The final countdown

The word is that the Yankees will announce their new manager either today or tomorrow. Right now the short list seems to consist of Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi and Tony Pena. I wrote about Mattingly and Girardi before, but Pena's name came up later, so I'll share my thoughts about him now.

Pena's resume is very similar to Girardi's. They're both former catchers who had very successful rookie seasons as a major league manager, leading mediocre teams with limited payrolls to surprisingly strong seasons. They then followed that rookie season by getting fired in the next one. Unlike Girardi, however, Pena was not fired because of a conflict with ownership. Instead, he lost his job over the trivial matter of losing 104 games. I'm not sure what that says about his managerial skills. On one hand the Royals were a pretty bad team, and you have to give him a lot of credit for bringing the team their first winning season since 1994, a feat they have yet to replicate. On the other hand, 104 losses is one of the worst totals in baseball history, and no matter how bad his players were, he has to take some of the blame.

So how can we make any kind of guess as to his managerial skills? I decided to go back to his experiences as the manager of the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. in three seasons he led the team to two league championships and a Carribean Series title. Of course managing a great team in Santiago de los Caballeros is very different from doing it in New York, but it's all we have to go on.

Similarly, we don't know much about how he'd be able to handle the media or his players. Neither of his previous managerial positions required him to face an aggressive media or deal with star players and their egos. All we can say is that he's had two seasons to watch Joe Torre do those things better than anyone, and that he's known to be a terribly nice guy.

In the end, I see the three candidates as breaking down like this. All three of them are classy guys who conduct themselves with the kind of professionalism that you'd expect from anyone who worked under Joe Torre. Girardi and Pena both have had success as managers, while Mattingly has had no experience whatsoever. Mattingly, as a former Yankee star and captain, is the only one who has ever had the spotlight of New York upon him and he's dealt with it well. All three are fine candidates, but I'd go with Mattingly and his media experience. The Yankees' are depending heavily on their young pitching, and the next manager is going to have to protect them from the media and teach them about how to deal with New York. While I've no doubt that all three would be willing to throw themselves in front of the proverbial bus for these kids, Mattingly's probably the one whose best equipped to survive it.

Of course two weeks ago I said that Girardi would be the best choice. That has less to do with me being indecisive and more to do with just how good these candidates are. Considering how badly the Yankee brass handled the end of the Joe Torre era, I'm glad to see that they're in a situation where there is no bad choice for them to make.

Goodbye Mr. Torre

I did not see that coming.

For those who haven't heard, the Yankees decided to offer Joe Torre a 1 year, $5 million contract, and Torre turned them down. Its a surprising turn of events, and it seems more than a little shady to me, at least as far as the front office is concerned. The Steinbrenners (its been reported that George's sons Hank and Hal had a lot of input on the decision) couldn't really think that Torre, a Hall of Fame manager who has led the Yankees to historical greatness, would take a 33% pay cut just to have to go through the headache of another negotiation in a year. If they did think that, then they're idiots. If they didn't, then they must have been trying to look good to potential free agents Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, who have indicated that Torre's future will play a role in their decisions.

I've already written about the potential replacements, so let me just say a few things about Joe Torre. He could absolutely infuriate me with some of his in game moves, but there's no denying that he handled the spotlight of New York, and shielded his players from it, better than anyone. With the rise of cable, Torre faced scrutiny from more press than any manager in Yankee history. In fact, other than the White House Press Secretary, I can't think of anyone, that has to face more reporters and cameras than Joe Torre. His class and professionalism set the tone for a clubhouse that could easily fall apart with the number of highly paid stars that are on the team. and its going to be an incredibly difficult act to follow. I'm sad to see him go, and I've decided that as a farewell present, I'll be making a donation to the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. It's a small thank you to a man who helped bring me some very good memories.

The vultures are circling

The vultures, in this case, are the throngs of reporters who have circled Joe Torre's house in a shameful display of tabloid hackery at its worst. There are stories whose importance might warrant harassing a man at his home, but whether or not the Yankees' manager will be fired is not one of them. It's incredible to me that this point even needs to made.

