I don’t do daily game recaps; you can get them everywhere else. Not to mention, I don’t get to watch every inning of every game.

But, I did watch much of the game last night and wow did Phil Hughes look sharp. I’ll try to temper my enthusiasm as I’d be beyond excited to see one of our own emerge again. It was a long time between Pettitte to Wang and Joba and the expectations have hounded Hughes for years. It’s hard to remember that Hughes is just 23 years old.

Phil Hughes wasn’t just good tonight, he was great. Six scoreless innings, two hits, two walks, six strikeouts. He threw 59 of 99 pitches for strikes and never cracked in a scoreless duel with Edwin Jackson.

If you were watching closely, Hughes had to fight to get command of his curveball. It was all over the place in the first few innings, even when he threw it for strikes. When he struck out Placido Polanco in the first inning, it was on a curve that wasn’t where he wanted it.

I saw that curve and Polanco’s knees buckled. I thought that pitch was perfect, but what do I know?

Here’s to hoping Hughes develops into everything we want him to be. Of course, that will only mean that the cries to “move Joba back to the pen” will get louder.