All Things Bubba

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin.
I see bad times today.

Well, it looks like it's Bad Moose tonight. I don't know what his problem is, but he's been awful lately. Some kind of injury? Just getting old? I don't know, but Moose vs. Verlander seemed like a mismatch going in, and not in our favor.

Sigh. It's depressing, but not surprising. I've thought all year that the Yankees' pitching wasn't good enough, especially when compared to Boston's pitching.

Speaking of pitching...Phil Hughes had a rough start yesterday, giving up five runs on three homers. I'm not really surprised. He's only 21, and he was supposed to be Triple-A still. As with most of the kids the Yanks have called up in recent years, he got the call mostly out of desperation.

Leiter said that Hughes may be great one day, but he doesn't have enough pitches right now for the majors. He's got two pitches he can rely on, and according to Leiter, you need at least three. That way, even if one isn't working (which happens, even with the best), you aren't too predictable. In the minors, you can get away with one or two good pitches, but not in the big leagues.

(It reminded me of what some said about the Reds' phenom, Homer Bailey. He has basically 1-1/2 pitches, and that's not enough, at least once they start scouting him.)

Interesting how Joba Chamberlain has kind of eclipsed Hughes. Joba's stuff is just blowing people away.

Speaking of eclipses...there is a full lunar eclipse tonight. It will be best viewed in the south and western parts of the country. In Boston, the moon will set before the height of the eclipse. New York City will be able to see it, just before dawn, though the show will be cut short by sunrise.

But fear not, if you miss this one, there's another full lunar eclipse next February. Northeasterners will have a prime time view, as it will start at around 8pm and reach its height around 10pm Eastern Standard Time.