Hughes No Hitter Alert

For those of you who are misinformed, please read my last post, #86. That should put to rest some miscontrued facts.

 

Phil Hughes expected the Spanish Inquisition.

 

My uncle is a pitching coach for a college baseball team, and he says the same thing about pitchers being babied early and not developing arm strength.

 

Yes, but only Cole Hamels could restore civility to SportsJournalists.com.

 

I am not a Red Sox fan, a hater of the Yankees, or a troll. I watched Hughes pitch twice, with last night being the second time. Last night was through highlights, the other time was with the Trenton Thunder. His fastball last night was around 91-92, nowhere near the 95-96 that you are proposing he throws. Toronto is arguably a better line-up than Texas. Wells, Glaus, and Johnson vs Young, Teixiera, Blalock. I did not say that Texas has an anemic offense, I said they "may have a potent line-up when they are all on..." He gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched. If he was removed for pitch count, still that means that he was being hit or wild. Granted it was his first major league start, but if he is the supposed wonderkid, he should pitch like it. I saw progress in his second start against Texas, and he moved the ball around well. Texas has a history of being streaky, and when you face them when they are off, there is a chance a pitcher could be lights out.

He has a good fastball and a wicked curveball, I'll agree with you about that. I would say he has two great pitches, much like Ryan Madson of the Phillies. He is the best comparison right now that I am saying that he may bust. Madson was a great pitcher in the minors. Madson came into the league as a reliever and was lights out for a little while. His ERA was about 0.89 if I can remember correctly. Madson then was figured out and bombed by the White Sox in a start, then sent back to the pen. I have a feeling it's going to be the same thing with Hughes. He might come back and pitch very well for a while, but teams are going to figure him out and they are going to hit him hard.

 

Phila, he did not throw more than 89 pitches in any of those starts. I'm not talking innings, I'm talking pitch count.
I'm guessing the 89-pitch game was the no-hitter into the 8th...the only reason they let him throw "as many" as 89 was because of the no-hitter

 

I thought the same thing. Hughes has two pitches: fastball and curve. He can locate his fastball -- a rare thing for young pitchers -- but it doesn't have a lot of movement. Curve is good, not great. Reminds me of a poor man's Mark Prior, pre-2004.

 

Watching highlights doesn't qualify as "watching him pitch," but I'll trust that you saw his first game at least. Yes, some of his fastballs were clocked at 91 or 92, but he also was able to ramp it up to 94-96. I'm not "proposing" those speeds. It was on the gun.

You say that "if he was a supposed wonderkid, he should pitch like it" in one sentence, then you completely dismiss it when he did pitch like it in another. You can't have it both ways.

I watched the game last night and this wasn't just a case of Texas swinging wildly. He rarely left a pitch in the middle of the zone (if at all). He worked the edges of the strike zone masterfully and only allowed two or three balls to even leave the infield. Sorry, but a team that's just having a bad night even hits the occasional line drive at an outfielder or hits a deep fly ball. Texas didn't do either. They simply couldn't touch Hughes.

Your last paragraph is a dissertation on why he's going to be a bust that provides no evidence as to why he might be one. You compare him to a little-known Phillies pitcher in a completely unsubstantial way, saying the kid had a .89 ERA and then was "figured out." You say you think the same will happen to Hughes, with no particular reason why he'll get figured out.

I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying there's no substantial reason to think it will happen other than the majority of pitchers don't become great. It seems you just want him to be a bust and are trying to come up with reasons to justify it.

And his curveball is much better than "good" as dignan described. It is filthy. His change is decent, but he definitely needs to develop it more. As dignan intimated, he won't be able to live off two pitches for too long, even if they are, as the scouts say, "plus" pitches.

 

Josh Towers didn't really have the balls to say that, did he?

 

He did...I'll have to find the article.

 

The Yankees "Director of Performance Enahancement" has been fired. Marty "Hamstring" Miller responsible for Hughes, Moose, Pettite, et.al is gone.

No link, heard it from WFAN

 

If that's true, IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!