pinstripepress

Finally we got what we’ve been waiting for from the highly-touted Phil Hughes - 8 innings of shut-out baseball, and he probably could’ve gone out there for 9. This was BY FAR his best start since pitching in the majors, and it’s gotta be a big shot of confidence for this kid. When you throw a game like that against a great offense on the road, you’re cookin’ with gas. I have always believed in Hughes, and I picked him to emerge this year and stay in the rotation, so now this could be the performance he needed to keep him here for good. Here’s the kicker - Wang is sitting in the bullpen, and if he shows that he is back to normal, he has to be put back in the rotation right? If you ask me, you cannot send anyone down to the minors. You must keep everyone here, and simply stick someone in the bullpen - obviously the guy that makes the most sense is Joba, but that doesn’t seem like it will happen at this point since he’s thrown mostly good games as a starter. If you have to, put Hughes in the pen - the kid can throw strikes, give you a few innings, and get you a big strikeout when you need it. Especially with Bruney going back on the DL, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.

The offense has certainly maintained some consistency now, which is another encouraging thing as we almost head into June. Marky Mark Teixeira is getting comfortable in his pinstripes (as expected) - let’s face it, even Tino struggled and got boo’d when he first got here. A-Rod just went 5-for-5 so he’s starting to hit besides just homering, Cano is back to stroking the ball, Melky hasn’t slowed down and suddenly looks like an all-star caliber outfielder, and Jeter is Jeter. Let’s not forget Cervelli, who has impressed everyone since coming up, and is making a very good case to stay here - Girardi may be forced to keep 3 catchers (unless they trade Molina). This team always seems to play well when the kids contribute, so maybe they should bring up Austin Jackson (hitting .358 at Scranton) and see what he can do? It would only be a good problem to have if he came here and hit.