Hughes To Face Chisox Next Wednesday
I’m thrilled to see that Phil Hughes will be starting a game for the Yankees on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to watching that one. More so, I’m even more interested to see what will happen after that start. At this junction, I see it breaking down in one of these two ways:
Phil Hughes will not pitch well in the game. And, if this happens, I fully expect the Phil Hughes Apologists Association to provide some excuse for the poor effort. In fact, it will probably be one (or more) of the following:
1. It was chilly and Hughes forgot to wear a sweater.
2. The umpire was squeezing him.
3. Hughes had trouble making a boom-boom the morning of his start and never recovered from the rough start to his day.
Or, Phil Hughes will pitch well – and perhaps outstanding – in the game. And, if this happens, many Yankees fans will claim that they saw, while Hughes was on the mound, a clearing in the sky, followed by a bright light, from which a golden crown descended, down from the heavens and resting upon Phil’s head – at which point the sounds of harps and bells could be heard from the Bronx all the way to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.
Oh, and, they’ll also mention something about the YES radar gun being slow…
Just watch. It will be one of these two outcomes…assuming that Hughes doesn’t suffer some sort of injury before or during the game, of course.
Steve:
OK, we get it. You don’t like Phil Hughes and you don’t like the fact that other Yankee observers think he’s God’s gift. I’m one who believes the jury is still out on him and likely will be for another season. Cut him a little slack, let him pitch a few times, and see whether he can make the adjustments to the majors that virtually every prospect has to make.
Whether he makes the adjustments or not is irrelevant. This is garbage time. Nothing Hughes does this season should be given any weight in evaluating his future performance. You’d think you people would have gotten this through your thick skulls after the Ian Kennedy disaster.
How about showing Hughes a little support and encouragement despite his deficiencies? So he’s not a top drawer starter and may never be one; but he’s still a Yankee. I can recall being at the Stadium sometime in the late 60′s where a “fan” down a few rows in front of me spent the entire game riding Jake Gibbs. Why? Because Jake Gibbs was supposed to be the second coming of Bill Dickey when the Yanks signed him with great fanfare and a fat bonus out of Ole Miss in ’61 and he had the affrontary to be just a marginal major league catcher. All that hype, all that money…for this?
I mean, it would be one thing if Gibbs or Hughes were “dogging it” or mouthing off boorishly. Then I would have no problem in venting displeasure at their sub-standard performances. But as long as they wear the pinstipes and give it their best effort I’m behind them.
…oh, and I also rooted for Horace Clarke.
Steve, this is what sickens me about the homers out there: it’s always sunny in Phil Hughes land! I want to see this kid come to fruition eventually but it’s getting late early. Like a lot of Yankee prospects who quite frankly are mediocre, he received so much hype.
~~How about showing Hughes a little support and encouragement despite his deficiencies? So he’s not a top drawer starter and may never be one; but he’s still a Yankee.~~
At the start of this season, I shared why I feel the way that I do about Hughes:
http://waswatching.com/2008/02/10/keanu-hughes/
Does this mean that I will be rooting for him to fail and for the Yankees to lose when he pitches?
Heck, no. There have been plenty of Yankees pitchers who have rubbed me the wrong way: Kevin Brown, Jeff Weaver, Sidney Ponson, and Kei Igawa would be a recent few like this…but, when they were on the hill for the Yankees, I wanted them to win.
Shoot, I was never a fan of Mark Whiten, Butch Hobson, Terrence Long, or Mark Bellhorn, either…but, when they played for the Yankees I wanted to see them get hits.
I’ve said this many, many, times here. I would love to see Phil Hughes win 180 games for the Yankees over the next ten seasons. But, until he does something…anything…positive at the major level, on a consistent basis, I’m just not going to drool over him, unconditinally, as so many other Yankees fans do…and insist that anyone else who is a Yankees fan should do the same.
They’ll definitely say the umpire *squeezed* him if he pitches poorly. Especially some of the yahoos at RLYW.
The kid is 22. twenty….two… Give him a chance. Not everyone come up like Joba. They all can’t be dominant right out of the minors. Look at Santana’s first couple years, or Holiday or any of the other dominating young Jays players. Pitchers take time. That’s all there is to it.
All I ask for is he takes some positive steps in his development and can hold a #5 starters spot next year. From there he can improve or not.
And, if this happens, many Yankees fans will claim that they saw, while Hughes was on the mound, a clearing in the sky, followed by a bright light, from which a golden crown descended, down from the heavens and resting upon Phil’s head – at which point the sounds of harps and bells could be heard from the Bronx all the way to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.”
You sound like someone describing Obama.
You sound like someone describing Obama.
==========
can we leave politics out of this blog?
Yes, please. If this goes into a political discussion, I will be forced to shut it down – and fast.
At least stick to the politics of baseball
Anyway, it appears that Hughes can’t win no matter what he does. Personally, I’m happy that the Yanks are moving in the right direction regarding developing pitching. Hughes, Kennedy & Chamberlain are light years ahead of Kamie, Johnson & Taylor.
I’m sure many here would prefer the Yanks bring in proven veterans like Brown, Mussina, Clemens and the like, but the fact is that the Yanks are going in a different direction, and deals like Drabek for Rhoden are hopefully a thing of the past.
Looking at the MiL numbers, I think these guys have a good chance of succeeding, and I’m willing to take my chances with them.