Afternoon Baseball

So, I'm at work and get excited when I realize that Phil Hughes, the 20-year-old in his second start, has a no-hitter through six. Then, about 90 seconds later, I see he's out of the game. And of any games for four-to-six weeks, according to Yankees.com. On the other hand, it may be a more legitimate baseball injury than Carl Pavano has ever had.

Hughes has been with the team only a short time since the call-up, and the injury seemed a bit fluky, but it really brings up again the competency of the Yankees' trainer. Too many injuries related to muscles.

But it was good to see Jorge Posada continue his strong play, and Robinson Cano getting four hits was not a bad sign, either.

As for the Yankees' long-term chances, the bad start in April may well doom them, although the recent trend has been the opposite. It's a great Jayson Stark column all the way through, and mentions a streak Derek Jeter continued tonight: hitting safely in 57 of 59 games. The only two similar streaks are "Joe DiMaggio in 1941. The other was Ed Delahanty, who got a hit in 61 of 63 games from June 5 through Aug. 18, 1899."

The wonderful Baseball Musings day-by-day database shows that Jeter is hitting .359 since last Aug. 20, and that span actually encompasses 61 games -- two games he played in but did not have an official at-bat. His slugging percentage in that span is "only" .488, but his OPS is a health .911.

Overall, I'd be way more excited about this win and performance if it weren't for the injury. The one-day-at-a-time approach is probably best for those not wanting too much heart trouble.

Labels: Baseball, Yankees