Messin' with Texas (Postgame Notes Memorial Day 2009)

Phil Hughes must really want to stay in that rotation.

It's so easy to see the 11-1 score of today's game and automatically assume that today's game revolved around an offensive explosion, a real manifest of Bronx bombing.

But if you did that, you'd be wrong.

Really, really wrong.

The Yankees won today because Phil Hughes was exceptional, allowing just three hits over eight innings and no runs (Texas' lone run was scored off of a Nelson Cruz HR in the bottom of the 9th).

The Yankee offense struck early, and stuck often, using singles, doubles and sac flies--not home runs--to build their ten run lead; but had they never scored another run after the first inning, they would have still won the game. That's how well Hughes pitched.

Maybe it's something about Texas; after all, last time Hughes pitched here he nearly had a no-hitter.

At any rate, what's really awesome, is that the last two times the Yanks have lost a game, they've come right back with a win the next day.

For the first time since 2007 (not counting April), the Yankees are only a game out of first place, and they are in first in the Wild Card (though no one on the Yankees or their fans really want to settle for that).

After all, this team is simply playing too well for that.