"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Wish Fulphilment

I have to admit, in June of 2004, I was not paying attention to the Amateur Draft. Nor was I terribly familiar with the Yankee farm system beyond whatever floated to the surface to fill in for the big club when necessary. But when the Yankees stopped appearing in the World Series, when the Red Sox completed their 86 year design to capture a title, and then improved that design by 83 years to win a second, I began to look to the Minor Leagues for hope. And hope quickly became personified in Phil Hughes.

As the Yanks kept slipping further and further away from another championship, the future of Phil Hughes became more and more important to the future of the Yankees. Thus, it was doubly frustrating when his prospects started to fade the closer he approached the Major Leagues. Injuries and mixed results, promotions and demotions, trade rumors and the emergence of other young Yanks all combined to lessen expectations significantly.

But I think a good many Yankee fans (and a high percentage of the Banteratti) never gave up on Phil. The connection I established with him in the Minors, when he provided a glimpse of a possible successful future for the Yankees at a time when the varsity team kept concocting disappointments, was strong enough to withstand the false starts and setbacks. So now that he has twirled his fourth solid game and second absolute gem of the 2010 season, his early performance is my favorite story line of the young season.

Hughes dominated the White Sox today and the Yankee offense had its best game of the year and they cruised to an easy 12-3 victory. On a day that was hot-as-heck, the Yanks wisely won this one without breaking a sweat.

Phil followed a very similar pattern to his near-no-no in which he established an excellent 94 mph fastball early in the game, and then worked his 89 mph cutter in liberally before turning to the slow curve ball (which looked to me like his best curve ball of the season) later in the game. In stark contrast to the nibbling, insecure and drawn out style he had exhibited in starts in 2008 and 2009, Hughes has been a pleasure to watch this year.

On offense, Brett Gardner crushed one. Really leveled it and sent it several rows back in right center field. From the vantage point we’re afforded on TV, it was a no-doubter. Mark Teixeira had four hits. That’s six hits in two May games, 11 hits in 22 April games. How many strong Aprils would Teix have to submit before he could alter the narrative he’s now established as a slow-starter? The fact that he began hitting the day the calendar changed set this thing is stone for New Yorkers, I think.

Sunday’s game was so pleasant, and Hughes and Gardner are such nice stories, I hate to spoil this vibe by bringing up Javy Lopez, but, I just did. In Cliff’s game thread yesterday, he mentioned that some “blockheads” started booing Javy after a mediocre performance versus the Angels. He pointed out the futility of blaming Javy for losing the 2004 ALCS, and correctly assessed the vast quantity of “mouth-breathing jackasses” within the Yankee fan base. I agree with Cliff 100% about all three of these points. However, none of these points is a sufficient argument, to me, against hating on Javy Lopez.

In the last 113 innings Javy has pitched for the Yankees, he has permitted 190 base runners, served up 26 homers and allowed 98 runs to score. That’s 98 runs scoring against my favorite team, in all sorts of situations, including postseason games of the utmost importance. When a player submits a record of constant and sustained shittiness, I think it’s well within the rights of the fans to object his presence. I wouldn’t boo him because I wouldn’t boo anyone, but holy shit, if you can’t boo a guy that let up 98 runs in 113 innings for your favorite team, then there’s no performance worth booing.

It’s not just the ALCS. It’s not just the slow start. He has unleashed an avalanche of suck on our heads. When he starts pitching well, we’ll be just fine with this guy. I suggest he begins now.

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19 comments

1 Eddie Lee Whitson KO   ~  May 2, 2010 10:59 pm

As much as anything, I don't want Curt Schilling and Ozzie Guillen to be right about Javy. He just looks so....so....flaccid out there. It hasnt even been the "one bad inning" either (more the opposite perhaps). Anyway, CC has been great and he currently sports the 4th best ERA in the rotation. In other words, everyone else is kickin ass right now...can you imagine if the staff (and team) were struggling now?

Missed the game today, but am so happy that Hughes is on a roll. A couple of the hitters he's faced (Wiggington from Baltimore comes to mind) have called his stuff the best of the young season. Keep it up Phil, we love it.

2 Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO   ~  May 2, 2010 11:08 pm

I hate anyone on those old Braves teams, especially Javy LOPEZ.. :)

3 Yankster   ~  May 2, 2010 11:23 pm

I'm closer to 5'10" than 5'9" which probably makes me taller than Gardner. When Girardi and others (http://nyti.ms/cJbQJt) start talking about Gardner in terms of him being a tiny guy that can't survive the majors, I've got to wonder about their ability to read a stat sheet. This is like no one read moneyball - like they just want some playgirl character to run out there. I've got a different suggestion, read the basic stats, rest the astonishment that its not the centaur hitting home runs and get on with managing the team. Thankfully Cashman doesn't seem to have the same chip.

4 Yankster   ~  May 2, 2010 11:24 pm

[0] ps wishin hopin is a great jpg name.

5 williamnyy23   ~  May 2, 2010 11:41 pm

[3] What basic stats are you considering? Gardner has been an older player at each stage in his minor league career, so they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Did Hughes prospect really start to fade as he approached the majors? He improved at every level in the minors, almost threw a no-hitter in his second major league start and then pitched a big 5 2/3 innings in the playoffs. Sure, his injury plagued 2008 season was a set back, but he established himself as a dominant reliever in 2009. Hughes' star really never faded...the expectations of a sustained immediate impact were just unrealistic.

As for Javy, regardless of how many runs he has given up, I don't think boos are an intelligent response. If the problem really is in his head, booing will just make matters worse. Unfortunately, I don't think many of the people who boo really care about the team.

6 a.O   ~  May 2, 2010 11:45 pm

I definitely want to look on the bright side: We have four solid starters. But time has to be running short for Javy.

7 monkeypants   ~  May 2, 2010 11:51 pm

[5] I think Hughes' prospect status only faded for those who read Was Watching on a regular basis.

8 Cliff Corcoran   ~  May 3, 2010 1:30 am

Good stuff, Jon. I went to see Hughes pitch in Trenton and when I heard he was being called up in '07, I got tickets to his debut. I've never done either of those things for any other Yankee. It's a huge understatement to say it's great to see him putting it all together this year.

9 Eirias   ~  May 3, 2010 2:07 am

Well, Javy Lopez is out of baseball and Javier Lopez is overachieving for the Pirates. How can you hate on a Pittsburgh Pirate? It is like kicking a dog with only three legs.

Lay off of him.

10 RIYank   ~  May 3, 2010 6:26 am

I absolutely agree with Eirias on this one. Hey, if anyone deserves to be booed, it's that awful Yankee pitcher Vazquez -- certainly neither of the Javies Lopeces.

11 Jon DeRosa   ~  May 3, 2010 7:01 am

Yeah, if you can't get someone's name right, you shouldn't be allowed to rag on him. Sorry other Javys.

12 Jon DeRosa   ~  May 3, 2010 7:18 am

[5] That's a good point William. In reality Hughes chances for success didn't change much based on the false starts. But the perceptions and expectations of many fans and media did change because they probably had unrealistic expectations to begin with, as you say.

13 Mattpat11   ~  May 3, 2010 8:56 am

I've said before that I don't like booing a non Pavano, and I won't.

But if its wrong to bring up his miserable 2004 season, I don't know why we should keep pointing to 2009. That's in the past too.

14 Diane Firstman   ~  May 3, 2010 8:58 am

Bloomberg Sports looks at Javy's problems

http://tinyurl.com/2vllrqw

15 Shaun P.   ~  May 3, 2010 8:58 am

[8] Ditto. When Hughes was rehabbing in 2008, I took my two and a half year old down to Providence to see Hughes pitch a minor league game against the PawSox. This is awesome and I hope it continues. And by continues, I don't just mean that Hughes keeps on pitching so well. I also mean that Joba gets to start, too, and gets in the same boat Hughes is in. I still think he can do it, and its not like you can ever have enough starters . . .

Given the extra pitcher on the roster now, my hope is that Joba gets sent down to be stretched out, and they call an OF up . . . but my head says that if anyone goes down, it will be Robertson, and that Joba will stay in the pen for now. Sigh.

I suppose I should keeping hoping. Last summer it looked like Hughes would never get the chance to become an awesome starter, and look where he is now.

16 Just Fair   ~  May 3, 2010 9:03 am

Due to moving, I have no cable, yet. Spent all yesterday day unpacking. Glad to have the game to listen to while that was happening. I was trasnporting the radio all over the house so I wouldn't miss anything. I hope Joba is successful in the bullpen this year and has a Phil-like transformation into the rotation next year. As for Javy, I will continue to boo him from the comfort of my new home. I would never boo a Yankee at a game. I'll leave that to the knuckleheads. Doing it from home makes it ok. : )

17 The Hawk   ~  May 3, 2010 9:15 am

Sez the NYT times:

Even seven shutout innings by Phil Hughes (3-0) seemed submerged amid four hits by Mark Teixeira and home runs by three teammates.

Ummmm ... Disagree.

18 NYYfan22   ~  May 3, 2010 9:22 am

[5, 7, 12] I wouldn't say his prospect status or expectations were fading as much as the Joba-hype was all heated up and sorta shined brighter in the eye of the media for awhile.

Javy should be treated as a 5th starter. Rest him, schedule-permitting, and if he gives the team the opportunity to win 30% of his starts, then we should be happy with that. Fuck his record. Fuck 2004. goddamn red sox... Fuck Kevin Brown, too, for that matter.

19 rbj   ~  May 3, 2010 11:21 am

I'd prefer to Make Javy the 6th or 7th starter.

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