April 13, 2008
4/13: Two Phenoms, One Winner
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New York Yankees (6-6) @ Boston Red Sox (6-6)
Phil Hughes (0-1, 5.00) @ Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0, 1.47) 8:05 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA) TV: ESPN RADIO: WRKO 680, SBN 1150 |
GAME NOTES: The Next Great Pitcher‚Ѣ, a.k.a Phil Hughes, gets his first crack against the Red Sox while our young ace in the making attempts to take the rubber match of the first Sox/Yanks tilt and continue his fine season. No precipitation tonight, but it'll be mighty cold. Hopefully Dice-K and co. can warm us up with a celebration.
Discussion
24 Comments on "4/13: Two Phenoms, One Winner"
#1
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 4:45 PM
Let's see if Hughes and his 91 mph fastball can put up a quality start and keep the Red Sox batting under the Mendoza line like Buchholz did to the Yankees.
#2
Posted by JaredK, April 13, 2008 5:31 PM
Gabe Kapler hit his fourth homerun of the year today. Did the guy finally realize with his strength that a little upper-cut in his swing might make him a stud? Probably won't last but I always wondered if Gabe wanted to be a power hitter what he could do.
I still think Hughes is gonna be fine...we saw Clay do well in his short stint last year working primarily at 91-92...although it is nice to see Clay sitting at 93 so early in the season in his last start.
#3
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 5:37 PM
It's not a problem for Clay to work at 91 mph because his secondary stuff is so much more advanced. Hughes' curve might be comparable to that of Buchholz but his change sure isn't. Both pitchers have very good control, but Hughes relies in his a little more than Buchholz who can get by with his raw stuff even if he isn't locating everything.
#4
Posted by Jc, April 13, 2008 5:39 PM
YANKEES
Johnny Damon CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada DH
Jason Giambi 1B
Jose Molina C
Alberto Gonzalez SS
Phil Hughes RHP (0-1. 5.00)
RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Manny Ramirez DH
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Sean Casey 1B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Julio Lugo SS
Daisuke Matsuzaka RHP (2-0, 1.47)
Big Papi is having the day off, he really needs it...
#5
Posted by JaredK, April 13, 2008 6:12 PM
Agree that Clay has 3 very good pitches to Hughes two, however Hughes has very good control with his fastball and Clay struggles with his fastball command, frequently leaving it up. Either way, they are both gonna be studs in my opinion. I imagine Hughes and Clay will add a tick or two as the weather improves.
#6
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 8:13 PM
Yes, that was really my point Jared. Clay doesn't NEED the same control that Hughes does on an every day basis to be successful. And he also doesn't have nearly the amount of trouble replicating his delivery.
#7
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 8:25 PM
A-Rod continues to be incredibly unclutch, now batting 1-10 with RISP. Not sure how much longer it will last but they're a completely different team when he isn't carrying them.
Ellsbury's doing a great job at leading off. Great AB.
#8
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 8:26 PM
Oh, and Jared. This year Hughes has actually had quite a bit of trouble locating HIS fastball as well. And as you can see by the results so far, things get a lot uglier for him when that happens.
Again, I love Jacoby.
#9
Posted by Tim Daloisio, April 13, 2008 8:44 PM
either Molina's confused or Hughes is...but thats two cross ups this inning....more pitches for Hughes!!
#10
Posted by Bob, April 13, 2008 8:48 PM
I've always thought Hughes was a bit overrated but I'm softening my stance on him. I think Buchholz is better at this point because their fastballs are essentially the same, but Clay has much better secondary pitches both stuff and control wise. We also haven't seen Clay have the type of 40 pitch innings and mental lapses that Hughes has shown lately, but Hughes is also younger so there will be growing pains. I look at Hughes similarly to Jon Lester, young pitcher with great stuff, but trouble commanding. Hughes is younger than Lester and probably better. I hope this kid never figures out how to command his stuff because if he does he'll be good
#11
Posted by JaredK, April 13, 2008 8:49 PM
One start in April Full Manny, Hughes has a track record of great control. Glad your paying attention tonight though.
#12
Posted by Daniel Rathman, April 13, 2008 8:50 PM
Just got home from the Giants game; I'm in the chat if anyone wants to talk while watching the game.
#14
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 8:55 PM
No Jared, Hughes struggled with his control all spring as well. Like I said, he's REALLY struggled with his control THIS YEAR.
#15
Posted by JaredK, April 13, 2008 9:14 PM
Sorry did not see THIS YEAR in your posts...anyways his velocity looks great tonight and I'm sure he'll get back on track, luckily for us it does not appear to be tonight.
#17
Posted by Fully Manny, April 13, 2008 9:53 PM
Buchholz - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB
Hughes - 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB
#18
Posted by Chris C, April 13, 2008 9:57 PM
Tried to get in the chatroom, but something there caused two different browsers to completely crash.....
#19
Posted by JaredK, April 13, 2008 10:20 PM
Hughes is two full years younger then Clay as well, so if in 2010 he shuts down the sox over 6 innings that will be an apt comparison. I think Clay is going to be better but they are both special, hopefully it never comes together for Hughes...but I see these two guys leading their respective rotations for a long time.
#20
Posted by Mostly Running., April 13, 2008 11:38 PM
Man, something is weird with yahoo right now. It says that Timlin just came in, was Timlin, and then with runners on 1st and 2nd they brought in Lopez. Man, yahoo is f'd up today.
#21
Posted by Tessie's Dad, April 13, 2008 11:39 PM
Even stranger: MLB gameday says the same thing! Talk about f'ed up!
#23
Posted by Mostly Running., April 14, 2008 12:14 AM
I'll give the man credit when he earns it: way to go Lopez. Thank you and thank you offense.
#24
Posted by Daniel Rathman, April 14, 2008 2:33 AM
Great job, Lopez. You don't do it often, but you did it today.
Hey, maybe we can sell high on him now and get us a decent LOOGY?
Either way, excellent job overcoming Dice-K's erratic pitching, and the absence of Big Papi and Papejima.
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