I thought that lining up the rotation so Sabathia would not be available to pitch Game 7, flip flopping Hughes and Pettitte so Andy faced Cliff Lee and throwing A. J. Burnett in Game 4 gave the Rangers a clear and almost unfair advantage in Games 3, 4 and 7.
In other words, Girardi had set up the rotation so the Yankees had no margin for error in Games 1, 2, 5 and 6.
I said that Sabathia needed to throw games 1, 4 and 7. (Spare me the "he's tired" act. He had thrown 6 innings over 2 weeks.)
They needed Pettitte to throw game 2 (because he was their second best option) and start A. J. Burnett against Cliff Lee (consolidating their miserable match ups).
Hughes (available for bullpen work in Games 1 and 2) would be on full rest for Game 5... Pettitte 6 and Sabathia 7th.
Instead they sent out the mismatched 3 and 4 games and lost by a combination of 18-3 in those two games.
The fact that the Yankees were outscored 31-6 in the four losses shows that the pitching kinda sorta favored the Yankees.
Barry threw out the first pitch yesterday afternoon in San Francisco, and no doubt people will fret over it... wondering what message it will send the kids.
Funny, the other night when Andy Pettitte pitched a wonderful game against Cliff Lee, I don't remember people saying how disgusting it was that he was playing.
He used the stuff.
He followed Clemens from New York to Houston and back again.
He denied it at first, and then after getting caught was hailed as a great man for saying "Yeah I used it... like one time. The fact that I was crossing country back and forth with Clemens was a complete coincidence."
Nobody seems upset that Alex Rodriguez has been playing this post season... another guy who used it and denied it left and right until he was cornered.
Those guys are playing in the PLAYOFFS.
Is anyone upset that Mark McGwire, the man who could have done so much good if he were honest but decided to not talk about the past, is a hitting coach for a contending Cardinals team and giving players tips? Maybe some pointers... like one to inject into your butt.
Bonds got applause from the fans and threw a ceremonial first pitch.
And the fans know, as I wrote earlier, that Bonds saved baseball in San Francisco... BEFORE his body ballooned up.
The fans were sitting in beautiful AT&T Park, instead of miserable Candlestick Park... or Tropicana Field, because of the excitement that Bonds brought to San Francisco starting in 1993... the year after they almost moved to St. Pete.
Let's not get carried away over a first pitch, shall we?
For Christsake, they had someone dressed as Captain Morgan throw out the first pitch at some games! It's not a big deal!
Well there is no doubting who WON the game tonight. Heck, when the announcers start bringing up Sandy Koufax in their comparisons with Cliff Lee, you know you are in good company.
But Andy Pettitte pitched a GREAT game tonight. He deserved better. I mean he threw 7 solid innings, let up 2 runs, all in the first inning.
Technically he lost the game... but let's get down to brass tacks. The Yankees BULLPEN lost the game! The Yankees had the top of their order coming up and Ron Washington had to make a tough decision... leave Cliff Lee in with a high pitch count or bring in Feliz?
One 6 run rally later and the only decision left to make in Yankee Stadium was "Should we leave now or walk around and see if anyone left a souvenir cup?"
Seriously... don't hang this loss on Petttitte. Give it to the group effort of Boone Logan and David Robertson.
It's a shame that Javier Vazquez wasn't on the roster. The 8-0 game would have been the ideal time to stick him in there.
Let's say you are organizing the entertainment at a casino. While putting the line up of shows together, you realize that you can have Frank Sinatra perform three nights... but you say "Nah... we only want Frank for two nights. We need to save his voice, so we'll book Steve Lawrence instead for a night."
And when lining up the shows you say "We won't have Sinatra in our biggest show. We're booking Wayne Newton for our biggest show."
Chances are someone would break your legs or at least call you an idiot.
That's basically what the Yankees are doing.
