Game 62: Bats

June 8, 2013 by Mike Axisa 231 Comments

The Yankees’ offense has disappeared since hanging six runs on Aaron Harang some 15 innings ago, scoring just one run off the combination of Blake Beavan, Jeremy Bonderman, and various relievers. That’s kind of annoying. Knock it off. Here’s the lineup that will face southpaw Joe Saunders…

CF Brett Gardner
SS Jayson Nix
DH Mark Teixeira
2B Robinson Cano
LF Vernon Wells
1B Kevin Youkilis
RF Ichiro Suzuki
3B David Adams
C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is the 594th overall pick in the 1990 draft, left-hander Andy Pettitte. This afternoon’s game is scheduled to begin a little after 4pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

WhittakerWalt

Out of morbid curiosity, I looked up Robbie’s BA against lefties this season. He’s batting .198, and I believe he’s got 1 hit in his last 23 ABs against portsiders. He’s got a .599 OPS against lefties. This is a trend that has to reverse itself soon, or he’s essentially a platoon player. Fingers crossed for him to rediscover, well, everything.
Or, as John Sterling would say, “Cano hits GREAT against lefties.”
- trr
  
  That’s an eye-opener Walt. The offensive inconsistencies of this team are well documented, but we need a productive Cano more than
  anything else
- WhittakerWalt
  
  The Reverse Lock works!
WhittakerWalt

“the 594th overall pick in the 1990 draft, left-hander Andy Pettitte.”

That right there is why I will never pay attention to the draft.
- Laz
  
  But he was probably the only one in his round to make it as an all star, meanwhile same year 8 of the first 24 picks made it to the all star game.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Posada was the 629th pick!
    - Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
      
      That doesn’t invalidate anything Laz said. You’ll find success stories in the lower draft rounds but more success stories in the higher draft rounds.
      - WhittakerWalt
        
        I wasn’t trying to invalidate anything. It was just an amusing observation.
        
        Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
        
        I figured, going by your original comment, that you were trying to make a point.
        
        If not? Well, cool.
- vicki
  
  the mlb draft maneuvering is pretty fascinating, actually.
  
  i do think it’s hilarious when fans use andy as an example when demanding that yankee scouts do a better job of finding gems in late rounds.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    That’s silly. Outliers are outliers for a reason.
Laz

Wells is actually doing ok vs lhp, and Ichiro is doing even better.
- Laz
  
  To the tune of .381 avg, Which just makes his sub .600 ops vs rhp that much worse.
Pudge

Can’t wait for the day the yanks make Wells a platoon player and not an everyday player
- Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
  
  Via Lohud today:
  “I still consider Vernon an everyday player,” Girardi said. “Might I spell him with a day off with Overbay? Yeah. But I still consider Vernon an everyday player.”
  
  Meanwhile, Wells 2011-2013 vs. RHP: 684 PA, 204/237/379, 66 wRC+
  
  That screams platoon player to me, but this is the same team that though Ben Francisco would make a good DH vs. LHP, so I’m not holding my breath for a change anytime soon.
- Winter
  
  Who would you platoon him with though?
  - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
    
    Could give Overbay a shot now. If they don’t think he could handle OF well enough, maybe Musty makes more sense.
  - Bo Knows
    
    Aaron Judge right now probably wouldn’t be as bad as Vernon is right now lol
WhittakerWalt

Praying for a strong Andy start. Let’s get win #250!
WhittakerWalt

Joe Saunders might be fatter than Joba!
trr

Las night certainly didn’t go according to plan. let’s bounce back and win this one!
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

There ya go, Robbie.
Wheels

Way to go Robbie
Eddard

Nice piece of hitting by both Teix and Robbie.
WhittakerWalt

The best part about no Michael Kay in the booth? I don’t have to hear “Andrew Eugene Pettitte.”
Wheels

Ok, Wells is awful.
- The Real Greg
  
  He is. The problem is can’t risk Overbay in this expansive outfield.
  - Wheels
    
    True. We’re stuck with him.
    - The Real Greg
      
      A possible answer would be to call up Thomas Neal and just put Wells on the bench. But the roster is so jumbled that it probably wouldn’t work.
      - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
        
        Theoretically, they could replace Adams with Musty, and have Musty play 3B or DH vs. LHP and OF vs. RHP (making Wells a platoon player).
  - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
    
    Also with a lefty pitching today.
    - The Real Greg
      
      But at this point, I would rather see Overbay against a lefty than Vernon Wells.
      - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
        
        I wouldn’t. And I hate Wells.
        
