Yankees Offense Backs Up A Dominant Phil Hughes In 12-3 Drubbing Of White Sox

Phil Hughes kicked some major butt today and picked up his 3rd win of the season. And you know what that means? Time for a Hughes call: Huuughes! Wondering what that is? Allow me to explain. I'm a big Mike Mussina fan. I'm a card carrying member of his fan club and also run a fan site called Elect Mike Mussina (hasn't been updated in a while but still has some solid info). During Moose's last season, every time he picked up a W, I shouted Moose, and added an extra O for every win. So the final Moose call went a little something like this: "Moooooooooooooooooooose!" Take my word for it. There are 20 Os. I'm also a big Hughes guy so who better than to carry forward the tradition than him. Sao say it loud and say it proud, "Huuughes!" I'm still bummed that there aren't 4 Us in there (thanks a lot Yankee bullpen) but that's for an older blog.

So, anybody still think Joba should be the 5th starter? Didn't think so. I've always maintained that Hughes is the better pitcher. He always was and he always will be. Joba is a decent pitcher but I think his meteoric rise to fame hurt his ability to pitch as effectively as he did in his debut season. I mean, how many players with 1-2 months of major league service time under their belt have t-shirts bearing their name and number sold in a Dick's Sporting Goods along side the likes of Jeter and A-Rod? Oooh ooh oooh Mr. Boogie, I can answer this one. Yes Horseshack? None. Bingo.

It's great to see Philly boy finally coming into his own. And he isn't just coming into his own. He is pitching like he's one of the best in the game. I mean, look at these numbers through his 1st 4 starts: 25 IP, 10 hits, 12 walks, 24 K, and 4 ER. 10 hits in 25 innings? Are you freaking kidding me? Un-fricking-real. The walks are a little on the high side but when you don't give up many hits, they usually don't impact you that much. With his 7 scoreless IP today, his ERA dropped to 1.44 and his WHIP dipped to 0.88. Again, are you freaking kidding me? Sorry, I have to bust out another one. Huuughes! I know it's early. I know it's only 4 starts. But how can you not be this excited?

He Mark Teixeira! Thanks for finally showing up! What is it about the month of April that makes Tex suck so bad. The calendar has turned and so has Teixeira. I know 2 games isn't a huge sample but I'm taking it as a sign of what's to come. He's now 6-9 this month with 3 RBI. His batting average has jumped 53 percentage points. Welcome to the party Mark. Good to see ya.

The bulk of the Yankees offense ripped it today. Brett Gardner went deep. Cano hit his 9th HR and picked up 3 RBI. (MVP! MVP! MVP!) Swisher went 3-4 with his 4th HR, and 2nd in 2 days. Even Nick Johnson had a hit and 2 RBI. 7 guys had hits. 8 guys scored runs. 6 guys picked up at least 1 RBI. Any day you score 12 runs on 16 hits is a good day.

Swisher's HR added another $37 to the Swish's Wishes fundraiser. According to the tally in the upper left section of the blog, we're now up to $188 pledged to Swish's Wishes. If you want to get on board, drop me a line. No amount is too small and the more the merrier.

Rumors are swirling that A-Rod is hurt with a bum knee. The Yankees are flat out denying it. Cashman, Girardi, and Alex have all said it's nothing other than a little stiffness. I can't imagine for the life of me why the Yankees would lie about Alex's condition. There's really no reason to. They'd look pretty stupid of they made those comments and then he took a trip to the DL or sat out a few games. Girardi even went as far as to say A-Rod would be in Monday's lineup. Makes no sense to believe the reports out there that it's anything more than a minor inconvenience.

Next up on the schedule: the Orioles, who are fresh off a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox. Insert gut-busting laughter here. If I had more time I expand a little on how bad the Red Sox are but nobody needs me to point out the incredibly obvious. Burn. CC Sabathia vs. Jeremy Guthrie. First pitch = 7:05. Hopefully I'll be in front of my TV at some point with the game turned on. Wish me luck.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie