There is much rejoicing around the Yankee Universe today in regards to Tuesday's dominant six-inning performance by Phil Hughes. Personally, I loved what I saw. He threw hard (92-93 mph) and threw the fastball where he wanted to had that excellent curveball, has added a very effective cutter to his repertoire and even dropped in a couple of change-ups.
Most of all, though, he looked confident. He looked like he knew he belonged, and knew what he wanted to do. Let's hope he can keep it up.
Here is some of what is being written about Hughes in other places today.
- Jose Molina caught Hughes Tuesday, and came away impressed.
"He was great," Molina said. "He put the ball where he wanted to and was aggressive in the zone all night long. His pitches were working, and he was the Phil Hughes that everybody knows."
- Peter Abraham said it's the best he has seen Hughes since he no-hit Texas for 6.1 innings back in May of 2007. I agree.
- Mark Feinsand of the Daily News said it's the first time in a long time that Hughes has reminded everyone why he is nicknamed 'The Franchise.'
Tuesday night was only one start, but it was the kind of start that reminded us all why this kid had so much hype around him to begin with. Hughes showed precise command of his 92-94 mph fastball, a huge curveball that actually had veteran hitters moving out of the way before it fell in for a called strike and an effective cutter that helped him escape the one jam he got himself into.
"I finally feel like I have my legs underneath me," Hughes said. "I’m attacking hitters the way I used to, mixing all my pitches. It’s everything compounded into one."
-
Tyler Kepner predicts that neither Hughes nor Mark Melancon will see AAA again.
Other stories around the Yankee Universe
- Peter Abraham Fact of the Day: Haven't done one of these in a long time, but this is a great one. Jose Molina is the first player to have a sacrifice bunt and a grand slam in the same inning since Sal Bando of Oakland on May 7, 1975.
- 'Fat Toad' is back: Hideki Irabu is making a comeback in the Independent League.
- A-Rod Update: The New York Post reports that Alex Rodriguez is getting closer to playing in rehab games.