        Laz
        
        Right, the only value wells brings is he hits lhp.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Overbay is a disaster against LHP, besides.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  He’s supposed to at least hit lefties.
The Real Greg

I could care less about Vernon Wells and more about the fact that Cano stole a bag?
WhittakerWalt

WTF are you swinging at, Wellsie?
Talk about a guy whose slump is not baffling me at all.
- Bo Knows
  
  Not a slump if you’ve sucked for the last 3 years with the sole exception of a month long splurge at the beginning of the season.
  - The Real Greg
    
    Actually he had a very god 2010 and then started to drop so it was a bad two years. But your point still stands.
forensic

Good to see Girardi is clueless as ever…

Speaking of struggling outfielders, Vernon Wells has been pretty bad lately, but Girardi said he has no plans of making Wells a platoon player at this point. “I still consider Vernon an everyday player,” Girardi said. “Might I spell him with a day off with Overbay? Yeah. But I still consider Vernon an everyday player.”

• Girardi on Wells’ struggles: “I think his timing’s a little off. It seems when he does hit a ball hard, they catch it. He’s struggling right now. We believe he’s going to come out of it. There’s no doubt he’s going to come out of it, but I just think he’s out in front of balls a little bit and it’s causing some issues.”

Yipee!
- The Real Greg
  
  If you believe him. The truth is that he has very few other options to go to and he has to give the public appearance of not backing out on a player.
- Winter
  
  Who would they platoon him with? The only option is Overbay, and I don’t think anyone wants to see him playing OF in Safeco.
  - forensic
    
    Both Mustelier and Neal would be better options at this point.
    
    And frankly, it’s not like Wells’ defense is anything special that you would lose with Overbay out there. I’m not a fan of the experiment, but at this point, it might be worth the risk.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  If I was Joe I’d just start answering “no comment” to these questions. Anything else is a flat-out lie.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  Wells is not struggling. He’s just being himself
  
  This year .236/.281/.407/.689
  Last year .230/.279/.403/.682
- Wheels
  
  How much longer before Granderson comes back?
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

This is awesome.
https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/343462397446615040/photo/1

For any CB Bucknor “fans”.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  That’s brilliant.
  - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
    
    Him being blind is on Wikipedia, so it has to be true.
    - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
      
      Dammit. It’s been edited out now.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

What comes first: a David Adams walk or a David Adams demotion?
(same applies to Austin Romine)
- The Real Greg
  
  I remember when people were screaming out for Romine to get starts in place of Stewart. Where are those people now?
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Probably hanging out with everyone who thought David Adams was going to be an all-star.
Eddard

What do you expect Girardi to say about Wells? Any respectable manager will backup his subordinates. If you want a manager who calls out his players hire Bobby V or Ozzie and see how well that works out.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  Yeah, I don’t think we want that.
- forensic
  
  If you’re a manager, you back up your subordinates, but you don’t flat-out lie with what you’re saying. You also don’t hurt the team you’re the supervisor of, or the organization you’re representing, by ignoring things that are hurting your team and the rest of your subordinates. The subordinates need to earn the faith from their supervisor too, it’s not just blind faith.
  - The Real Greg
    
    The problem is that there is no evidence of his ignorance. I don’t think he controls who gets called up and who gets sent down.
    - forensic
      
      He doesn’t control it by himself, but he does have input into it. He also does have control over his lineup and can sit Wells as he feels.
  - Eddard
    
    Calling out a player publicly would hurt the team much more than backing him up. Privately maybe it’s a different story. If Girardi had a better option than Wells he probably platoons Vernon with Ichiro. He doesn’t have that luxury right now on the WC in these big ballparks where Overbay’s defense would be more of a liability.
    - forensic
      
      Ichiro is a far better hitter than Wells at this point and should not be platooned with him (especially since he’s got a reverse split going on). Beyond that, he doesn’t need to call him out, he can sugarcoat him sitting for a few games, or longer, and play it off as him stuggling and just giving him some time to work on his swing (and maybe even send him for an eye exam…) and get some rest since he’s had to play almost everyday this season…
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Joe has this weird thing where he shows undeserved faith in guys. A good three weeks will earn you almost limitless patience from him.
    - The Real Greg
      
      Kind of. This year though is more about necessity than faith.
      - WhittakerWalt
        
        Absolutely, but even with this depleted roster there are better moves than the ones he makes.
    - forensic
      
      Sadly, he only had one good week at the start of the season. Since then he’s been worse than he’s even been the last two years.
      - The Real Greg
        
        It must have been a heck of a week because his stats should be worse if it was an average week.
        
        forensic
        
        It was.
        
