Game 57 - 4 HRs Lead Yanks Over Rays

If it weren't for the long ball tonight, the Yanks may have been shutout.  Solo shots by Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira, plus a 2-run dinger from hot-hitting Nick Swisher, led to all the Yanks scoring in a 5-3 victory over the Rays.  Andy Pettitte gutted it out through 6 innings, giving up 3 runs, 2 earned, while striking out 7.  Pettitte's only mistake came against Gabe Kapler in the 4th, when the .169 hitter hit his 1st homer of the year.  Inexcusable, but at least it didn't cost the Bombers the game.  

Despite all those HRs though by the hometowners, the highlight of the night may have been Phil Hughes appearance out of the bullpen in the 7th.  Johnny Damon just gave the Yanks a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 6th.  Facing the top of the Rays very talented order, he retired BJ Upton and Carl Crawford on grounders.  Mixing 94-95 mph fastballs with a 77 mph curve ball, Hughes reared back and blew away the dangerous Evan Longoria.  Phil Coke and the great Mariano Rivera finished the Rays off in the 8th and 9th to clinch the 3-game series.   

But let me return to the subject of the young Phil Hughes.  I'll be the first in line to say Phil Hughes is a starting pitcher, just like I feel Joba belongs in the rotation, and just as I believed that Dave Righetti was on track to be a great starting pitcher in the 1980's before the Yankees destroyed his career by making him a closer.  But I could not help being tantalized by Hughes performance tonight out of the pen.  It was electric.  The guy came in throwing gas and had sharp command of both his fastball and curveball.  Unfortunately for Hughes, the Yanks have 5 starting pitchers.  He's not going to unseat Sabathia, Burnett or Pettitte in the rotation.  Wang is a question mark, so Hughes may unseat him if Wang's troubles persist.  Joba is on an innings limit this season and I assume Hughes will pick up some of his starts later in the season.    There's always the chance of a mid-season injury, too.  In the meantime, Hughes has proved all that he can down in the minors.  Why not keep him in the bullpen for awhile with the big club?

The problem with keeping Hughes in the pen is that it prohibits his development as a starting pitcher and denies him a chance to build up his innings total toward the magic 200 innings total.  Intelligent Yankee fans and baseball experts will tell us he should continue to start, even if it's in the minors.  Normally, I agree 100%, but if Hughes can dominate out of the pen like he did tonight and shorten the game to get to Mariano, I might be onboard.  And my reason is this - Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano are not getting any younger.  This could be their last hurrah before their games begin deteriorating in front of our disbelieving eyes.  They're not the only ones aging, either.  Johnny Damon is getting up there in age and in his free agent year.  Do the Yanks want to lose out on making a long run in the playoffs in what may be his last year with the team?  Matsui is in the same boat as Damon.  Hughes could be that missing piece to bring the Yanks back to the promised land.  Manager Joe Girardi's philosophy, just as he learned from his mentor, Padre Joe Torre, is to win today and not worry about tomorrow.  Shouldn't that be applied to this season as well?  

For once, I'm glad I'm not Brian Cashman.  He's got some tough choices ahead.  If the Yanks are lucky, the triumphant return of Damaso Marte and Brian Bruney to the bullpen could make all of this a moot point and Hughes can continue his dominance and development in Triple A.  For once though, the Yankees have a very good problem on their hands.

Yankees Record:  34-23, 1 game up on the Bosox as they head up to Boston for a 3-game set.