Phil Hughes once again pitched very well Saturday. This time it was against the Tampa Bay Rays. He went six innings, allowed two runs on just four hits and a walk while striking out six. His average fastball velocity was about 92 mph, (HERE) which is good to see. This is Hughes' third straight quality start while allowing just two walks and striking out 13 in that 18 inning span with a 2.00 ERA. And of his six starts since coming off the DL in early July, he's picked up four quality starts.
Yet with Hughes' recent success he is still on the bubble for the fifth rotation spot along with AJ Burnett, and it's a shame. Burnett has a 6.00 ERA since July 4th, and he's yet to pick up a win since June 29th against the Milwaukee Brewers. He's also yet to pick up a quality start in that span as well. Since Hughes' return from the DL, he has gone 3-3 with a 4.27 ERA. Now, those numbers don't sound impressive, but those numbers include his relief outing in Fenway Park last Sunday in which he allowed the walk-off single to Josh Reddick in a 2-2 game in the 10th inning. Also included in that stretch is his ugly start against the Oakland A's on July 22nd. He allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. I hate to cherry pick, but if you take out both of those outings he'd be 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA.But there is some good news potentially for Hughes. Freddy Garcia will miss his start on Sunday with a cut on his finger, read HERE. AJ Burnett will make another start in place of Garcia, and everyone else will be pushed up an extra day, and thus--along with Burnett-- everyone will start on regular rest. This means Hughes should make his start on Thursday in Minnesota. If Burnett continues to pitch poorly, and Hughes continues to pitch well, it would further prove that Hughes, not Burnett, should be starting games.
(Photo: NY Daily News)On Friday GM Brian Cashman defended A.J Burnett. Check that out HERE. He pretty much says that Burnett is still a good pitcher, who doesn't belong in the bullpen and that he doesn't get enough run support. That's false, because like I said earlier, he hasn't won since June 29th, he's 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA in that stretch. Also, he receives 6.84 runs of support per start this season which is 27th in the bigs. To be honest, the only reason why Cashman says that Burnett won't go to the bullpen is really because of his massively absurd contract. He's set to make $16.5 million the next two seasons, far more than a guy who has thus far gone 31-33 with a 4.16 with declining stuff in his Yankees career. (read WHY BURNETT'S STUFF IS ON THE DECLINE.
If you think about it, the Yankees would be hypocrites if they moved Hughes to the bullpen or to AAA, and have Burnett start. I mean look at Jorge Posada and Rafael Soriano. Posada is making over $13 million this season and he is no longer part of the everyday starting lineup. You don't find very many $13 million bench players. Rafael Soriano signed a 3 year/$35 million to be a set up man. He's making $10 million this season and he's currently the seventh inning guy. You can't find very many $10 million set up men, let alone guys who are making $10 million pitching the seventh inning. So essentially, the Yankees would be hypocrites if their main reason for keeping Burnett in the rotation is because of his contract. He currently doesn't belong in the rotation because he's pitched very poorly since the end of June, and Hughes has pitched well since his return from the DL, while pitching exceptionally well in his last three starts.
--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer
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