Second time through the lineup does indeed prove Hughes' undoing; at least for today. Long fly ball from Pedroia allows two runners to tag and moved to second and third, and Jeter's ground-ball single up the middle knocks them both in and finishes Phil's day. Hughes hit another batter. That's three in 4.2 innings this spring. I like that he continues to throw inside. He's not missing by much. All three HBPs have been graze jobs.
Gardner has just reached on another ground single and stolen a base. He's the white Willie Mays Hays. Seriously. This dude is fast. He's a streak. One concern: no arm. I guess we've gotten used to that, with Bernie and Damon. You'd like to see a guy like Gardner win the every-day job in center for the Yanks -- then again, I'd be fine with Melky, if he can re-learn how to hit -- but the arm is going to be a concern if it's Gardner. His speed may outweigh that, but that's hard to quantify. Dude is fast, though.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Good start for Phil
Dustin Pedroia drives you crazy, doesn't he? Hughes makes a great pitch and totally jams Pedroia, only to see the littlest MVP dunk a little duck snort into short centerfield. Luckily, Phil comes back to get noted Team USA choke artist Derek Jeter to ground into the easy 4-4-3 DP, then retires Chipper Jones on a hard grounder to second, aided by a great diving stop by Cody Ransom.
Seriously, though, about Jeter: Can you indict this guy on anything? ANYTHING? YES just flashed a graphic showing the 2006 Team USA batting leaders in the WBC. Jeter batted .450, second on the team to Ken Griffey.
The devil's advocates out there will point out -- so I'll beat them to it -- that Jeter had a poor showing in the 2007 ALDS. He did. He stunk. But he was entitled. For everything this guy has done in every big spot of his 13-year career, it was not logical to think he wouldn't eventually put up a stinker.
But he gets a pass. And he should. "The Yankee Years," Tom Verducci's book -- the one misleadingly proclaiming to be co-authored by Joe Torre -- offers nary a mention of this.
Meanwhile, Phil Hughes has fanned David Wright on a fastball under the hands, and just dropped a curveball at Adam Dunn's knees for another reverse K. And now Youk flies out to Eggzavier Nady to complete a 1-2-3 inning for Phil. Again, we won't see him go through this lineup a second time, which is the true test, but so far, so good. The kid's got stuff.
A couple things: I think I'd like to start a Cliche of the Day feature on this blog. There's just too many of them out there that skate by unchecked. The one that got my goat today: "What a difference a (insert period of time here) makes." That was one of the items on the YES scouting report on Phil Hughes: What a difference a year makes. You could say this about anyone at almost anytime. Translation: don't say it.
And something that I've got to get off my chest, as Michael Kay correctly called that Jeter DP a "4-4-3." Too many announcers don't know how to score baseball. A groundball double play to shortstop on which the shortstop touches second base for one out and throws to first for the second is a "6-6-3," not a "6-3." The first 6 is for the first out, and the 6-3 is for the second.
Third inning starting for Phil. Let's see how it goes. Oops. Just caught myself in another cliche. Sorry.
Seriously, though, about Jeter: Can you indict this guy on anything? ANYTHING? YES just flashed a graphic showing the 2006 Team USA batting leaders in the WBC. Jeter batted .450, second on the team to Ken Griffey.
The devil's advocates out there will point out -- so I'll beat them to it -- that Jeter had a poor showing in the 2007 ALDS. He did. He stunk. But he was entitled. For everything this guy has done in every big spot of his 13-year career, it was not logical to think he wouldn't eventually put up a stinker.
But he gets a pass. And he should. "The Yankee Years," Tom Verducci's book -- the one misleadingly proclaiming to be co-authored by Joe Torre -- offers nary a mention of this.
Meanwhile, Phil Hughes has fanned David Wright on a fastball under the hands, and just dropped a curveball at Adam Dunn's knees for another reverse K. And now Youk flies out to Eggzavier Nady to complete a 1-2-3 inning for Phil. Again, we won't see him go through this lineup a second time, which is the true test, but so far, so good. The kid's got stuff.
A couple things: I think I'd like to start a Cliche of the Day feature on this blog. There's just too many of them out there that skate by unchecked. The one that got my goat today: "What a difference a (insert period of time here) makes." That was one of the items on the YES scouting report on Phil Hughes: What a difference a year makes. You could say this about anyone at almost anytime. Translation: don't say it.
