Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Wlecome to the Phil Hughes show

Those of you who know me, and speak to me regularly have heard me say this before, but this time I think it might stick. I am been waiting for this type of start since he had his no-hitter injury. Since that injury he just has not been the same. Until yesterday.

People will point to Phil's less then stellar ERA of 5.16, but take away that one terrible outing and he is pitching respectably. He is certainly not a stud/star/ace yet but he could be on his way if he keeps it up. He is already the 4th best starter on that team, considering the great AJ Burnett is what anyone with brains would have expected. At least Hughes bought himself another start.

The question is going to be what do the Yankees do with Hughes and Wang if Hughes continues to pitch well. Do the Yankees leave Hughes in the rotation and Wang in the pen? Or vice versa? I think the real question is if Wang can pitch again, and which of the two would help the bullpen the most.

I am not sure if I trust Wang yet. He pitched OK, at best, in his return from the DL on Friday. His ERA dropped 10 runs, but 2 runs in 3 innings is nothing to be proud of. I think Wang needs to prove that he can put in a string of good outtings before he earns his rotation spot back.

In the end though, and I hate to say this, I think Hughes might be better for the team in the bullpen. Let Wang start, IF and only IF, he can show that he deserves it. Then let Phil be what Joba was for the Yankees the last few years. With Brueny out for who knows how long, Phil can go in the pen and get strikeouts, something Wang cannot do. I think that helps the Yankees the most, kills my fantasy squads, but helps the Yankees. But if Wang can show he can get guys out then let Phil rack up the innings, K's, and wins.

Either way people, Welcome to the Phil Hughes show!!

2 comments:

Bethany said...

I'm curious to know why you feel it would be better for the Yankees if Hughes played in the bullpen? You seem to have a bit of a man crush on him so I just wondered why you don't want him starting?

Boston Baked Bums said...

I would love to see him start. But I think he has a better ability to get strikeouts when he needs them. Wang isn't much of a strikeout guy. In this case I am thinking best for the team, because neither of them can be sent down. Hughes cant be because he is pitching well, Wang can't without going on waivers. But yea I I do have a baseball crush on Hughes.