Throughout the playoffs, Joe Girardi has turned to Joba Chamberlain in high-leverage situations. My question is, why? I haven't seen Chamberlain do anything to warrant trusting him in a big spot.
Chamberlain has been inconsistent all season and there is no doubt that David Robertson is a better option out of the bullpen at this point. Now, I'm not trying to knock Joba; I am actually not as down on his season as most people are. He was only slightly below average for the season, which is just fine for a ...
During the 11th inning on Monday, seconds after Dave Robertson had registered the second out of what seemed to be an uneventful half inning, FOX cameras cut to Joe Girardi.
The Yankees manager looked discombobulated...even frantic. He took three quick steps toward his matchup binder sitting on the dugout bench, hurriedly flipped through the first few pages, and then he quickly turned around and shot up the dugout steps to pull Robertson from the game.
That was the precise moment when I knew for sure that Girardi was in over his ...
We could go through this a thousand times. The New York Yankees lost because they left too many men on base. Because they only tried to hit homers and not get on base. Because Joba isn't used to being a reliever anymore. Yadda yadda yadda.
We could list all the what-if scenarios and come up with plenty of reasons why every team has lost every game. I'm not doing that. The only one that's even worth considering is the Brett Gardner caught-stealing situation. Had he been on, Jorge Posada's subsequent homer ...
Leave it to Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels to usher in the return of enthusiasm and drama after their remarkable 5-4, 11-inning comeback victory over the Yankees in Game Three of the American League Championship Series.
Four runs wasn’t enough to beat the Los Angeles Angels this time. Following the sting of losing two games in New York, the Angels are receiving plenty of positive buzz for their determination and savvy decisions used to seize momentum in the series.
The Yankees still have a 2-1 advantage in the series ...
There was a scenario I forgot to mention at the end of the last column . If the Angels were able to come back from a big deficit and beat our bullpen in Game Three, that might make this series a series again, too.
That was silly of me to overlook. I forgot about Game Three of the 2005 ALDS, when the Angels blew a 5-0 lead against Randy Johnson, wound up behind by a couple of runs, and then managed to come back again and beat the Yankees to re-take ...
Jeff Mathis reacts after his double scored Howie Kendrick all the way from first for the winning run, giving the Angels life in their series against the Yankees. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In the bottom of the 10th inning of Game Two of the American League Championship Series, Anaheim Angels backup catcher Jeff Mathis clocked a ringing leadoff double into the left-field gap against New York Yankees reliever Phil Hughes. After the double, Fox announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver implored the Angels to pinch-run the faster Reggie Wilits for Mathis. ...
If you are going to be uptight, nervous, and over-manage in the postseason, you better win.
Time and time again, New York Yankees manager has overmanaged in this postseason and the Yankees’ talent has bailed him out.
Today, there was nobody to bail Girardi out.
In the bottom of the 11th this afternoon in Anaheim, with the score tied at four, Girardi took RHP David Robertson out of the game with two outs and nobody on base.
Why Girardi took Robertson out is anyone’s guess.
Robertson, who led all American League pitchers in K/9 ...
I'm not going to recap tonight's game, I am just going to rant about the decisions Girardi made. Pettitte pitched pretty well, going 6.1 innings and allowing only three earned runs and threw 95 pitches before he was removed. This was when I started to question Girardi's bullpen management.
In a tie game, Girardi chose to go with Joba Chamberlain in relief of Pettitte in the seventh inning. I immediately questioned this decision, and wondered why Girardi was going with Joba. Joba's results have been fine out of the bullpen, but ...
Alex Rodriguez is channeling memories of the 1977 postseason to New York Yankees fans around the world. The third baseman is making himself a good case for the title of Mr. October with his recent playoff performance.
The last few games against the Angels and Twins have shown that Rodriguez has found his stroke in the playoffs and is coming up big in clutch situations. It looks like Reggie Jackson might soon be the old Mr. October.
Just like Jackson, Alex Rodriguez made headlines before the season even began.
In 1977, Jackson ...
The Yankees outlasted the Angels in Game Two of the ALCS on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series continues this afternoon in Anaheim. River & Sunset takes a look at some of the subplots orbiting Yankee Universe.
We're not close to the celebration yet
They say in sports that a playoff series doesn't truly begin until the home team loses a game. I'd suggest Yankees fans should take heed. As the Wolf in Pulp Fiction once so eloquently said, "Let's not go sucking each other's *#%@ just ...