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.