I was beginning to worry that Phil
Hughes was becoming the new AJ Burnett for some New York Yankees fans looking
for someone to boo and blame for the Bronx Bombers’ mediocre start. But Hughes put
those concerns to rest with his gem of a start yesterday.
With Andy Pettitte coming back to the
Yankees today, it was extremely important for Hughes to remind the fans and
quite frankly the organization about why they have so much invested in him as a
starter. Hughes was on the verge of being shifted to the bullpen, sentenced to
a baseball life as a middle reliever, as Joba Chamberlain has been despite his
stunning debut in the American League in 2007. But his starting job now seems
safe as Hughes delivered by far his best performance of the baseball season.
Yes, it was against the Seattle Mariners, but he has been improving with each
start and is headed in the right direction.
Hughes claimed he didn’t have his best
stuff, but he spotted the baseball beautifully and took full advantage of an
improved defense behind him (no longer having to worry about Eduardo Nunez
making errors that blow up innings for him as the young shortstop was sent to
the minor leagues to work on his defense). Hughes was so efficient that the
Yankees finished off the Mariners in about 2 ½ hours. The main improvement has
been in Hughes’ attitude, with his newfound aggressiveness leading to more
success, which in turn breeds confidence.
Yankee fans don’t have Burnett to kick
around anymore so I was worried they were starting to turn their negative
attention on to Hughes, a kid who has shown flashes of promise, but has struggled
to sustain it. But it looks like he is in the clear again when it comes to
restless Yankee fans. All Hughes has to do is keep pitching well and he will hear his name being chanted instead of being booed.
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