They have that most valuable of commodities... a legit ace in C. C. Sabathia. He's an innings eater (and a Subway sandwich eater) and can take the ball over and over again (remember his tour de force complete game marathon for Milwaukee at the end of the 2008 season?)
And there is no danger of the Yankees running him into the ground like the Brewers did that season. He's thrown 6 innings since September 28th.
He's ready to throw game 1. And the Yankees should line up their rotation to get Sabathia throwing as often as he can against Texas. Have him throw Game 1, Game 4 and OF COURSE Game 7.
I thought that was a no brainer. He is Sinatra in this scenario.
And evidently the Yankees have other plans.
They intend to go with a 4 man rotation... and start A. J. Burnett. Yes, the same guy who pitched for them in the regular season. The same guy with a 5.25 ERA. The same guy who essentially pitched himself out of the playoff picture.
Girardi will start him Game 4.
He is Steve Lawrence in this analogy.
And what about Game 7? The potential do or die game for the pennant... the one where the Rangers will inevitably throw Cliff Lee...
They intend to give the ball to Phil Hughes.
A nice pitcher. A good pitcher. A pitcher who has been up and down recently.
He's Wayne Newton. Wayne Newton isn't bad... but he's no Sinatra.
And the Yankees are putting themselves into a potentially bad situation with their pitching staff in the ALCS.
They have the clear advantage in game one between Sabathia and C.J.Wilson. The Yankees also have the edge in game two between Phil Hughes and Colby Lewis, but it isn't a sure thing.
Then their proposed Game 3 has Andy Pettite against Cliff Lee. OVERWHELMING advantage to Texas.
Then A. J. Burnett will throw Game 4. Does it even matter who Texas is pitching? They have the advantage in Game 4 as well.
In other words the Yankees have set up their pitching staff to give Texas obvious advantages in Games 3, 4 and 7.
All because they don't want to use Sabathia 3 times. If they did use him 3 times, the Yankees would have the clear advantage in Games 1 and 4 and set up an ace versus ace Game 7.
The Yankees should throw Sabathia in those 3 games. If they MUST throw Burnett, why not use him in Game 3 against Cliff Lee? Consolidate the pitching match ups that favor the Rangers into one game.
Have Pettite go Game 2 with Hughes coming out of the pen. Have Hughes start game 5 and Pettite start game 6 on regular rest.
This is not a second guess. I am writing this on Wednesday and the series starts on Friday.
I am clearly NOT rooting for the Yankees to win. I would love to see this rotation explode in their face.
It just strikes me odd... they aren't putting their best team on the field. They aren't booking Sinatra. Ah well... I guess Girardi is saying "I'll do it my way!"
Andy Pettitte knows a thing or two about pressure packed games. He won Game 5 of the 1996 World Series, dueling future Hall of Famer John Smoltz 1-0 in a must win game.
He won the clinching games of the 1998 and 2009 World Series for the Yankees. He also pitched 7 solid innings in the clinching game of the 2000 World Series.
In the wake of Sept. 11th, he was the MVP of the 2001 ALCS, winning twice against the 116 win Mariners squad.
He won critical game 2's in the Division Series, LCS and World Series of 2003, each time keeping the Yankees out of an 0-2 hole.
As a member of the Astros, he won the first game of the 2005 Division Series, taking home field away from the Braves.
He went 5-0 in the 2009 post season and has made 40 post season starts over 28 series in 12 different Octobers.
The man has experienced pressure and memorable thrills.
With ice water in his veins in front of 8,072 fans, Pettitte stared down the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for 4 shutout innings in his rehab start.
Forget pitching in the Bronx against the Red Sox or Philadelphia. The kiln in which champions are finished is in Trenton... and no team is a bigger test for someone's resolve and place in history than the Fisher Cats.
Pettitte has answered his critics and shown that no, the Fisher Cats do NOT have his number.
After this, the Yankees know they finally have a champion who has earned his pinstripes.
Hats off to you Pettitte. Everything after this will be gravy.
