No no-no for Phil this time. (AP Photo)

Yankees rookie Phil Hughes took the mound for his second start Tuesday night and worked a no hitter for 6.1 innings. He injured his leg and left the game with the no hitter intact.

Mike Myers finished the 7th for Hughes without allowing a hit, but gave up a single to Hank Blalock in the 8th.

As I have said before (here and here), Hughes is no fluke. This is what the kid is capable of. Hopefully his injury isn’t serious.

The Yankees need him real bad.

Just, out.

The Royals have called their 2004 first round pick, Billy Butler, up to the majors from Triple-A Omaha.

Butler is a big time prospect with tremendous upside. He was only kept down to start the season because his defense was still questionable. According to the Associated Press, the Royals told Butler he would be starting immediately in left field.

Last season, Butler won the Texas League batting title with a .331 average. He was hitting .337 through 25 games for Omaha this season.

Long term keeper owners should take notice — Butler could make an immediate impact. Take a flier on him and stash him away, even if he starts cold.

Just, out.

The Mets aren’t showing any mercy to fan Frank Martinez, who was banned from the stadium for three seasons.

The 40-year-old man pleaded guilty to shining a flashlight at Braves players during their game on April 20.

Martinez was seated behind home plate and flashed the light at Tim Hudson and Edgar Renteria. Renteria complained to the umps and security was alerted.

By the time Martinez can re-enter Shea, the Mets will have built and begun play in a new stadium.

Just, out.

It pains me to bring to light some nonsensical musings of Joe Morgan’s today, seeing as there’s a Web site devoted to doing just that, but I couldn’t resist.

He was asked during his ESPN online chat today to comment on the Cubs and Sox, and his comments were extremely profound…or were they?

The first question asked what he thought the Cubs’ chances were considering the weakness of the NL Central. This is what Joe said:

Joe Morgan: I agree that it’s a weak division, so they definitely have a chance of winning. They actually are a better team on paper than the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cardinals were the World Champs last year.

The next question was whether the White Sox could turn things around after being one of the worst hitting teams in baseball after the first month. Joe’s reply:

Joe Morgan: There aren’t any great teams anymore–teams without any weaknesses. If you’re playing well and your strengths show up, you can win five in a row, and vice versa. I do believe they definitely can right the ship, because they’ve won before and have some confidence that if they can stay close, they can pull it out.

Joe Morgan’s responses are consistent in that he seems to think that a team that has won before can win again. It’s not that I disagree with Joe Morgan about the Cubs — I still think they have a shot at the division — but what does them being better than the Cardinals mean? The Brewers are the class of the division right now, and the Cubs should be focusing on them…not the Cardinals.

As for the White Sox, I think if a team is going to win, its “weakness” better not be spots one through nine in the batting order. That could be trouble.

Got one question in the mailbag today:

Vince L., Champaign, Ill.: If you were the general manager of the Royals, what would you do to make them a contender?

I suppose asking for money would probably not work, right? I’d probably follow the Marlins model of rebuilding. Trade away all the talent you have and acquire prospects in every place possible. Then, put them all on the field together and let them grow. They have also just not drafted well in a long time, with the exception of Alex Gordon, who is quite possibly baseball’s next big thing.

It’s funny that this came up now because I was cruising the Fire Joe Morgan site (link above), and they had a reaction to his answer to a similar question. Joe was asked if the Royals would ever be good again. His reply:

Joe Morgan: Well, I don’t think they’ll ever get back to where they were the team to beat in the AL, but I think they can get back to where they’re a good team and can compete. I don’t konw much about their front office and their scouting systems, so I can’t say how long it will take, but I do expect them to improve.

I find the FJM guys to be a little overcritical at times, so I won’t repeat what they said. But I can certainly understand why they chose to include this particular response.

Did I do a better job than Joe, Vince?

Keep the questions coming to djust2@uiuc.edu and include your name and hometown.

Just, out.

It’s been an interesting opening month for fantasy baseball. Weather played havoc with schedules and offensive numbers seem to be down. Good for pitchers, though, right? Here are the pitchers and hitters who didn’t miss a beat this April.

C: Joe Mauer, MIN — I tried so hard to find someone more interesting, but Mauer has done everything fantasy owners asked of him. He hit almost .370 with a .465 OBP to go along with it. He only hit one home run, but he led all catchers in runs with 18 and knocked in 12.

1B: David Ortiz, BOS — Ortiz did what Ortiz does best by belting 7 home runs and driving in 22.

2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX — This was a runaway. Kinsler hit 9 home runs and batted .297 in what looks to be his coming out party. If I had to pick up a runner up I’d go with Orlando Hudson, who has reached base in every game this season.

3B: Alex Rodriguez, NYY — This didn’t even require me to do any stat checking. A-Rod hit .358 and homered almost two times more than any other third baseman. He scored 27 times and drove in 34 runs. Mercy.

SS: Jose Reyes, NYM — Seventeen stolen bases in April would be enough to clinch it, but Reyes also hit .355/.441/.596. He also scored 26 times. He’s on pace for 114 steals this season.

OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM; Vladimir Guerrero, ANA; The Jerk, SF; Magglio Ordonez, DET

SP: Jake Peavy, SD; Roy Halladay, TOR; Ted Lilly, CHC; John Maine, NYM; Rich Hill, CHC; Josh Beckett, BOS

RP: Francisco Cordero, MIL; Jose Valverde, ARZ; Al Reyes, TB

Position player of the month: A-Rod. He just didn’t stop. Hopefully it stays that way.

Pitcher of the month: Francisco Cordero. I’ve become fond of calling him Kordero. Kordero leads the league with 10 saves and has yet to give up an earned run this season. Sick. Just sick.

Just, out.