And something that I've got to get off my chest, as Michael Kay correctly called that Jeter DP a "4-4-3." Too many announcers don't know how to score baseball. A groundball double play to shortstop on which the shortstop touches second base for one out and throws to first for the second is a "6-6-3," not a "6-3." The first 6 is for the first out, and the 6-3 is for the second.
Third inning starting for Phil. Let's see how it goes. Oops. Just caught myself in another cliche. Sorry.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Phil Hughes vs. Team USA
I'll be watching with interest as 22-year-old Phil Hughes pitches for the Yankees against Derek Jeter and Team USA.
Why with such interest? It's not as if it's Sabathia, which is what you would like to see. An ace going up against that lineup. Instead, we're getting Hughes, a very young player who has yet to complete a full major league season, going up against a very tough lineup with no breaks.
Is it the toughest lineup imagineable? No. It's not like an all-star lineup, because so many of the best hitters in baseball are Dominican. But Hughes is going to go up against Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Wright and World Champion Phillies Shane Victorino and the easy-to-like Jimmy Rollins. Can he possibly get through a lineup like this without getting dented? Even for two or three innings?
In truth, probably not. As I wrote in the diary of the first televised game this spring, I have a lot of faith in Phil Hughes and his ability. It was really his terrific outing in Game Four of the Cleveland series in 2007 that solidified my belief in him. It was a similar performance to Mike Mussina's clutch relief effort -- the only one of his career -- in the Aaron Boone game in 2003. Hughes came into a game the Yankees trailed early and gave them some lockdown relief, giving them a chance to win. They didn't win, because their bats, as they have in the postseason since the 19-8 win at Fenway in 2004, were silent.
But Hughes, in a do-or-die situation, did. This in the same year that he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his second Major League start, in Texas.
Does that mean Hughes is ready for the lineup he will see tomorrow -- or the weird dynamic of pitching against his own team's captain? Probably not. That lineup may smack him around. But here's what I like about this matchup tomorrow: This should give the kid plenty of learning material. He has ability and he has guts. What he does not yet have is the knowlege of how to pitch to Major League hitters. His stays in the big leagues have been brief and beset by injuries.
And there is no pressure on him. The Yankees have announced their starting five, and Hughes is not one of them. He'll be able to let it go tomorrow, let the chips fall where they may, and then learn from the results -- and the video.
It should be fun.
Why with such interest? It's not as if it's Sabathia, which is what you would like to see. An ace going up against that lineup. Instead, we're getting Hughes, a very young player who has yet to complete a full major league season, going up against a very tough lineup with no breaks.
Is it the toughest lineup imagineable? No. It's not like an all-star lineup, because so many of the best hitters in baseball are Dominican. But Hughes is going to go up against Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Wright and World Champion Phillies Shane Victorino and the easy-to-like Jimmy Rollins. Can he possibly get through a lineup like this without getting dented? Even for two or three innings?
In truth, probably not. As I wrote in the diary of the first televised game this spring, I have a lot of faith in Phil Hughes and his ability. It was really his terrific outing in Game Four of the Cleveland series in 2007 that solidified my belief in him. It was a similar performance to Mike Mussina's clutch relief effort -- the only one of his career -- in the Aaron Boone game in 2003. Hughes came into a game the Yankees trailed early and gave them some lockdown relief, giving them a chance to win. They didn't win, because their bats, as they have in the postseason since the 19-8 win at Fenway in 2004, were silent.
But Hughes, in a do-or-die situation, did. This in the same year that he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his second Major League start, in Texas.
Does that mean Hughes is ready for the lineup he will see tomorrow -- or the weird dynamic of pitching against his own team's captain? Probably not. That lineup may smack him around. But here's what I like about this matchup tomorrow: This should give the kid plenty of learning material. He has ability and he has guts. What he does not yet have is the knowlege of how to pitch to Major League hitters. His stays in the big leagues have been brief and beset by injuries.
And there is no pressure on him. The Yankees have announced their starting five, and Hughes is not one of them. He'll be able to let it go tomorrow, let the chips fall where they may, and then learn from the results -- and the video.
It should be fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)