Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Phil Hughes looked awful in the first two innings of last night's 9-2 win in Toronto. He was missing Jorge Posada's target by several feet and needed some big plays in the field to escape some serious damage early on. With the bases loaded and two-outs in the first, Aaron Hill laced a grounder up the middle but Hughes managed to swat it down and get the out at first to escape the jam unscathed. With men on first and second and none out in the second, Hughes benefited from an unusual 8-5 fielder's choice courtesy of Melky Cabrera's arm on a flare to center that forced the runners to hold up, and a spectacular diving catch by Johnny Damon on a ball laced into the left field gap. Those plays prevented the Jays from advancing and delivered Hughes two crucial outs. A subsequent single by Russ Adams and a two-base error by Cabrera throwing behind the runner at second (his throw skipped past the bag and rolled into the Yankee dugout) plated both runners, but Hughes got Alex Rios to ground out and shut the door from there, allowing only one base runner on an error by Alex Rodriguez (a bobble) over his final four innings to turn in his second straight six-inning, two-run quality start. Hughes still wasn't all the great even in those later innings, however. He was still frequently missing Posada's target. He only struck out one man all night, that being Vernon Wells leading off the first, and of those last 12 outs, only three of them came on the ground.
It was enough, however, as the Yanks touched up Shawn Marcum for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings, the big shot being an opposite field grand slam by Jason Giambi in the fifth, his first homer in 35 plate appearances. Edwar Ramirez pitched around a pair of singles for a pair of scoreless innings in relief of Hughes, striking out five of the eight men he faced. Ross Ohlendorf then made his major league debut with a 1-2-3 inning that started with a strikeout of Lyle Overbay and concluded with a pair of grounders to fellow member of the Randy Johnson package Alberto Gonzalez. Ohlendorf, who did not pitch well in the minors this year prompting a move into the bullpen, threw 11 pitches, seven of them strikes, and hit 95 on the radar gun with excellent control and great movement on his fastball. For those who might have missed it, that means the Yanks held the Blue Jays to two runs (one earned) on five hits (four of them singles) by using nothing but rookie pitchers. The performances from Ramirez and Ohlendorf are particularly encouraging given the fact that Luis Vizcaino has added a stiff lower back to the shoulder problem that has shut him down over the past week.
Elsewhere, Shelley Duncan was sent back to New York after complaining of abdominal pain that could prove to be a hernia, and the Tigers split a double-header with the Rangers, giving the Yankees an even four-game lead in the Wild Card and a five-game lead in the loss column.
Finally, an update on Roger Clemens courtesy of Pete Abe who reports that Clemens "said he is ready to face Boston on Sunday. He threw for about 15 minutes at 80 percent today and will get after it a little more on Thursday. He had two cortisone shots in his elbow last Wednesday in Houston. He also revealed that there was some ligament damage."
So Casman knew exactly what he was doing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_CCFgay5q0
He's shown the stuff, and tonight he showed the mettle. He even admits in that video that he didn't have his best stuff. I'm still really optimistic about this kid. It's only a matter of time, IMO, before he puts it all together. We're getting flashes here and there.
His maturity is serving him well at this point.
Unless my math is wrong here:
Two needles for Clemens + ligament damage + muscle pain + bleeding in his forearm + blisters on his right hoof = Hughes against Schilling on Sunday, no? Forget the side session tomorrow. No matter what Roger says, it would behoove Joe and Gator to use him in relief against live Toronto batters tomorrow before giving him that Sunday game. No doubt, Clemens will try to talk his way into what could possibly be his last Fenway appearance.
Yeesh.
- He was heralded as the top pitching prospect in the country.
- He pitched better (especially his curve) before he got hurt.
Now, the skepticism ranges from he's a flatout bust to he'll never get it back. There are also observers who wonder if he's screwing up his mechanics compensating for that still healing hammy.
That might be a legitimate concern, but I trust the Yanks are keeping a sharp on on him.
The good news is, Big Shoes Hughes seems oblivious to the scrutiny while he's on the mound, and remains poised and effective.
They've played very poorly against division rivals that they should have been fattening up against.
Going forward the only way we'll know if he can be consistent, and regain the command he is lacking is for him to keep working.
The more I think about it, the more I think the Yanks should just forget about Roger this Sunday, and stick with Hughes. Put him up against Schill on Sunday night. It would be a great test for him.
We know Roger is going to push hard for that start, as it could possibly be his last one at Fenway, but Joe and Cashman should encourage him to keep resting his battered body, and give Phil the ball.
Hello, ALCS?! ;-)
8 You nailed it - it's frustrating to watch Hughes struggle like this considering he was touted for so long. And now Joba comes up and is making 3,4 & 5 hitters (on the Tigers, no less!) look absolutely silly.
Not nearly as much pressure on Kennedy, and he looks quite serviceable IMO. I think Hughes is doing quite well considering the injury, the 'win or go home' playoff pressure, and the fact that he's (HELLO) 21.
He'll be fine. How many guys win 20 games out of the gate and keep it up for a whole career?
As for the M's, you think they woke up, checked their Pythagorean record and said, "Whoa, we better start losing a few, otherwise we're gonna be way off come the end of the season."?
