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Lots of discussion surrounding David Phelps’ Major League debut in Kansas City. Jack Curry sat down with the right-hander on camera while Joe Auriemma penned this feature.

There’s also a lot at stake for Phelps. How he performs will determine his next role and have a trickle-down effect on the Yankees’ starting rotation. Andy Pettitte will be back, perhaps late next week, which means someone is going to the bullpen and/or losing a roster spot.

If Phelps delivers, it turns up the heat on Phil Hughes (1-4, 7.48 ERA, 1.62 WHIP). While the consensus was Hughes showed improvement Tuesday against the Orioles, his line of four runs on four hits (2 HR) in 5 2/3 innings wasn’t reassuring. Once Pettitte returns, Hughes may be looking at a role in the bullpen, where he thrived

Phil Hughes, who takes the ball Tuesday night against the Orioles, is once again on the spot. It’s not make or break -- yet -- but with the Yankees rotation having already endured a shakeup, another performance below standards will be a step closer to Hughes’ torch being snuffed. And don’t assume the Yankees will stash him in the bullpen with Freddy Garcia to summon when they need to eat innings. Hughes has options remaining, so it’s very conceivable he will be ticketed for Triple-A once Andy Pettitte is ready to return if he cannot turn it around.

Consider:

• Hughes is 1-3 with a 7.88 ERA in a season in which he was expected to take that long-awaited quantum leap.

• He's allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts. In four outings, he’s

Going up or going down?...

About 20 games into the season and the Yankees are barely closer to first place than they are last place.  Only two games separate the Yankees from the dismal start by the Boston Red Sox but of course the Sox are playing better as of late.  It’s only April so at this point, the standings don’t really mean too much as the superior AL East teams will begin to separate themselves from the pretenders over the course of the next couple of months. 

It was nice to see the Yankees pull off a walk-off win at Yankee Stadium last night against the team that seems to terrorize them in the play-offs in recent years, the Detroit Tigers.  I am really surprised that Justin Verlander holds an 0-2 mark with 4.50 ERA for his career at the new Yankee

Thursday night certainly was a night for the ages for one of the more prolific hitters in baseball, Curtis Granderson. To this point in the season, Granderson had already hit three home runs, but something was just a little off with his swing. Whatever was wrong with his game before the Yankees’ 7-6 victory over the Twins was certainly righted.

The Yankees needed this win. It was the last game in the homestand before they traveled up to Boston, and it was a chance to split a series with a Twins team that has had little success in the Bronx over the last decade. Phil Hughes gave up four unearned runs in the first, with Eduardo Nunez committing a huge error that extended his pitch count and the inning. With the Yankees down 4-0 right off the bat, Granderson and the offense went to

Uneven start to the 2012 season...

I guess the season opening series sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays set the tone, but this has been a hot and cold season thus far.  The New York Yankees followed the Rays series with their own sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, but they've struggled against the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx.  Given how the Yankees have owned the Twins in recent years and the fact the Twins were a 99 loss team last year with no notable improvements, it seems odd that the Yankees are fighting to salvage the fourth game of the series with the Twins and at least earn a split.

Now you see him, now you don't...

I was excited last week when Hiroki Kuroda pitched a gem, but after getting pounded by the Twins yesterday , he's had more bad starts than good.  It's only three

It was make or break for Phil Hughes coming into the season. Coming off an excellent Spring Training, Hughes isn’t completely broken, but he needs fixing.

And fast.

Hughes may be in great shape, and on Saturday his velocity was between 91-94 MPH, but the reality is this after the Angels shelled him for six runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Hughes is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA over two starts. Andy Pettitte is scheduled to start his second Minor League game on Sunday – and he’s in the Yankees’ rotation when he’s ready for Major League action, no ifs, ands or buts. Michael Pineda is further back in his rehab from shoulder tendinitis, but he’s the man acquired for Jesus Montero. When he’s ready – and he’s right – he’s coming

For away games, I prefer to see a Yankees pitcher on the mound for the last out…

Finally, the first win of the year has arrived.  It was a bit delayed in coming, but alas, the victory came with the Yankees’ first game away from Tropicana Field.  Hopefully, the Tampa Bay Rays’ home won’t become a house of horrors for the Yankees this season but it was clear for the first three games of the year that the Rays were the better team.

Still, despite the Yankees’ 0-3 record as they departed Florida (the same mark as the Boston Red Sox at the time of their departure from Detroit), I never felt the sense of doom and despair that usually accompanies losses.  Sometimes, for whatever reason, the momentum of a series goes with one team.  Sure, you

Locked and not loaded?...

Worst case scenario seems to be playing out with news that Michael Pineda’s shoulder is cause for concern.  Everybody has wondered who would be the odd man out of the rotation, given the strong spring performances by Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes. There’s been talk of moving either of those two or Ivan Nova to the bullpen, but all things considered, that’s not an ideal spot for any of the three.  I was hopeful that Yankees could find some trade value in Garcia to move him and make room for the others, given that Andy Pettitte looms on the not-so-distant future.  Yesterday, there were indications that Michael Pineda needed to have a strong performance to nail down his much anticipated spot in the rotation.  I didn’t watch

Phil Hughes took another big step towards a spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation – or at least providing Joe Girardi and Larry Rothschild more sleepless nights. Hughes allowed two runs in six strong innings Monday against the Class-A Phillies with no walks and four strikeouts.

“He’s done everything we've asked him to do this spring,” Rothschild said.

“Whatever direction they want to go in, it’s their call,” Hughes told reporters. “I feel like right now, I’m doing everything I can to make that decision as hard as possible. That’s all I really wanted to do.”

Later on Monday, Mark Feinsand Tweeted that Hughes has all but wrapped up a rotation spot, which leaves the battle between Freddy Garcia, Michael Pineda and