An Encouraging Loss

Tonight's loss was certainly a tough one. Losing the first game against the Red Sox in the new stadium would be, even if the team hadn't come so agonizingly close to winning in the bottom of the ninth. However, there were three bright spots in the game that make me optimistic about the future of this team.

First, there was Philip Hughes. Four runs in four innings is obviously not a good performance, but the fact that he only gave up one run in each inning is testament to Hughes' maturing as a pitcher. On a night when he didn't have his best stuff, when he was being squeezed by the home plate umpire, when he allowed 11 baserunners in four innings, the fact that he didn't allow the Red Sox to have a really big inning and run away with the game is pretty impressive.

Then, there was Mark Teixeira. After weeks of being just underneath balls, Teixeira finally managed to turn a couple of those fly balls into home runs. Lately, it's seemed like he was on the cusp of getting out of this slump, and tonight might just be the turning point.

Finally, there's Alfredo Aceves. While the two-run home run he gave up to Jason Bay ended up being the difference in the game, Aceves looked very good providing more than four innings of relief. His stuff was pretty good, especially his cut fastball, and the way he used it was fantastic. I think the Yankees may have found their new Ramiro Mendoza.