Anyway, there's not much in the way of actual news out in Yankeeland, just a lot of rumors and posturing. What's hilarious to me is how much those things have been contradictory. For example, I've read that the lack of word from the Yankees' on Joe Torre's fate means that Steinbrenner is reconsidering his position, and that it means the decision's been made. In other words, we won't know a thing until the starts having some organizational meetings in Tampa next week.

Let the speculation begin

So that's that for the Yankees' 2007 season. Last night's defeat is a little too fresh for me to do a look back at what went wrong and what went right in the season, so I'm going to place my focus on the future for now. The big story for the future right now is, of course, who will be the manager next season. It seems almost certain that it won't be Joe Torre. The only real question about that is whether he will announce that he's not coming back, or whether the team announces that they're not re-signing him.

As for his replacement, Peter Abraham is reporting that the short list consists of Tony La Russa, Bobby Valentine, Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi and Don Mattingly. Its a pretty weird list to me, consisting of two guys who'd be good picks, and two who I don't think would work out, and one who would be an absolute disaster. Let's go over them individually.

The disaster is Tony La Russa. One of the biggest challenges of being manager in New York is dealing with the media, something at which La Russa is incredibly bad. This is a guy who nearly got into a fistfight with a reporter in St. Louis. I really can't imagine that he'd make it through spring training with the New York media without having to serve jail time.

Then there's his actual managerial style. La Russa really seems to believe he's some kind of genius, and makes all sorts of wacky little moves to prove it, not caring about how it might affect his players. In his book Three Nights in August, journalist Buzz Bissinger starts with a story about one of La Russa's more insane decisions. Albert Pujols, who is as valuable to the Cardinals as a player can possibly be, has an arm injury which allows him to swing a bat, but not throw a ball. A doctor has informed La Russa that throwing a ball could result in a career ending injury for Pujols. Any sane man would bench Pujols until he was well enough to play, but La Russa decided he had a better idea. He played Pujols in left field and told him to just underhand the ball to the shortstop if he has to field a ball. This is not a man you want to entrust a team to.

I'm actually a fan of Bobby Valentine's. I think he's a smart man who amuses with some wacky antics. However, those wacky antics are a lot funnier when they're coming out of someone else's clubhouse. He's just not a good fit for the Yankees.

Buck Showalter is the other guy who's a perfectly decent manager, but wouldn't fit in with the Yankees. I'm actually surprised that he's even being considered for the job, or at least reported to be considered, in light of his acrimonious relationship with George Steinbrenner. Managing the Boss is as big a part of the job as managing the team, and Showalter just can't do it.

Joe Girardi, I think, would make a good pick. As the manager of the Marlins in 2006, he did a very nice job in bringing a team with the lowest payroll in the majors into playoff contention. Granted, he didn't have a good relationship with the team's owner, Jeffrey Loria, which is probably what got him fired. Loria, however, is a very different kind of owner from Steinbrenner. Where Steinbrenner can be an ass because of his obsession with winning, Loria is an ass who is obsessed with making money without regard to any kind of ethics or the law. I could write a whole piece about this, but I'll just say that Girardi understands proffesionalism, and I think would fit in with the Yankees as a manager as well as he did as a player.

Finally, there's the obvious choice; Donnie Baseball. He's certainly proven that he can handle the New York media, has a good relationship with the boss, and a lot of respect in the clubhouse. However, since he's never managed at any level, we've got no idea what his managerial skills are like. Heck, I couldn't even tell you if he's a good bench coach, since its never been clear to me what it is a bench coach does. However, he is, at least, a smart man who knows as much about baseball, especially the art of hitting, as anyone. His three seasons as the hitting coach were filled with so much success and praise that I was actually against making him the bench coach because I thought he was more valuable where he was (though, again, I have no idea what a bench coach does, so its possible that that was where he was more valuable).

Personally, I'd lean more towards Girardi. The Yankees are a team who will be relying on young pitching going forward, and I think a former catcher would have a leg up in helping them along. However, its a small leg up, and Mattingly would certainly be a fine choice. Just please don't let Tony La Russa anywhere near the Yankee clubhouse.

