A little late

Friday morning (Thursday evening for folks in the U.S.) I dragged myself out of bed at 5:15 to watch Phil Hughes make his big league debut. I did this despite having only gone to bed at 1 and despite having to be at work by 9. I did it because I'm starting to panic and I needed a genuine reason to be optimistic about Yankee pitching.

I'm not sure I got it.

I watched innings 3-4-5 (I couldn't drag myself out of bed at 4:30 a.m. for the start of the game, even though I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m.), and came away feeling slightly underwhelmed. I was hoping for a Jered Weaver type debut, the kind that reels off seven straight wins. Instead, what I got was a look at a pitcher with a lot of promise.

But promise ain't going to win games. And the Yankees need to win games starting now. They've lost seven straight and there seems to be no respite in sight. Even Mariano seems human, giving up four runs in a nothing situation, pushing his ERA over 12 (12!!!).

(In the interest of full disclore, I attempted to pick up Hughes in both my fantasy leagues. I was beaten to the punch both times. The photo is courtesy minorleaguebaseball.com)