Well last night the Yanks let the Angels back into the ALCS, losing 5-4 in 11 innings on a walk off double by Jeff F’n Mathis, he of the .211 batting average. The Yanks left too many runners in scoring position and simply did not hit enough (they really haven’t hit well the entire postseason), but last night Manager Joe Girardi helped things along by making 2 very curious bullpen decisions (I won’t comment on leaving Pettitte in the game or about using lefties Coke and Marte back to back, since I was not home from work and was not watching when these decisions were made). The first was leaving Phil Hughes in to pitch the 9th rather than bring in Mariano Rivera to start the inning. Hughes had pitched a scoreless 8th, but 2 of the 3 outs had been on very hard hit balls, and Hughes simply hasn’t been the dominating setup man in the playoffs that he was in the regular season. On the road, you don’t wait around for a save chance- you bring your best pitcher in in a tie game. Nonetheless, Girardi let Hughes come out for the 9th, and he gives up a double to Jeff F”n Mathis (did I mention he hit .211 this season?), and then Girardi brings in Rivera. Why not bring him in to start the inning? Lucky for Girardi Mo wriggled out of the inning, but Girardi was not so lucky in the 11th. David Robertson replaced Rivera and got the first 2 outs. Howie Kendrick was coming up, and he had had a big game, with a triple and homer, and had crushed fastballs each time. Robertson is a fastball pitcher, so Girardi thought Alfredo Aceves, who is more of a breaking ball pitcher, was a better matchup. I disagreed with the decision to remove Robertson immediately, and after hearing Girardi’s explanation re the fastball pitcher issue, I think he overmanaged. The guy is the 2nd or 3rd best pitcher out of the bullpen for the Yanks, while Aceves has been a mixed bag in the second half. Plus, they’re both righthanded pitchers facing a right handed batter. Aceves promptly gives up a ringing single to Kendrick and a game winning double to Jeff F’n Mathis (he of the .211 average, if you hadn’t heard), ballgame over, and a brand new series. Now CC Sabathia is pitching on 3 days rest tonight. Heading to Anaheim, I thought the Yanks would take 1 of 3 and head back to NY up 3-2. Now I fear the Angels have new life and they may head back to NY up 3-2 . . .
And don’t get me started on the roster construction for the ALCS. We really could have used Eric Hinske as a pinch hitter last night. Instead, we have pinch runner extraordinaire Freddy Guzman on the roster because, you know, having Brett Gardner and Jerry Hairston on the bench doesn’t provide the Yanks with enough speedy potential pinch runners. . .