Hughes deserves another shot, not A.J.

BOSTON

The most irritated Phil Hughes grew late Wednesday night, in discussing his underwhelming start against the Red Sox, sparked from his manager's revelation that a key play occurred thanks to a moth.

Joe Girardi, always trying to protect his players even when they'd just as soon not serve as such beneficiaries, divulged to reporters that a moth flew into Hughes' eye when he issued a one-out walk to Boston's Josh Reddick in the bottom of the sixth inning. Three batters later, the Red Sox had themselves a lead they wouldn't relinquish en route to a 9-5 Yankees loss at Fenway Park.

"I really didn't want to tell you guys that, because I can obviously see what's going to come from this, but yeah," a visibly unhappy Hughes told reporters, after he learned of Girardi's comments.

"A moth flew in my eye on the 3-2. That's why I yanked it. That's why I missed by eight feet."

We can sit here and slam Girardi for once again exhibiting poor instincts in his communication with players and the media. But the Yankees have bigger issues to contemplate, including whether to keep Hughes in their starting rotation despite his 6.75 ERA.

It says here that, regardless of how A.J. Burnett pitches in Thursday night's series finale against the Sawx, Hughes should keep starting games. Because this is a discussion about salvageability, and it's recognition that while Hughes' Yankees career can still be salvaged, Burnett's Bronx duty can't.

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"I thought his stuff was a lot better tonight than it was the other night," Girardi said of Hughes, referring to his terrible Aug. 25 start against Oakland (22/3 innings, six runs). "He had a bump in the road, but I thought he got back on track pretty good. But this is a dangerous offense."

That it is, and Hughes has displayed little hope that he can tame Boston, against whom the Yankees now have a brutal, 3-11 record this year. If the regular season concluded today, the Yankees surely would slate Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon (just guessing the order there) behind CC Sabathia in their postseason rotation. Or maybe go with just three guys in the Division Series.

Yet as Girardi said afterward, "Let's worry about getting into the playoffs, and let's see how everyone's throwing if we do get into the playoffs. And then we'll make our decision on what we're going to do."

Hughes did put together a stretch of three good starts before these last two.

For a while Wednesday, it appeared that Hughes might put together a start of value. He limited the Red Sox to one hit in seven at-bats (plus an intentional walk) with runners in scoring position, and he picked up four strikeouts -- three swinging, one looking -- with his four-seam fastball.

But he gave up a two-run, fifth-inning homer to David Ortiz, putting his club in a 4-1 hole, and the game fell apart in that moth-ridden bottom of the sixth. "There were thousands of them," Hughes said, shaking his head.

Remember, we're not comparing Hughes to the general population. We're comparing him to Burnett, who not only pitches terribly (a 5.31 ERA in 161 innings), but also routinely turns his starts into mini-dramas involving purported disagreements with his manager.

Give Hughes more opportunities to prove himself. Give Burnett a seat far back in the bullpen.

"We'll make our decision when we have to," Girardi said. Thankfully for the Yankees and their fans, Girardi generally is better at making these sorts of decisions than he is at communicating with his players.