By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

From the ceiling of the tunnel leading from the clubhouse to the home dugout in Yankee Stadium hangs a famous quote from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no substitute for victory."

Fitting words since the Yankees have not had a victory in five straight games, trotting out nothing but substitutes to the mounds of Fenway and Tropicana Park. Chase Wright, Jeff Karstens and Kei Igawa were not impressive in their starts this past weekend, and even Chien-Ming Wang couldn't locate his sinker against the Devil Rays earlier this week. Fingers can also be pointed at the bullpen, which has been used to the point of exhaustion because of the lack of depth from the starters. Yesterday's rain-out is a blessing in disguise because it gives the pen some much needed rest. For the Yankees right now, there is no substitute for victory because there are no substitutes for (good) pitching.

The Yanks didn't want this; the fans certainly didn't either. But that doesn't make it any less of a reality. That reality includes not only being swept by the arch-rival Red Sox, but by the lowly -- and former -- basement-dwelling Devil Rays.

Even though it's only April, the Yankees can't seem to get firing on all cylinders, and when one thing goes right, something else usually goes wrong. Before, Alex Rodriguez wasn't hitting but the pitching was better. Now it's the exact opposite with A-Rod blasting moon-shots and the opposition getting them as well. With the Bombers now finding themselves in the AL East cellar, forced to somehow dig their way out, they've made a move they didn't want to make until much later in the season, and in the best case would have been made in August or September, or even next season altogether: calling up Phil Hughes.

It seems as if we have been hearing the legend of Hughes for several seasons now. He's supposed to be the next Roger Clemens, a power thrower with a right arm that's coveted by the entire baseball world, and the most desired player in all of the Minor Leagues. Much to the chagrin and envy of the 29 other teams, he's wearing Yankee pinstripes. Perhaps that's why the Yankees have been content to wait with Hughes, waiting for him to build up the much-needed arm strength to go six or seven innings, waiting for him to develop a good curveball, but now they can no longer afford to wait.

In his last three starts combined at Triple-A Scranton, Hughes had 16 innings of work where he struck out 17 and only walked five -- good enough for a 3.94 ERA. His last outing on April 18 was a six-inning two-hitter against Syracuse, a Toronto affiliate. He will have an "emergency start" today against Toronto, and try to be a savior in the short term before he can be a savior full-time. Don't expect him to stick around long though because Mike Mussina comes off the DL next week after the rematch against Boston this weekend.

Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!