The Yankees placed Phil Hughes on the disabled list with an oblique muscle injury and announced it in a style befitting the injury's name.
While the Yankees will lose Hughes for at least 15 days, their manager Joe Girardi may have lost a little credibility with the reporters who cover him after a contentious, confusing night. Girardi had grown increasingly testy before Wednesday night's game, repeatedly telling reporters Hughes was "in the rotation right now" when asked if the rookie would make his next start. The questions were inspired by Hughes' 0-4 record and 9.00 ERA rather than injury concerns, but Girardi did say the pitcher was healthy when asked.
Several hours later, the Yankees announced during the seventh inning of a game in which Hughes did not pitch that he would be placed on the DL with the injury.
Later, Girardi acknowledged knowing of the injury after Hughes pitched the previous night, and the pitcher said he told only the trainer after Tuesday's game. Hughes also said he first felt the injury in his previous start at Chicago, but he didn't think it was worth telling anyone about at that point.
The timing of the injury and the roundabout way in which the Yankees announced it led to speculation as to whether they were looking for a creative way to get Hughes a break without officially demoting him, but Girardi said he just wasn't going to reveal any information until after talking to the doctors because "that's not how I do business."
It all added up to an odd night and some skepticism regarding the way the Yankees have been handling their injuries lately.
TIGERS 6, YANKEES 2: Andy Pettitte yielded five runs in six innings, the Yankees offense struggled again and the club fell back below .500 Wednesday. Pettitte gave up a pair of home runs, to Marcus Thames and Placido Polanco, while Polanco added a second off Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth to cap the scoring.
