The Ol' Ballfield

LiveBlogging the Phenom

Tonight is Phil Hughes' first appearance in the majors. Long-regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball, Hughes' has also served as a vindication for defenders of the New York Yankees' oft-maligned farm system. Tonight is by no means the be all end all on Hughes; it is merely an exciting event, as all call-ups of "the next big thing" are.

I will be liveblogging the first 30 minutes of the game, at which point I will sign off. A lifelong Detroit Red Wings fan, my allegiances lie elsewhere when the puck drops on Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at 7:30.

Lost in all of this is that Hughes is facing an excellent pitcher in A.J. Burnett. A solid start by Burnett, combined with the Blue Jays' underrated offense and the Yankees' current slump, could spoil the first major league start for young Hughes.


TOP 1ST

-Here comes the first pitch. Low for a ball. Clearly doesn't have what it takes.

-A line drive to Rios, and he's given up his first hit. Good to get that out of the way.

-No throw from Posada on the steal by Rios, and we have a runner in scoring position with no outs.

-Niiice 12 to 6 curve. That right there is potential, and he's got a delivery that's twice as deceptive as Barry Zito's.

-And the first major league K comes on a 94 mph heater.

-The kid certainly looks like he has all the resolve I keep hearing about. Check, glare in, reach back, strikeout.

-Number 65? Booooooring.

-Johnny Damon is a nightmare. Not that Bernie Williams would have caught that, but Damon truly looks lost in center.

-They said on YES (or MY9, whatever) that Vernon Wells is the best hitter Hughes has ever faced. I would rank Frank Thomas as much more intimidating, 2006 or no.

-Close call on an inside fastball that could have rung up Thomas, but who do think is going to get the call in this situation?

-He's making The Big Hurt work for it.

-There's the obligatory "nice piece of hitting" comment from Michael Kay, which usually means "lucky piece of hitting." Still only one hard hit ball in this inning, and it came from Vernon Wells. Two runs are in, but Hughes has been solid.

-Nasty changeup with really nasty screwball-type movement at the end. That pitch will serve him well. Shades of Pedro.

-The pressure finally gets to him, makes his first bad pitch of the inning, a 55-foot fastball that goes to the screen. Runner on second, one out.

-Stupid little groundout by Overbay on that great curve. Michael Kay has said that Hughes is "struggling", but I've been impressed so far.

-This Liveblog is taking my attention off how worried I am about the Wings. I like that.

-Oh yeah, Mientkiewicz is good at defense. WHO CARES.

-Overall a very solid inning from Hughes. The only hitter he didn't win the battles with was Wells; some other stuff squeaked through.


Okay, that's all I'm going to have time for. My diagnosis: bad babysitting! No, seriously, he looked great. The fastball has life, the curve is deadly, the two seamer moves about four to six inches, and the change looks to be his best-kept secret. Maybe the call-up wasn't such a bad idea, but the fact that he was kept at below 90 pitches for his whole career is a bit worrisome. Expect the occasional meltdown this year if he stays with the big club, but overall Hughes looks as good as advertised.

Labels: liveblog, Phil Hughes, prospects

posted by Carnival @ 4/26/2007