Wang to pitch tonight

Joe Torre didn't leave the question of tonight's starter up in the air for long. It's not a particularly surprising move. If the Yankees were eliminated tonight without sending their best to the mound, there'd be hell to pay. Granted, we don't know how Chien-Ming Wang will react to pitching on three days rest, but I think it'll work out. Wang is an efficient pitcher who can give you a good seven innings without running up much of a pitch count.

Also, I have a feeling that part of his problems in game one had to do with being a little rusty after too much rest. His sinker ought to have its customary bite, and it'll just be a question of whether or not he can command it. Which, of course, is a big question. The Indians showed great discipline last night, continually laying off Roger Clemens' out pitch, the splitter, because Clemens couldn't hit the lower part of the strike zone, which is where Wang lives. The Indians are going to make Wang earn that strike, but if he can hit it he'll be unstoppable.

Live Blogging 10/07

I'm back for another night of liveblogging. Here are today's lineups:

Yankees
1. Johnny Damon LF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Bobby Abreu RF
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Jorge Posada C
6. Jason Giambi 1B
7. Hideki Matsui DH
8. Robinson Cano 2B
9. Melky Cabrera CF
Pitcher: Roger Clemens

Indians
1. Grady Sizemore CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
3. Travis Hafner DH
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Ryan Garko 1B
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Kenny Lofton LF
8. Trot Nixon RF
9. Casey Blake 3B
Pitcher: Jake Westbrook

The big changes from the last couple of games are Giambi, who takes Doug Mientkiewicz's spot at first, and Nixon, who is the Indian's third right fielder in as many games. They're both pretty obvious moves. Nixon is a left hander with good numbers against Roger Clemens, and Giambi will hopefully provide some spark to an offense that's been pretty well shut down thus far in the series. The Yankees may get more of a spark from Westbrook, who has not done well against them. He gave up four runs over seven innings in his last start against the Bombers, and was pounded for eight runs over one and two thirds innings the last time he pitched in Yankee Stadium back in April.

Of course the big pregame news is George Steinbrenner letting the world know that Joe Torre's job may depend on the outcome of this series. It'd be ironic to me if Torre lost his job after this season, since I've been impressed by his performance in bringing the team back to the playoffs. Of course, even if I didn't feel that way, I'd still think that he deserves better, but that's the Steinbrenner Way, and Torre should be commended for showing, once again, amazing professionalism and class.

Update 6:38PM: Anyone looking for the game on TBS, switch over to TNT. They're showing the game there until the Boston-Anaheim game is over.

Update 6:41PM: I'm sure some of you are thinking it, but I really doubt Doug Mientkiewicz could have made that play. Even if he had been able to catch Jeter's errant throw, it would've been extremely difficult to tag Cabrera.

Update 6:53PM: A tough first inning for Clemens, but he seemed to get better as the inning wore on. I'm hoping he's just shaking off the rust that comes with not having pitched for three weeks.

Update 7:06PM: Ouch. Looks like Eric Wedge made the right call by putting Nixon in. That ball was hit so hard that it almost didn't have time to elevate over the fence.

Update 7:14PM: The Yankees' are going to need to get to Jake Westbrook soon, because I don't think that Clemens is going to settle in. It might be time to get Mike Mussina warming up.

Update 7:18PM: Excellent at bat for A-Rod. He seems to have gotten comfortable with the fact that the Indian pitchers are afraid of him and aren't going to throw him much in the strike zone. So, he watched some balls go by, pounced on a mistake and didn't try to do too much with it.

Update 7:32PM: It's certainly got to be frustrating for the Rocket to be pulled in favor of a kid that hadn't even been born when he made his major league debut. However, I'm glad that Torre didn't let that factor into his decision making. Now we've got to hope that Hughes is in command of all his pitches, because it looks like he's going to need it.

Update 7:42PM: I think Hughes needs to mix in his other pitches a little more. He threw 13 pitches, 10 of those were fastballs. The rest were three beautiful curveballs, which I'd like to see more of, as well as the slider and change. Still, he appears to have good command on the fastball, and its up to 93mph, so I think we'll see some solid innings out of him.