        First 6 games: .381/.500/.762
        Last 52 games: .221/.254/.369
        
        Two years in LA: .222/.258/.409
        
        And let’s not even mention that those worse numbers with the Yankees are coming in a better hitter’s park.
        
        WhittakerWalt
        
        Those last 52 games paint a picture of a guy who doesn’t belong in the league, quite frankly. It’s not like he’s an elite defender.
        
        forensic
        
        Those last 266 games paint a picture of a guy who doesn’t belong in the league, quite frankly. It’s not like he’s an elite defender.
        
        WhittakerWalt
        
        He’s not even old! A 34 year old should have something left in the tank.
        The Lord Humongous is very displeased.
        
        vicki
        
        re better hitter’s park: for a right-handed pull-hitter, not so much.
        
        WhittakerWalt
        
        He was actually using right field earlier in the year when he had success. Now? Not really.
forensic

It’s amazing that, right now, Chris freakin’ Stewart may be the 5th best hitter in today’s lineup…
Wheels

Gardy is playing well.
- The Real Greg
  
  He has the hot bat right now.
The Real Greg

Damn when did Joe Saunders start throwing 93 MPH?
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  Hot gun more like.
The Real Greg

At some point the Yankees have to win a 1-0 game.
WhittakerWalt

Groundball to second base. The Robbie Cano special.
Rolling Doughnut

Youkilis outdid himself there. Terrible ab
- Wheels
  
  It was like a carbon copy of his first AB.
  - Rolling Doughnut
    
    Didn’t see the first one, lucky me.
vicki

more than two months until we go back to rogers center. 60-day DL vern, activate neal or musty. easy.
The Real Greg

And here come the runs
I’mVernonI’mVernon4U

Vern continues to make April look like a huge fluke. Wow.

In other news, a recent Yankees draftee has a mutual friend with me. Dillon McNamara. Pretty crazy.
- vicki
  
  nick ciuffo went to my high school. go wildcats.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

Professional Baseball Player.
- Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
  
  Cost the team at least a run.
  
  And before Greg chimes in – FALLACY.
  - The Real Greg
    
    See, at this point you all can just FALLACY yourselves.
    - vicki
      
      if only.
  - forensic
    
    Does something every game to help the (other) team win.
teddy

gotta play infield in
Rolling Doughnut

Professional Ballplayer. Oh my.
WhittakerWalt

HE’S A BASEBALL PLAYER
I’mVernonI’mVernon4U

Man, that could have been the inning if Nix didn’t eff up.
The Real Greg

What happened?
Andy

Should be an unearned run
- The Real Greg
  
  Can’t be. Can’t assume the double play. Been in baseball for years.
  - Andy
    
    Hence why I said should be
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    That’s one of those rules that should probably be amended, at least for such easy calls. I’d also like to allow some runs to score on ground rule doubles, like if there’s two outs and the runners were on the move anyway.
    Granted, it’s very subjective, but there must be a way.
WhittakerWalt

Charge that run to Jayson Nix.
- Pat D
  
  Shortstop ERA?
WhittakerWalt

Sorry, guys. We’ve already scored our run for the day.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  Saunders is like .375 second and third time around, we might get one more.
Wheels

So, hopefully Jeter’s MRI this week shows that everything is progressing nicely.
- Wheels
  
  Excuse me, a CT scan.
WhittakerWalt

If Ichiro doesn’t make something happen here somebody should be fired.

/hyperbole
/not really
Mick taylor

What say mr forensic and mr Whitaker tojason bay getting another big hit. Another great game by nix. First He leaves the runner stranded at 2nd by swinging at a pitch which bounced 2 feet in front of home plate. Then he makes an error a little leaguer would make. Put overbay at short
- WhittakerWalt
  
  Does someone want to translate this from Genuine Frontier Gibberish?
- forensic
  
  Wow, lead-off single. I’m impressed. Wish we had him instead of Wells.
  
  No seriously, I do…
  
  Almost…
  
  Argh, I’m so confused now.
teddy

and adams still hasn’t drawing a walk, sent him down
I’mVernonI’mVernon4U

Redeemed himself.
Wheels

Way to redeem yourself Nix
The Real Greg

There’s the professional
WhittakerWalt

You owed us that one, Nixie.
Eddard

Nix gets the run back that he lost.
- vicki
  
  your guy sterling: “he gets the clutch hits.” good stuff.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    “he gets ~~the clutch~~ an occasional hits, which is all I will pay attention to”
WhittakerWalt

Why does Mark Feinsand think Pettitte has more wins than Mussina? Am I missing something?
- vicki
  
  what was the context? could he have meant as a yankee?
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    That’s what I thought, too, but no. Feinsand actually said that Pettitte just passed Mike Mussina for wins, which makes no sense. Moose has more career wins, and Pettitte has many more Yankee wins.
    
    Mussina won 123 as a Yankee.
    Pettitte has won 203 as a Yankee.
    
    If there’s an actual explanation for this I don’t know what it is.
Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)

Oh my gosh, I just realized that John and Suzyn must have started listing the reasons for Nix’s canonization after that last hit.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  Yup. They also thought it was a great idea for Brignac to bunt last night, it was just the execution that failed.
  - The Real Greg
    
    Well considering what the offense did after that, it might have been the right idea.
    - Rolling Doughnut
      
      Yes, if you assume they could know the outcome of the game beforehand, that might have been the right call. But logic does not work that way, the bunt was a blunder.
      - The Real Greg
        
        It’s in hindsight. And to be fair I was not crazy about the bunt when it happened either.
        
        Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
        
        No, in hindsight it was a failed bunt. At the time it was a shitty idea to give away an out with the offense struggling.
        
        WhittakerWalt
        
        With no one out in the 2nd inning, no less.
        
        The Real Greg
        
        You do know that I mostly agreed with you, right?
        
        Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
        
        And yet, it’s still not wrong in “hindsight”. It was just wrong.
- Wheels
  
  Ha, the beatification of Jayson Nix.
WhittakerWalt

Sterling Tease. Fuck him.
Winter

Wait, Wells is staying on the field after an at bat. Shouldn’t some one tell him he’s supposed to go back to the dugout? I don’t understand.
Wheels

Weak sauce, Ichiro
forensic

Wells and Youkilis reaching base safely in the same inning???

It’s the end of the world as we know it…
WhittakerWalt

How did we ever score two runs?
- The Real Greg
  
  Cano and Nix had 2 out RBI singles.
  - Wheels
    
    I don’t think he was asking literally.
    - WhittakerWalt
      
      I was not.
The Real Greg

See Saunders got it up to 92 there again.
teddy

cashman needs to get 2 bats or this team going nowhere
- The Real Greg
  
  Called the trading deadline buddy.
  - vicki
    
    nobody out-gregs greg, buddy.
- FEED.ME.MORE!
  
  The same team whose offense we bitch about daily that sits 2 games out of 1st place?
  
  Surely THAT team is going nowhere.
  
  Hyperbole much?
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    You can’t honestly believe they’re doing it with offense?
    - Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
      
      No, but I also don’t believe they’re going “nowhere”.
      - WhittakerWalt
        
        I don’t think they can consistently win with an offense this bad. An upgrade will be needed.
  - teddy
    
    yanks don’t pitched good enough and play great defense to win enough games to make the playoffs with this dreadful lineup.
Eddard

Andy might be able to throw a CG at this rate. Not sure how many pitches he can throw. As long as he gets through 7 with the lead it’s secure.
The Real Greg

Meanwhile Pettite has thrown just 64 pitches through 6 innings.
Jacob the OG

Thought I would alert everyone Andy(1,939) is now 17 ks from tying Whitey(1,956) for #1 on Yankees all time strike out list!
The Real Greg

Here comes the Branch Line Station.

If you know the Rev. W. Awdry, you will get this reference.
teddy

yanks should sent up hafner here
- The Real Greg
  
  They should at least consider it.
  - teddy
    
    why am i not suprise. Giradri is a dreadful manager
    - The Real Greg
      
      And yet…
    - FEED.ME.MORE!
      
      They already have the lead. Why take out the better SS (however sad that statement makes us) when you are leading?
      - The Real Greg
        
        I think Brigniac is the better defensive SS.
  - teddy
    
    ok i was wrong
The Real Greg

I would have pinch hit Hafner here, Joe
The Real Greg

However, now that I think about it, Wedge would have just brought in Perez to counter the move.
- teddy
  
  still rather have hafner up, but nix did the job
- Tom
  
  Only if they re-wrote the rules of baseball before he did it.
  
  Once he brought the righty in, he has to face at least one batter (barring an injury).
  - The Real Greg
    
    That rule really doesn’t make sense because you can pinch hit for a pinch hitter so it should work the other way around.
    - Tom
      
      Sense or not… you’d think Girardi might know one of the more basic rules in baseball.
      
      So it’s not an excuse for Girardi not making the move.
- forensic
  
  I’m only following on play-by-play right now, but Farquhar would’ve had to face Hafner since he just came in. You sound like those terrible umps in the Houston game earlier this year.
  - The Real Greg
    
    Why do I think that I have seen managers make that move in the past?
Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)

And John and Suzyn simultaneously orgasm.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  “Nix is a VERY IMPORTANT part of this team.”
  
  Yeah, I’d say that’s an O.
Eddard

That’s now +1 for Jayson Nix.
The Real Greg

And in the end…. it works out.
FEED.ME.MORE!

Baseball Player!!!!
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

OK Nix. I forgive your defensive lapse. For now.
WhittakerWalt

Ma and Pa are going to be insufferable after this one.
Wheels

Close the door on this game Tex
The Real Greg

See that’s why I have said that it very hard to criticize managers. Sometimes they make the wrong move and it works. Sometimes they make what they think is the right move and it doesn’t work.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  True that. I didn’t think it was wrong to leave Nix in there. The runner’s already on second, and a single will score him. Nix can get a single.
  If it was a big spot and Wells came up, or you need a home run, then I’d PH.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  Logically, though, one would still criticize the manager for making the wrong move even if worked. Being the wrong move and all.
  - The Real Greg
    
    You would think so. But it really doesn’t happen that much.
  - vicki
    
    i should hope so. the old blind squirrel. when some guy sucks out on the river you re-buy and wait for pot-odds to catch up with him.
FEED.ME.MORE!

WTF? Oli Perez?
- Wheels
  
  And he gets Cano.
- The Real Greg
  
  Yeah, he’s been with the Mariners the last two years.
  
  Ironically last year, he wasn’t as effective against lefties as he is this year.
Rolling Doughnut

Robbie looked a little like Swisher there.
Cy Pettitte

Looks like the Orioles are coming strong for our title of best at over-hyping pitching prospects and getting little to nothing out of them in the majors
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  You got that right. People keep talking up the O’s FO etc. Nice to see they’re getting clobbered today,
The Real Greg

By the way Rangers and Blue Jays are in the top of the 17th inning.
- The Real Greg
  
  And the Marlins and the Mets are in the top of the 15th inning.
Rolling Doughnut

Way to go Andy.
Darren

WTF? 83 pitches and he’s done.
- The Real Greg
  
  Hey, I saw Buck Showalter take out Freddy Garcia to start the seventh with 66 pitches.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Buck is kind of a psycho, though.
- Tom
  
  Girardi’d.
  
  Had he been at 83 pitches and it was the 6th inning there is close to zero chance he’s pulled.
  
  Either than or Ryan’s .550 OPS means you have to play the platoon advantage.
The Real Greg

Now in his last start, if I recall, Andy started to tire around the 70th pitch. So that has to play into this decision a bit.
- Matt
  
  Which is meaningless because it was a completely different opponent with a different amount of pitching under pressure.
  
  Pettitte barely had to sweat today. He worked with nobody on for most of the game. He didn’t look like he was tiring one bit, and in fact it looked like he was quite sharp still but getting squeezed a bit.
  
  Unless the goal is to get Robertson and Rivera some work (haven’t pitched since Wednesday), the move was another pointless overmanage by Girardi.
  - The Real Greg
    
    That was the other reason that I was considering. Actually they haven’t pitched since Tuesday. CC threw the CG on Wednesday.
    - Matt
      
      Sorry, Tuesday. But this game is still too close to mess around like that. If your starter is cruising and is not tiring, then by bringing in relief pitchers you can only make things worse.
      
