Phil Hughes or Soul Sacrifice

Okay, another baseball post. But, after all, it is wintertime.

I've been on the fence with the idea of the Yankees trading the Melk-man and Phil Hughes for Johann Santana since it became clear that a Cabrera/Kennedy deal wasn't going to do it for the Twinkies.

But in the past few days I've grown more and more nervous about the Yankees losing Hughes. Particularly when you see what the Red Sox are offering, it's clear they don't want Santana, they just want the Yanks to overpay.

I know Santana is the best pitcher in the AL right now and while Hughes is no longer "a prospect" -- he's shown he can get ML hitters out -- he probably won't live up to the amazing hype that's accompanied his fast rise through the minors.

I know the Yankees need to win every year and the owners demand nothing short of a World Serious ring for their chubby fingers. Santana will draw them closer to that goal than will Hughes next year, in all likelihood. But beyond that?

The outpouring from teammates and the fans are what persuaded Andy Pettittte to pitch one more year. A lot of that outpouring wasn't just because Pettitte is still one of the best left-handers in baseball. It's also because we watched Andy grow up and become a dominant pitcher. I miss that feeling of watching a lanky, unformed kid, become a star and a main stayof the team. Hughes, probably farther along than any Yankee pitching prospect since I've been a fan of the team, farther along than Pettitte was at the same age, has a chance to recreate that feeling.

Look, I'll enjoy watching Santana pitch in pinstripes, if the Yankees can make a deal. But...

So now, after four years of anticipation and building an emotional attachment to Hughes, he may be gone. Just like that. The guy who was untouchable might no longer be a Yankee. It sucks.

Odds are that Hughes will not live up to his hype. It’s just a fact. He’s probably never going to be as good as Johan Santana is right now. But it would have been more enjoyable for me as a fan to see if he could be, than to watch another person who came to the team for money and who adds to the feeling that anything less than a World Series victory is a disgrace. Santana’s not Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson, he’s going to be 29 and still in his prime, so it’s not quite as bad as it was with those two. While my forecast for Santana is correctly pessimistic after the next few seasons, there’s a good chance he’ll continue to be great for the forseeable future. I completely understand why the Yankees made this move might make this move.

But I am just not feeling excited about potentially adding the guy who is probably going to the best pitcher in baseball in 2008 when I probably should be. Losing Hughes would sting. A lot.

In other words, "Soul Sacrifice."