Thanks to the amazing Cliff Lee, the Yankees already come into tonight’s World Series game in a 1-0 series hole. Because that’s not difficult enough, Joe Girardi has decided to try to resurrect his struggling offense by playing lesser players.
Nick Swisher, who obviously is struggling in a big way, is on the bench tonight in favor of Jerry Hairston Jr. Hairston has some favorable numbers against Pedro (.370-.433-.519 in 31 plate appearances), however the last time he faced Pedro was over full seasons ago, when Hairston was 28 and Pedro had about five extra miles an hour on his fastball. Girardi said in the pregame that he liked the history, but how something that happened five years ago is relevant now is beyond me. Oh, and Hairston’s hitting seventh, not Swisher’s customary eighth.
If that’s not enough, Jose Molina is behind the plate to catch AJ Burnett for the fourth time this postseason. I guess the six earned runs last time out, or the 24 baserunners in 18.1 IP this postseason is irrelevant. I guess the info isn’t worth considering if it’s less than a half-decade old. Fear not Yankee fans, there’s 51 homers and .367 points worth of on-base percentage sitting on the bench for when the game gets out of hand.
It’s a good thing they play the games on the field and not on paper, because on paper the Yankees would get crushed tonight. Here’s the lineups.
Philadelphia
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Shane Victorino, CF
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Jayson Werth, RF
Raul Ibanez, LF
Matt Stairs, DH
Pedro Feliz, 3B
Carlos Ruiz, C
Pedro Martinez, SP (5-1, 3.63)
Yankees
Derek Jeter, SS
Johnny Damon, LF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Enrique Wilson Jerry Hairston Jr., RF
Melky Cabrera, CF
Jose Molina, C
AJ Burnett, SP (13-9, 4.04)