Phil Hughes didn't look too bad in loss

It’s very strange hearing Joe Girardi talk about how much better Phil Hughes looked Friday after an 8-2 loss, but that’s precisely what happened. Hughes did, in fact, look pretty solid through five innings, holding the Orioles to one run in a 1-1 game. Things fell apart in the sixth and that was that, as the O’s scored seven times (four of those runs charged to Hughes) and the ballgame was essentially over. Welcome to the 2008 Yankees. I still believe this team will make the playoffs as the wild card. Nothing I’ve seen has convinced me otherwise. But it’s going to take some time and work for that to happen. Hughes and Ian Kennedy are young and are going to go through tough times. But Girardi seems content to deal with those struggles, as much as losing clearly pains him. When Brian Cashman decided (rightfully, in my opinion) to stick with the kids, we knew there would be days like this. But if you look at Hughes’ outing as a whole, there was a lot to like. Each of the ... [link]