I Love Phil Hughes

I'm not afraid to admit that I love Phil Hughes. Why? Maybe because he has struck out 19 batters over 15 2/3 scoreless innings over his last 12 appearances. And because he has an ERA below one as a reliever. In tonight's 5-3 Yankee win over the Tigers, Hughes pitched the seventh and eighth innings, and recorded all six outs via strikeout. The effort enabled the righthander to pick up his first career win as a reliever.

With Hughes, the Yankees have clearly found their setup man. His velocity is up 5 mph since being put in the bullpen. After the game, Hughes said "it's just a matter of, you know, adrenaline taking over." And as the adrenaline takes over, Hughes takes over the eighth.

Hughes does have first baseman Mark Teixeira to thank for his first career win as a reliever. The all-star hit a three-run go ahead homerun in the bottom of the seventh off of Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya. It was Tex's 22nd homerun of the season, and gave him 66 RBI's for the year. His homerun and Hughes performance bailed out a shaky A.J Burnett. The hard throwing righty had trouble finding the strike zone tonight, walking five batters in six innings. Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 25 opportunities. The Yankees improved to 52-37 with the win, but still remain 3 games back in the AL East after Boston's 4-1 win tonight over the Blue Jays.

Back to Hughes though. I think the Yankees clearly have a decision to make about Hughes at the end of the season. Hughes has always been projected as a starting pitcher, but his dominance as a reliever will force the Yankees to rethink his future role with the club . Remember, Mariano Rivera was also a starting pitcher when he was first called up in 1995. Eventually, he became a reliever after he pitched well in relief in the 95 ALDS against the Angels. How has that move worked out so far?