Yankees to Open Season With Hughes on Disabled List TAMPA, Fla. - Phil Hughes will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday, and may not start a game until April 11, or even later. Hughes pitched in a minor league game Wednesday and threw 81 pitches, but it was only his second appearance of the spring. He had to take two weeks off earlier in spring training because of a back problem that slowed his progress and arm conditioning. Until Hughes returns, the rotation will consist of C. C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova and David Phelps. Girardi said he was happy with the way Hughes threw against a Blue Jays Class A squad at the Yankees" minor league complex. Hughes had hoped he would have to make only one more minor league start, but Girardi said Hughes would probably make two more, meaning he would not be able to start until April 11 at the earliest. "Well, if it is the 11th, the 11th is still in April, so that's a positive thing," Hughes said. Nova also pitched in a minor league game and acknowledged afterward that his spring has not gone as well as he had hoped. He started strong but struggled at the end and finished with a 4.19 earned run average. "It wasn't what I was expecting," he said. I was expecting to have a great spring, but I feel really good. It wasn't that bad either.