Hughes Continues to Struggle as Yanks Win

Phil Hughes struggled again last night, only lasting 4 and 1/3 innings and giving up 5 runs. He has given up 5 runs in his first 3 starts.  His consistently touched 90mph on the gun, which means his velocity is back, but he still struggled with location and with finishing guys off. Hughes only has 3 strikeouts this season in 3 starts.

Originally, his velocity was deemed to be the problem, as he had trouble reaching the 90mph mark. After last night in which he did get the gun up in the low 90’s and still struggled, there is a cause for concern as to what else is wrong. Maybe he was rearing back yesterday, trying to show his critics that he could get back into the low 90’s, and in turn making his control and location suffer. If it was just 3 starts, people wouldn’t be so worried, but Hughes struggled for the second half of the season last year after getting off to a tremendous start.

Bartolo Colon again had a solid outing coming out of the bullpen last night, as he pitched 3 scoreless innings, keeping the game close, and allowing the Yankees to stage a comeback. People are quick to name Colon as the replacement for Hughes in the starting rotation, but coming into a game down 5-0 comes with a lot less pressure than starting a game. Colon did pitch well, throwing strikes and allowing 3 hits while striking out 3, but at 38 years old, I believe he is best suited in the role that he is in now. An innings eater that can help you stay in the game if your starter struggles. Hughes should get at least one to two more starts, and if he has the same problems, than the talk of replacing him will be justifiable. Yankee fans are always quick to judge, as Hughes received some boos while walking off the mound, but the kid deserves some more chances to work out the kinks.

As for the rest of the game, the Yankee bats took until the 5^th inning to get a hit, and they continued to chip away at the 5-0 deficit, leading to a Jorge Posada HR in the bottom of the 9^th inning to tie the game at 5. The game went into extra innings and Mark Teixeira led off the 10^th inning with a walk. After  a double by Alex Rodriguez and a line out by Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher came up to the plate needing just a sacrifice fly to get the run in. Swisher hit a fairly deep pop to right, giving Teixeira ample time to make it home on the tag up to win the game. Swisher got the post game ritual pie to the face, and all was well in Yankee land after struggling for most of the game.

Now most would call Posada’s game tying Hr or Swisher’s walk off sacrifice fly as the play of the game, but the real play of the game came from Joba Chamberlain. Joba entered the game replacing Bartolo Colon in the 8^th inning with men on first and third and one out. Joba proceeded to throw one of his nasty sliders that got away from catcher Russell Martin, and speedy Felix Pie broke for the plate. Chamberlain sprinted home to cover for Martin, who chased after the ball, as Pie sprinted down the line and was on the verge of touching home plate. Joba made a phenomenally smart baseball play, a fundamental that we are all taught as youngsters,  but most players rarely carry out, he used his leg and foot to block off home plate from Pie, giving Martin more time to get him the ball. Joba then applied the tag on Pie as Felix tried to get around Joba’s big frame. Most of the fans in the stadium thought he was safe at first glance, because Pie beat the ball by at least a step. When fans saw the umpire signal that Pie was out, the Stadium was first perplexed, and then erupted in cheers. Only after seeing the slow motion replay did the fans see what an exceptional play that Joba made, and then gave him a standing ovation. Now for a catcher, that is a routine play, but for a pitcher running full speed from the mound to have the wherewithal to block the plate, that is rarely witnessed. Without that play, the Yanks would have been down 2 runs, and who knows what the outcome could’ve been. But if it would’ve played out the same way, Posada’s HR would’ve been meaningless, and the Orioles would’ve come away with the victory.

If the bullpen continues to pitch well and make plays, the Yanks should be able to stay afloat until the starting pitching comes around. The 7^th, 8^th 9^th inning combo of JoSoMo ( Joba, Soriano, Mariano) is one if not the best in baseball. This shortens the game to 6 innings as these guys are almost guaranteed to have a solid outing. If the starters can get you 6 quality innings every outing, the Yanks will be in good shape for the rest of the season.