense and the self discipline to keep himself in shape as causes for concern. What good is Cabrera going to be for the Yankees if he enjoys the New York nightlife more the pressure and expectations of winning?

On Tuesday Cabrera's former manager Joe Girardi chimed in on the debate. "I didn't have any problems with him. He worked hard for me," Girardi told the NY Times. Girardi also told the NY Daily News, "I had him and I know what he did for me. He's a great player and a smart player. He really understands the game of baseball. I loved having him."

This off-season there are many teams in need of starting pitching, but the best free agent starters are all over the age of 40. This is leading many teams to sift through trade possibilities.

Scott Kazmir MetsThe biggest names of pitchers who might be traded are Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins and Rich Harden of the Oakland Athletics and now apparently Kasmir.

With so many rumors surrounding the Twins and Santana the Devil Rays are thinking that they could get as much or more for a player still under control for the next three seasons as opposed to Santana who will be a free agent a year from now.

The reason they may want more prospects is because they have a very strong group of young offensive players but a complete lack of a decent pitching staff. Figuring it may take two to three more years to compete they are now looking into trading Kazmir for pitchers who will be ready in that time span. Unlike Kazmir who will be just about set to leave via free agency by then.

The New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

Prucha beats BrodeurPetr Prucha has been spending most of his time this season on the third line with rookies Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan, but was the hero of the game Saturday while skating on a line with stars Scott Gomez and Sean Avery.

Prucha assisted on Gomez' goal in the first period and won the game during the shootout with a shot over the left shoulder of Devil's goalie Martin Brodeur.

This was not the first time Prucha notched the game winner in a shootout against Brodeur. As a rookie he won a game on November 5 when he beat the future hall-of-fame goalie between his legs. That season Prucha got attention as he scored 30 goals, but up till this point this season he has not looked anything like that promising young star. Going into Saturday night's game he had only one goal and one assist.

Many Prucha fans have been disappointed with the playing time the speedster has been receiving and blame that on his poor results statistically. Critics have said if he scored once and a while on the third line he would be given more opportunities to skate on the top two lines.

Once the Yankees turn their search outward World Series MVP and brief member of the 1998 championship team, Mike Lowell, will get a good look. Lowell was once a throw in player in the deal that sent Josh Beckett to Boston, but is coming off one of his strongest seasons of his career. Lowell set career highs hitting .324 with 120 RBI's.

A big trade rumor surfacing lately has been involving Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera has a lot of upside, he'll be 25 years old next season and the career .313 hitter is coming off a season with fine numbers yet again hitting .320 with 34 homeruns and 119 RBI's. He is also a very patient hitter at the plate, however there are concerns about his defense and many people question his commitment to keeping himself in peak physical condition.

The Marlins may also be motivated to trade him. He's likely going to earn $11 million next season through arbitration, and as ridiculous as it seems, the cheap-fish are rumored to be going after both Arod and Barry Bonds so they will need to trim payroll to afford either.

Scoring continues to be a problem as the New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at home at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

Despite Lundqvist giving up three goals in this game the offense was definitely to blame for this loss. The Rangers out shot Toronto and had better chances, but were never able to capitalize. This is only the third time in 10 games that Lundqvist allowed three goals or more and top offensive players, Jagr, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Brendan Shanahan, have merely six goals combined over that span. Through 10 games last season the quartet had 25 goals between them.

Jorge Posada made his major league debut September 4, 1995 and has given his all since then. A $40 million three-year offer is a very good start, but the team should be prepared to offer more if that is what it is going to take to avoid the chasm which would be left behind in his absence.

If the Yankees miss-out on bringing Posada back, replacing him will not be easy. They will not be able to quickly replace him from within the organization and the free-agent market is looking very bare.

Joe Torre turned down a one-year offer to manage the Yankees next season on Thursday October 18 because he believed the offer was insulting.

The offer was the ultimate result of a statement made before game three of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians by George Steinbrenner. He said that if the Yankees did not advance past the Indians in the first round of the playoffs Torre would not be brought back next season.

Now in the post-Torre era the Yankees have turned their attention toward hiring a new manager. Bench coach and former team captain Don Mattingly seems to be the internal favorite, but General Manager Brian Cashman has said the Yanks will interview five or six people for the job and have not yet made a decision.

Not only did the Rangers suffer their first loss of the season, but midway through the first period Ottawa Winger Chris Neil landed a hard hit on Sean Avery knocking him to the ice. Avery got up and was clearly favoring his left arm and immediately went to the Rangers locker-room. He would not return during the game. Neil was given an elbowing penalty for the questionable hit.

Clemens stood, face downcast, on the mound as Torre walked out to take the ball from him, Alex Rodriguez gave him a pat on the backside and scattered boos gave way to loud cheering as fans realized this might be the last time they'd see the 354 game winner walk-off that mound. Clemens received pats on the back from teammates in the dugout as he quickly left the stadium never looking up and not once looking back.

After a disappointing start against the Seattle Mariners Roger Clemens was in need of a MRI to check on his elbow which only lasted four innings and 62 pitches yesterday.

Right now the best case scenario is the Rocket only misses one start then can come back to help the Yanks to the playoffs. Worst case scenario is that his season, and possibly the bombers, is over earlier than planned.

The player likely to replace Clemens even if it is only for one start is Mike Mussina who made his first relief appearance of his career yesterday. His outing was less than stellar but it was something to build on. In 3.2 innings he allowed 7 hits and 2 runs while walking none and striking out a single batter.

Since Clemens will most likely miss at least one time around the Moose's next start will likely be on Sunday in Kansas against the Royals. The young team should be a good matchup for Mussina who has faced them twice this season winning both games with a 2.31 ERA.

Should Roger miss an extended period of time the Yanks will be forced to relay on Mussina more than they planned which could be a problem if Ian Kennedy's first appearance was a bit of beginners luck. Should Kennedy struggle the Yankees will have to turn back to their farm-system which could mean picking somebody like Kei Igawa, Jeff Karstens, or Matt DeSalvo. Those are moves the Yanks would wish to avoid as they continue their run for the wild-card.

New York Yankees first baseman Andy Phillips will miss the rest of the season and will need surgery to repair a fractured wrist after being hit on the right hand Sunday.

Now that he is faced with the possibility of missing the remainder of the season the Yankees will turn to Jason Giambi who lately has been all leather.

When the Giambino does sit or DH the team will continue to turn to Wilson Betemit at first and even go back to Mientkiewicz. Doug Alphabet, who has finally recovered from a broken wrist and concussion he sustained after running into Red Sox Mike Lowell at first base on June 2nd, was recalled September 1st when the rosters were expanded to 40 players.

Coming off two disappointing starts against the Angels and Tigers Mike Mussina had a lot to prove last night then proceeded to get stomped for six runs in three innings in Detroit.

Before the start Mussina was asked if he was worried about loosing his spot in the rotation and mockingly replied to the NY Post, "Who would they replace me with?"

The answer is not much of a joke anymore: Matt DeSalvo, Kei Igawa, Ian Kennedy, or Steven White.