"On the night of July 25, 2008, Joba Chamberlain pitched seven shutout innings against the Red Sox, striking out nine in a 1-0 victory. He walked off the mound that night at Fenway Park with a limitless pitching future.

Now Tommy John surgery is right around the corner.

Phil Hughes was on his way to the All-Star Game this time last year.

Now It's a big day now when Hughes touches 90 miles per hour on the radar gun on a back field in Tampa. No one knows when Hughes will rejoin the Yankees as he battles right-shoulder inflammation.

The Yankees were going to have these two young arms to anchor their staff for years. They traded Ian Kennedy in the deal for Curtis Granderson after the 2009 season. Kennedy is 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA for the Diamondbacks.

At one point, all three young pitchers were roommates; they represented the pitching hope of the Pinstripe future, arms of today and tomorrow, arms that would lift the Yankees past the Red Sox.

But the Yankees could never figure out what to do with Chamberlain, start or relieve, and the Joba Rules failed. The baseball gods have taken the game out of their hands."