Phil Hughes is not an ace.

"With the sinker, Hughes stumbled onto the grip messing around during a bullpen session, similar to how Rivera discovered his legendary cutter. Hughes never had a pitch run in on right-handers before; it prevents them from leaning over the plate and whacking everything else.

'It's a good pitch for him,' said a major-league scout who has followed Hughes since his amateur days. 'I don't know whether it was the Yankees or the media, but people labeled him as the next Roger Clemens. That's unfair to put on anybody. He's a solid, middle-of-the-rotation guy for a good team.' "

Right.

In other words, not an ace.