The Yankees defeated the Oakland A's 17-7, which included a 3-run HR from Nick Swisher and a grand slam by Mark Teixeira. Neither starting pitcher made it past the 5th inning at the blazing hot Yankee Stadium. Phil Hughes didn't even get to record the win as he was taken out in the 5th giving up 7 runs in his outing.

Should Yankee fans hit the panic button on Hughes? Who can the Yankees trust?

Yankee fans got a great offensive show Friday night but didn't get much of a performance from Phil Hughes. Many thought he would have built up from his past good start in Toronto, but that was not the case at all. Hughes went 4 1/3 innings giving up 9 hits, 7 runs, 4 walks, and striking out 3. Certainly the amount of hits and runs Hughes gave up in this outing were the alarming stats. He also did not have real control of any of his pitches, and to make matters worse, his velocity was back down to a max of 91.

This again raises more questions about the Yankees rotation. The Yanks earlier in the day were rumored to have contacted the Rays regarding James Shields, but the Rays quickly said he wasn't available. So Brian Cashman is certainly looking for big time starters and at this point it's going to take the right package to get one to the Bronx. The only options left are Ivan Nova who is recovering from an injury in the minors, or Hector Noesi, who cleaned up the rest of the game Friday evening. After that, the Yankees are left with  young talent in their farm system.

It'll be interesting to see what the Yankees do as this month of July ticks down to the 31st. Cashman did mention during this past week that he is not interested in offense. So it appears it's a full court press on pitching. So Yankee fans at this point in time will have to cross their fingers with Hughes, Colon, Garcia, and Burnett and hope for the best!

 

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