It'clear his stuff isn't up the level it was before the hamstring but this kid is barely 21 years old. He's going to mature and get better.
From what I have seen of his fastball, it
has terrific late movement. Watch some of his highlights on yankees.com and see some of the swings. Hitters are overpowered.
His fastball will probably only top out at 94 mph and that's fine. The comparisons to Clemens are just baseless because they feature different out pitches.
I feel that Hughes' curve will return to the devestating form we've seen as will his change up.
He is 21 people. Really, relax. Not everyone is going to be Doc Gooden in their rookie season.
-Johnny Damon had a first half so terrible people were demanding he put himself on the DL;
-Bobby Abreu had a first half so terrible people wanted to trade him for Jermaine Dye;
-Robinson Cano had a first half so terrible people were calling last year a fluke;
-Melky Cabrera had a few months so terrible people wanted to send him back to the minors;
-Derek Jeter has been consistently injured and has seen his production plummet;
-Jason Giambi was DL'd for a large chunk of the season;
-The ace of the staff missed a month with a hamstring injury;
-His best replacement missed even more with a hamstring injury;
-Luis Vizcaino was terrible for a long stretch;
-So was Mariano Rivera;
-Mike Mussina, the #3 starter entering the season, is quite possibly finished
-The bullpen has had several atrocious members, including Villone, Henn, Bruney, and Farnsworth (for most of the season);
-Doug Mieakcnzk has had several AB;
I'd say it's a truly magical season. We actually have four MVPs: A-rod, Posada, Mystique, and Aura.
Absolutely. The way he carries himself in interviews, it's hard to believe he only just turned 21.
As for the PR training? I'm not sure how much maturity the kids can quickly develop in a crash course at Yankee charm school.
I'd attribute the maturity we've seen from Joba, Phil, Kennedy, and even the less successful ones (Clippard, DeSalvo, Wright) to their parents, and a solid upbringing.
Also, I'd imagine 5 minutes of exposure to veterans like Pettitte, Rivera, Clemens, Posada, Moose etc. would teach a kid more about maturity than a week with any PR trainer.
That said, I expect Eiland is going to have some kind of role very soon, if only because he's worked so much with some of these guys - and many of the ones on the way, too.
I'm sure Long is constantly updating his resume to include A-Rod's season in progress.
The best illustration of the 1st-half rotation futility was that, for much of the season, 5 of the 9 starters on the pre-season depth chart (Pavano, Karstens, Rasner, Sanchez, Hughes) were on the DL, and a 6th was so ineffective that he was in the minors.
I think Betemit's a fine utility player myself.
but you're probably right. I forgot about Andy. No question it would be him.
People with myopic and reactionary viepoints like to hear themselves talk.
Jeeeesus. So Phil isn't pitching like an ace in his first MLB injury shortened season. He kept the team in the game. He has plenty of stuff. He has a track record a mile long of astounding location. Is he where we all want him to be right now? No. But he's been better than Moose, or Igawa or Clippard or DeSalvo.
Anyone who has their mind made up on Hughes in either direction needs to take a nap.
While I'm not breaking out the champaign yet, things are looking pretty good. I assume we win 93 games.
I believe Torre HAS to start planning for the PS. For me, this means:
1) Resting Jeter. He is basically only slightly better then average on offense now. We won't talk about his defense. He must SIT and get as much rest as possible. Really, he's close to a liability right now.
2) Play Giambi regularly. 4 games out of 5, one at 1st. Remember when a terribly slumping Giambi was moved to 7th... and hit TWO HRs against Pedro? Remember what game that was? Giambi MUST play.
3) Stink will be used as a LDR and will get a few ABs. Hate to say it, but he needs to get some ABs to prepare.
If Viz is injured, can he be replaced on the PS roster? If so, who would replace him? I liked Dorf last night. His ball moves a lot.
1) Like it or not, Jeter will not rest until after his next parade.
2) agreed. Like it or not, Giamba is the first baseman. (I predicted this when Doug Out was just a rumor around here).
3) Oy. I'd rather see Betemit get the 1B playing time and at-bats. Doug Out should not be part of any playoff plan.
4) Viz. Too early to say if he needs replacing on the postseason roster, and too early to give his set-up role to the 'Dorf just yet.
While we're boldly making postseason plans, how about establishing bullpen roles for the starters who won't be starting in October? Mussina? Kennedy? This is tricky business, because the Yanks still require quality starts aplenty down the stretch.
;-P
YANKEES
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Mussina RHP (8-10, 5.51)
Can anyone please convince me why Matsui should ever be playing LF with Damon DH. Could Damon possibly be as beat up (or even close) as Matsui. Man, that guy's knees on the carpet, say it ain't so. And Damon showed last night how great it is to have good D in the outfield corners, especially in Left (same as Melky did last year...)
If the Jays had no defense either, then technically we'd have probably won Infinity to Zero because we batted first. :)
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7215532
This was actually on the front page today. And with a big fat picture of Dice-K too. El-Oh-El.
I'm not saying the Yankees are the best, but all those apply, in my admittedly biased opinion, better for the Yanks. Did he forget that Boston was a 3rd place team last year???
Ah well. Guess I shouldn't care what some tool who writes for FOX says anyway.
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