Friday, February 23, 2007 BY ED PRICE Star-Ledger Staff
TAMPA, Fla. -- Todd Pratt got a good look yesterday at the Yankees' hopes for the present and the not-so-distant future.
Star prospect Phil Hughes earned rave reviews, as Yankees pitchers threw batting practice to their teammates. But when it comes to the Yankees' fate this season, it may have been more significant that Carl Pavano also was sharp.
"Pavano was like he was with Florida when I faced him," Pratt said. "Good split, good sinker, good slider."
And Hughes? He's "one of the dirtiest young pitchers I've ever caught, seen or faced."
Seven pitchers -- the projected rotation (Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa and Pavano) plus Hughes and Humberto Sanchez -- threw on the main diamond at Legends Field as manager Joe Torre, pitching coach Ron Guidry and general manager Brian Cashman watched.
Pratt caught Igawa and Pavano and batted against Hughes and Sanchez.
Hughes, 20, is the Yankees' prized possession. Considered one of the top prospects in the game, he dominated Double A a year ago and is ticketed for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year only because the Yankees have five veteran starters and don't want to rush him.
Well, the Yankees front office doesn't want to rush him.
"He's the real deal," said Jason Giambi, who had a foul ball and a pop-up on his two swings against Hughes. "We could have used him last year. Great tempo. The ball jumps out of his hand.
"He's got filthy stuff. He's like a young Rocket (Roger Clemens)."
Hughes, the Yankees' No. 1 pick in 2004, has remained calm as the hype around him as grown.
"You just have to sit back and look at yourself in the mirror," he said. "It's great to hear that, but I haven't done anything to warrant those kind of comparisons. They feel good, but it really doesn't mean much."
Said Torre: "He doesn't seem to be overwhelmed by anything. ... Sometimes young kids have a tendency to be a little anxious and want things to happen right away. But I don't sense that with him."
Hughes -- who is ahead of the other pitchers because he has been working off a mound for four weeks -- threw 34 pitches. The batters took 23, and of the other 11, they had eight foul balls, a pop-up, a grounder and a line drive by Pratt.
"He's just special," said Ben Davis, who caught Hughes. "He's definitely blessed. He's got a great mound presence. I think he knows what he has but I don't think he takes it for granted. As good as he is, I know he wants to keep getting better."
Davis was effusive about Hughes' fastball ("I know what's coming when I'm catching back there and it still just surprises me how much it gets on you") and curve ("the only way I can describe it is devastating").
When Pavano took the mound, the theme from "Rocky" came over the public-address system.
"How about that?" said Pavano, who due to injuries last pitched in the majors on June 27, 2005. "I had a little chuckle about that."
Said Torre, "I don't want to say he's anxious, but I think he's comfortable with the way he feels right now."
Pavano kept the ball down, which is the key to his game. Of the 13 pitches Pavano threw that drew a swing, he induced five foul balls, six grounders, one whiff and one fly ball. (A fastball got away and plunked minor-league shortstop Alberto Gonzalez.)
Igawa, facing hitters for the first time in a Yankees uniform, was described as "sneaky" by Torre as well as Andy Phillips and Wil Nieves, who batted against him. Igawa, who threw curves but no change-ups, described himself only as "so-so."
Pratt said Sanchez had "just as good stuff" as Hughes. But Sanchez, whose mechanics are more violent that Hughes' smooth delivery, did not have good control yesterday.
"Overall, I think it was all right," Sanchez said. "I give myself a B."
Guidry said he evaluated Sanchez by the grimace on hitters' faces as they came out of the cage.
Sanchez, listed at 6-6 and 270 pounds, came over from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield deal.
In fact, what Pratt noticed the first day of camp was the size of the pitchers.
"It looked like a corral," he said. "Just a bunch of horses."
