After a genius Yankee decision to skip Phil Hughes to keep him on his "innings limit," Hughes turned in his worst outing of the season as the Yankees dropped a game to Cliff Lee and the weak-hitting Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Thanks to a solid outing by John Lackey against the Rays, the Red Sox are now just one game out in the AL East, despite missing two key parts of their lineup. And if anyone needed to see an audition from Cliff Lee, tonight was it. I don't care if he gave up four runs. He's pitched three consecutive complete games, and he owns the Yankees.
I'm not sure there's too much to say tonight other than the disappointment in Hughes, which may or may not have been directly affected by the skipping of his most recent start. Hughes' trouble may be attributed to rust, but I saw a problem with pitch selection. He threw too many fastballs. I'm not sure if it's because he doesn't trust the hook, but he was unable to put away hitters with two strikes, especially batters at the bottom of the Seattle lineup. Whatever it was, I just hope we're not talking about the skipping of Phil Hughes anymore this season. Unless, of course, the Yankees want to sign Cliff Lee.
Things do not get any easier for the Yankees offense tomorrow, as C.C. Sabathia takes on Felix Hernandez. Tonight's game was a perfect example of what the Mariners were supposed to be this season. They still do have two pitchers that would be aces on almost any other team. As ridiculous as it sounds, tomorrow may as well be a must-win game for the Yankees. Losing a series to Seattle at home is completely unacceptable.
No comments:
Post a Comment