Raw Deal Phil
April 28, 2007
The New York Yankees losing ways continued on Thrusday night when they lost the only game against the Blue Jays at home by a score of 6-0. The game garnered the most attention because it marked the major league debut of Yankees star pitching prospect and the second best pitching prospect in all of baseball Phil Hughes. And despite the final outcome, the results were not terrible.
Hughes went 4 1/3 inning only walking one batter while striking out 5, he also gave up 4 runs though the final two could be suspect. When it game down to it, even though Hughes would have lost the game (because his team didn’t score), he got a raw deal. Why you ask?
Home Plate umpire Ed Montague had a very inconsistent and tight strike zone. One of the main reasons Phil Hughes succeeded so well in the minors was because he could paint every single corner of the plate with a mid-90’s fastball. Obviously, a pitcher will have 27 pitch innings and get worn out if borderline calls at the waist and on the corners are never called strikes. Hughes could have easily struck out 7 or more if Montague we’re a little more friendly. But this the plight of the rookie, and nothing more can be said than “Welcome to the Big Leagues rook!”
Not to mention that Hughes has some filthy stuff. He has a mid 90’s fastball that painted the corner most of the time, and though he didn’t get the calls, he controlled it real well. To go with that, most impressively, Hughes curveball is just plain nasty. Imagine seeing a couple of hard fastballs, and then followed by a 68 MPH curveball that breaks on a 12-6 plane. Not to mention Hughes can throw this curveball for strikes.
When it comes down to it, its impossible to deny that Hughes is the real deal. He handled himsel quite well for someone debuting in Yankee stadium in the midst of a 5-game losing streak, and was a shorter first inning away from going over 5. Perhaps the more he pitches, the more ump will warm up to him. And then it will be only a matter of time before Hughes is challenging Johan Santana and Felix Hernandez for Cy Young Awards.
April 29, 2007 at 11:54 pm
i come from a family of red sox fans so…there’s not much i have to say.
April 30, 2007 at 3:43 pm
you obv. know your stats and have a passion for this team. maybe they’ll turn the season around
April 30, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I don’t really follow baseball or the yankees, but you definitely know what you’re talking about.
April 30, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Brandon, your blog looks surprisingly similar to mine. Now that may upset you, and you may want me to leave, but do you want Gregg Jefferies of the Philadelphia Phillies and Mark Grudzielanek of the Montreal Expos to leave? Haha, gotta love old SNL re-runs. Anyways, I’m glad the Yankees are playing so poorly, but as a Red Sox fan I have been trained to never give up on them. I’m sure come summer, they will be right back in the thick of things. It’s been real working with you kid.
April 30, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I think it is about premature is the real deal. He had a poor first start, but showed some promising stuff. The kid is still only 20 years old and will most likely need at least another two season before he can be counted on realistically to help this teams dire needs in the starting rotation. Maybe this off-season the Yankees will actually address their desperate need for quality pitching by going after young players not aging veterans.
April 30, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Starting pitching aside for now (the topic is worn out), I’m glad you were able to look past the final line to analyze how Hughes performed. First inning in the big leagues against guys like Wells and Thomas, I was surprised he wasn’t taken deep. It’s more than Matsuzaka can say about his debut and that guy is 27. Hughes has the stuff and innings 2-4 he was actually dominant against a pretty decent Jays lineup, even with the injuries. He definitely has something to build on and I think by mid 2008, this guy is getting the phenom treatment.