Roger Clemens took in a Yankee game at Legends Field last week. Whether or not he will suit up in pinstripes come June is still very much in doubt, but another Yankee hurler has been the talk of Tamps this bring.

I refer of course to Phil Hughes, the 20-year-old with the impeccable minor-league record and a one-way ticket for the Bronx. His journey might be delayed a bit—he certainly won’t head north with the club for Opening Day—but rest assured that Hughes will be in the starting rotation plans for the Yankees at some point in 2007.

After being hit hard in his second spring appearance Hughes was sent back to minor league camp, and I’d wager Brian Cashman and Joe Torre are ecstatic the kid got knocked around a little bit. Young players that have never experienced failure often don’t know how to cope the first time they get beat in the big leagues. Having struggled a bit this spring, Hughes now knows nothing is guaranteed and he still has work to do. All in all things couldn’t have worked out better for the Yanks.

When Hughes finally does join the Bronx Bombers for good he’ll join a rotation with a top-3 that rivals any team in baseball. Chien Mien Wang went 19-6 last season with a ground ball to fly ball ratio of 2.84. His incredible sinker makes him the AL answer to NL Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, and he even notched his first career save last season to boot. Another 15-18 wins for Wang seems like a formality, and making less than $500,000 this season he’s also one of baseball’s best bargains.

Behind Wang are two Yankee veterans, righty-lefty counterparts Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. It’s clear that Wang is the Yanks’ best starter, but Pettitte will probably get the Opening Day start out of deference to what he meant to this franchise from 1995-2003. Despite battling elbow injuries over his three seasons in Houston—the reason the Yankees were leery of re-signing him the first time around—Pettitte did have an outstanding 2005 (17-9, 2.39), but his 2006 numbers were not great (14-12, 4.20). If he can revert back to the form that helped lead Houston to the ’05 World Series the Yanks and Pettitte will be playing deep into October.

Mike Mussina is the other wily veteran on the staff. His knuckle curve is still among baseball’s best pitches when he’s on, and Moose went 15-7 last season with a 3.51 ERA while averaging more than 6 innings per start. The Yanks need more of the same from Mike, as Joe Torre has claimed he’ll use Mariano Rivera strictly for one inning per appearance and New York has serious question markrs penciled in at the four and five spots in the rotation.

Those question marks, Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano, both have the ability to contribute to this club, but their production will be the Hughes-ometer. If either is scuffling come Memorial Day it might warrant a call-up for the young righty. Igawa is an unproven entity, coming over from Japan, but he’s a sneaky lefty that should benefit from the prolific offense that will be supporting him.

Pavano has been one of the worst free-agent signings in Yankee history, and don’t forget this is the club that signed Danny Tartabull to one of the richest contracts in baseball history in the early 90s. The big right-hander’s most notable performance on the YES network last season was making pizzas with Don Mattingly on Kids On Deck. Unfortunately, I’m not kidding…Pavano didn’t make a single start last season. Even if he does start out hot (or even lukewarm), don’t expect Pavano to be a Yankee for too much longer. Many believe that the team is just keeping him around to showcase him for clubs dumb enough to trade a young pitcher or two for him. And it wouldn’t shock me since the Yanks have Hughes (and potentially Clemens) waiting in the wings.

Middle relief has been a problem for the Yankees the past few seasons, not only in terms of quality, but also quantity. That should change this season. Scott Proctor finally made it into Joe Torre’s circle of trust last season, appearing in 83 games and pitching much better than his 3.52 ERA would indicate. Proctor can dial it up and throw gas, but he has a frustrating tendency to finesse at-bats, nibbling with his slider and lesser pitches. Torre needs to keep him fresher this year to maximize his effectiveness. There’s a reason you didn’t see Randy Johnson’s name in the preceding paragraphs. He’s no longer a Yankee and it seems to be best for all parties concerned. Johnson gets to pitch closer to home, the Yankees got Luis Vizcaino as another bullpen arm and two other young pitchers from the DBacks.

Kyle Farnsworth is back as the primary setup man, though the big righty struggled in his first season in pinstripes with a 4.38 ERA. His strikeout numbers were fine (75 in 66 IP), but you’re 8th inning guy should have an ERA in the 2’s, not the 4’s. Lefty Mike Myers is also in the pen, primarily to shut down David Ortiz. Myers has a sweet gig, making millions to throw about 20 pitches a week, but he earned his paycheck last season getting some outs in big spots for the Yankees. Ron Villone was also brought back as the second lefty and is all but a lock to make the team.

At the back end of the pen, the greatest closer in the history of the game is ready and raring to go. Mariano Rivera turned some eyebrows when he questioned why the club hasn’t approached him about a contract extension early this spring, but like the quiet professional he is, Mo hasn’t let his concerns become a distraction. And you can trust that if Rivera puts up another year like last season (34/37 in save opportunities, 1.80 ERA), he’ll pretty much be given a blank check for the rest of his career. And even if he ends up leaving the Yankees, you have to love the fact that he says he would never go pitch for the Red Sox. Of course that’s eerily similar to what Johnny Damon said when he was a free agent a year and a half ago…uh oh.

Some other names to keep in mind on the Yankees pitching staff: Humberto Sanchez, Darrell Rasner, Jeff Karstens and Bryan Bruney. Sanchez is a starting prospect picked up from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield trade, Rasner and Karstens will get a few starts in the event of injury or a Pavano meltdown, and Bruney became a Torre favorite in his 19 appearances last year, posting a 0.87 ERA and striking out 25 in 20.2 innings.