Looking at the Yankees' roster it is understandable how the name Phil Hughes could get lost in the mix. Jeter and Teixeira will both make claims to the MVP at the end of this season, and CC Sabathia and his league-leading 16 wins could make an outside case for the Cy Young award. Throw in the aforementioned "greatest closer of all time" and it may seem hard to make the case that a setup man could possibly be notable amongst such an overwhelming cache of talent.
But the statistics are clear; Phil Hughes is arguably the best setup man in baseball today. Girardi's brilliant decision to move Phil into this role — and most importantly — to keep him there despite the Yankees' continuing difficulties finding a viable fifth starter, has now given New York a consistent and effective structure by which to shorten the span in which an opponent can feasibly beat the team. With the Yankees potent offense and strong starting rotation, the Hughes/Rivera connection has been vitally crucial for a team that has made a habit out of the late-inning come-from-behind win.
Especially important come playoff time, hitters go into slumps and even the top aces in the game occasionally have bad starts, but in Phil Hughes the Yankees now know that if they can keep a ball game close into the eighth inning, they will have every opportunity to win that game without the opposition scoring further. If the tendency is to underestimate the importance of this factor, reference the Yankees' teams 1996 to 2001. Even after Rivera assumed the closer role and Wetteland packed off to Texas, players like Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton, and Ramiro Mendoza were crucial to the success of those Torre-led championship teams, and Phil Hughes is much better than any of the players who formerly manned the setup role in front of Rivera.
Article comments
1 - winitall
Hahahahah. Who "formally" manned the setup role. That's funny. I remember when Tanyon Sturtze used to come out to pitch the eighth inning in a tuxedo, with a date in an evening gown.
Anyway, yes, Hughes has performed very well. But it's knuckleheaded to say he's the most valuable player on a team when he's pitched well for 40 and 2/3rd innings. He's been on the field performing well for roughly three percent of the team's total innings this year, and you have him as their most valuable player?
You say he's so valuable because the Yankees know they can win a game if they keep it close until the eighth inning. What is harder to do: pitch one scoreless inning, or keep a game close for seven innings?
I don't dispute that Hughes has performed his role as well as anyone. But the fact is that his role incredibly limited compared to that of a top-of-the-rotation starter or a middle-of-the-lineup hitter, or even a catcher. Those positions have far more weight, which is why the contracts awarded to players at those positions have so much more weight than those awarded to eighth-inning men.
Also, just because the men who have filled the setup role for the Yankees in the recent past have sucked does NOT make Hughes an MVP. It makes Hughes LOOK a lot better, but don't make his role bigger than it is.