NEW YORK -- The binder strikes again.Phil Hughes said part of the reason he walked the only two Phillies batters he faced in Game 1 of the World Series was he was too worried about the Yankees' scouting reports.
Hughes also admitted the obvious: that the Yankees bullpen, aside from closer Mariano Rivera, has struggled this postseason.
"I feel like we've been getting good performances out of our starting pitching," Hughes said Thursday before Game 2, "Our hitters have been doing a good job scoring enough runs to win games. I feel like the weak link right now is our bullpen."
Hughes (who during the regular season had a 1.40 ERA as a reliever) has a 9.64 ERA in the postseason, with nine hits allowed and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. But manager Joe Girardi said before Game 2 he would stick with Hughes as his eighth-inning reliever.
"I feel like we've been getting good performances out of our starting pitching. ... The weak link right now is our bullpen."
-- Phil Hughes "This bullpen that is constructed now has been really, really good for us all year," Girardi said, "and at times you're going to have some hiccups. But that doesn't mean that you don't stop believing in them and understand the type of stuff that they have and the job that they can do."
Girardi took heat for his moves in the AL Championship Series, especially after he was shown consulting thick binders of information during the game.
Now Hughes says those same scouting reports caused him to overthink.
"I think sometimes I try to go with scouting reports more than just being aggressive like I have been all year," Hughes said. "The biggest thing for me is just attack the zone and not really worry about the hitter's weaknesses, but my strengths. That's just something I need to get back to."
Like other teams, the Yankees sent teams of advance scouts -- in their case, three per club -- out to look at future playoff opponents. But while the information can be useful, too much can cause paralysis by analysis.
In Hughes' case, he heard how dangerous the Phillies hitters were and ended up nibbling.
"Whenever you come in to face a solid lineup like they have," Hughes said, "you obviously want to look at scouting reports, cause they help. But at the same time, I think you want to go with your strengths as much as you can. You fall in love with scouting reports too much and you tend to be behind in the count, and it's tough to pitch when you're 2-0 all the time."Hughes barked at home-plate umpire Gerry Davis as he was removed from the game. But Hughes admitted Thursday that Davis didn't miss calls and regretted his actions.
"I was upset about the strike zone a little bit," Hughes said. "But I went back and looked [at replays of the pitches]. They probably weren't as close as I thought they were.
"It's on me. I didn't execute my pitches."
