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.