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11:30

Mark will be here at noon but you can start submitting your questions now. Remember, your comments won't appear until they are selected by the moderator.

12:00

Hello again, everybody, and welcome back to another installment of Blogging the Bombers: The Chat. The Yankees are 10-10 after the first 20 games, and given the multitude of problems they've had, that's actually pretty good. I know there's panic in the streets among the fan base, so let's try to ease your minds by answering some questions. Let's get it going.

12:00

[Comment From Mike Moretti, Neptune, NJ]
Mark, your thought on Philip Hughes. Is he here to stay?

12:03

It's hard to say whether Hughes is here to stay after one start, but last night's outing was certainly an encouraging sign. Hughes said he felt better last night than he had in any game since his 6 2/3-innings of no-hit ball in Texas almost two years ago, the night he hurt his hamstring. It's hard to say whether he's here to stay since he has to continue doing it, but it's certainly possible.

12:03

[Comment From Sean]
Do you think the yanks should be worried about their start? I personally don't think so because the starting pitching will come around and with A-Rod coming back soon they are going to put up some runs

12:06

Not at all. Consider that A-Rod hasn't played a game yet, Chien-Ming Wang's three starts were as bad as any three starts ever, Brian Bruney is on the DL, Xavier Nady is on the DL, Mark Teixeira hasn't hit yet and most of the bullpen has been an inconsistent disaster - like I said at the top, considering all of that, I think 10-10 is pretty darn good. There are 142 games left. It's not really time to worry yet.

12:06

[Comment From matt]
What is arod's timetable for his return?

12:07

A-Rod should be playing in rehab games in the next couple days, putting him on track to return around May 8 in Baltimore. That's my best guess.

12:07

[Comment From Vodola]
What are the chances that Wang becomes a long reliever if Hughes continues throwing well? I think they're pretty high.

12:10

I would put those chances at approximately zero percent. Assuming Wang rehabs, gets healthy and returns to his old self, you're talking about a guy who was the winningest pitcher in the game in 2006-07 and was on his way to another 18-20 win season in 2008 before he got hurt. He is not a long reliever. Period. If he's pitching the way he always has, he's a top of the rotation starter. Let's not get crazy about Hughes just yet. It was one start, but he has to keep showing his stuff. These things have a way of working out, anyway. You don't see too many teams with six healthy, effective starters. If the Yankees wind up with that "problem," they'll be in great shape and run away with the division.

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