      Pettitte was the better choice than a rusty Robertson right now. It’s not like it’s one of your lesser pitchers like Hughes who might blow up at any moment.
      - The Real Greg
        
        I was kind of surprised that he did it too. But once again, the decision goes the Yankees way, for the moment.
      - Darren
        
        Exactly. A starter that is not tiring or showing any signs of strain with a low pitch count is a better bet than a rusty reliever. And why not get Andy the complete game if possible?
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    It was probably one of those “if anybody gets on I’m coming to get you” things, except he stayed in to retire the lefty.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

Da fuck, DRob?
WhittakerWalt

Please go after Brendan Ryan.
Winter

So Girardi took Andy out after only 82 pitches. It’s the 8th inning, I have absolutely zero problem with Girardi opting to go with Robertson and Mo in a two run game.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  It didn’t seem like a bad idea at the time.
- Matt
  
  The starter is shutting them down. Why would you mess with that and bring in a guy who hasn’t pitched since Tuesday and is notorious for having bad control when he hasn’t pitched in a while?
  
  The move worked, but it was not the right one. It wasn’t necessarily a bad decision, but it wasn’t the best that could have been made.
  - WhittakerWalt
    
    Andy is pretty old, though.
    - vicki
      
      old for baseball. young for a senator.
      - WhittakerWalt
        
        He’s still quite a bit younger than me.
The Real Greg

And again, the decision on the edge works in the Yankees favor.
- Matt
  
  Doesn’t make it the right one. Getting lucky is not the same as being smart. In a small sample like in the playoffs you can throw that out the window, but in the regular season you can’t have that sort of mindset because over a lot of games it will burn you (it already has many times).
  - The Real Greg
    
    But as I said earlier, nobody seems to care about that. They care more about the result than the decision, if the result goes their way.
    
    Logically they should, but it really doesn’t work that way.
    - Matt
      
      That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change a thing. If they don’t know any better, then they are not fit for the job. Your job is to give your team the best chance to win. If you can’t do that, then it doesn’t matter what excuses you make.
    - Rolling Doughnut
      
      You are in rare form today.
      - The Real Greg
        
        It doesn’t.
        
        How many post game write ups on sports sites have you seen that have said “Technically this was a bad decision but luckily it worked”
    - Tom
      
      When people are asking BEFORE the result is known, they are not using the outcome to determine the “rightness” of the decision.
      - The Real Greg
        
        I meant in reaction. You can question anything prior to an event happening.
        
        Tom
        
        Ahh…. got you.
        
        I think Mike A and other knowledgable writers will criticize a move even if it works out. Most of the mainstream sites have idiots pumping out recaps so it’s hard to expect them to analyze anything but the result.
        
        The Real Greg
        
        True. But even then, they mention it in passing with a “I didn’t think this was the right move, but whatever” type of phrase (I’m just paraphrasing) They don’t belabor the point.
Rolling Doughnut

Drob for two outs and give it to Mo seems about right. Andy’s pitch count notwithstanding.
The Real Greg

Now you could pinch hit Hafner here too.
- The Real Greg
  
  And it ends in the Yankees favor again.
WhittakerWalt

Tex with his signature pop-up.
- The Real Greg
  
  I was just thinking that. That looks like last year.
Jacob the OG

Josh pettitte just drafted by yanks
- The Real Greg
  
  Probably wont sign, but if he does and Mo gets three outs. A banner day for the Pettitte family.
  - Jacob the OG
    
    Still a banner day sign or not
WhittakerWalt

I always get nervous when Ma and Pa start building up Mariano too much before an appearance.
I’mVernonI’mVernon4U

That is a great walk up song for Raul. Perfect, really.
The Real Greg

That was an unintentional intentional walk. Rather go after Franklin
Eddard

Andy’s got his 250th win and he’s headed straight to Cooperstown alongside Mo.
Tom

Man for any other pitcher that 2-2 pitch up to Morse would have been extremely dangerous (miss a bit down and he hits it 450ft); but for Rivera… no worries.

Like the unintentional/intentional walk to Ibanez (even if it puts the tying run on base). They could have given Franklin 6 strikes and I don’t think it would have mattered.

Was watching the M’s TV feed and even they said “good luck kid” when Franklin came up and were laughing on the pitch that Rivera put on Franklin’s hands.