Update 7:47PM: Kudos to Matsui for legging out that infield hit with that gimpy hamstring. You could definitely see he was in pain as he ran down the line.

Update 7:52PM: Who would've thought that Matsui would be making contributions with his legs. Great baserunning on that play, especially with his slide into third. That gutsy play not only puts him ninety feet from home, but keeps Melky from being out at first. That could well be a turning point in this game.

Update 8:05PM: Hughes has got to be feeling good about his curveball, because he shook off Posada twice in order to throw it. He's definitely got good reason for it, as its got some great break, and he's been spot on with his command. Plus, there's a huge speed differential there, as , at 70mph, it's more than 20mph slower than the fastball. And there's that slider coming in at 81mph. The kid's looking really good out there.

Update 8:40PM: It was only a matter of time before the Yankees broke through against Westbrook. Beyond the runs, Damon's home run is great since it eliminates the possibility of Jeter, who has been the rally killer in this game, grounding into another double play.

Update 8:48PM: Joba's warming up. With nary a bug in sight, He and Mo ought to be able to lock this down if Hughes can get through this inning unscathed.

Update 8:59PM: It's surprising to see Westbrook back out on the mound. Not that I'm complaining.

Update 9:06PM: I can't say I really see the point of that bunt. Considering who's coming to the plate, I think sacrificing a chance to bust this game open is a mistake.

Update 9:10PM: Well, it looks like they didn't need any more chances to bust the game open anyway. Big hit by Cano, and a bigger error by Nixon.

Update 9:14PM: Now the question is what do you do about the bullpen. One of the Joba rules is that once he starts warming up, he has to come into a game. However, with such a huge lead do you only use him for one inning so that he's available tomorrow? Do you use Mo, or do you trust the end of a must win game to a lesser pitcher? I say hand the ball off to Ohlendorf, Vizcaino or Veras. Five runs is a big enough lead to start thinking about tomorrow.

Update 9:21PM: That strikeout is exactly why Joba's stay in the bullpen is temporary. He just struck out Cabrera on three exceptional pitches. The fastball and slider we've seen plenty of, but that curve hasn't been used much as a reliever, and it's fantastic. Anyone with that deep an arsenal needs to be in the rotation.

Update 9:30PM: Tonight's public address announcer, Jim Hall, sounds so much like Bob Sheppard that it's creeping me out.

Update 9:40PM: I'm having a hard time figuring out who is annoying me more, Dane Cook in these "There's Only One October," commercials, or this Frank guy and the endless promos for his show.

Update 9:52PM: I think the bullpen phone is broken again. Joe Torre is signaling Robinson Cano to check if Jose Veras is ready. This happened a few weeks ago, and you'd think that after the first time someone would think to bring a cellphone out there.

Update 10:10PM: Man, I really hate to see Mo here. I'm not knocking Torre's decision to use him, mind you, because I think it's a good call. It's just annoying that there's no one else in the pen you can really trust.

Update 10:15PM: And Mo closes it out against the top of the Indians' lineup looking like he was barely trying. I won't be able to live blog tomorrow's game, but I'll try and keep on top of the pregame stories, especially who the Yankees' will be sending to the mound. My vote is for Chien-Ming Wang, whose sinker ought to be better on short rest than long rest.

Just Do It

We're less than six hours from the start of the Division Series, and Joe Torre has announced a roster that, surprisingly, contains three rookies who didn't join the team until after September callups; Jose Veras, Ross Ohlendorf and Bronson Sardinha. Normally, in order to be eligible for the playoff roster, a player has to have been either on the active roster or the disabled list on August 31st, which means that Ohlendorf and Sardinha wouldn't have been eligible (Veras was on the DL at the time). However, a team can substitute any player from their forty-man roster for any eligible player of the same position that's on the DL when the playoffs start (this is the rule that allowed Francisco Rodriguez to get five postseason wins for the Angels in 2002). Thus, Ohlendorf and Sardinha step in for Carl Pavano and Andy Phillips. Should Ohlendorf actually contribute I think it'll be most value the Yankees have gotten out of the Pavano contract.

Anyway, this leaves the Yankees with a pitching staff that features only one lefthander (Andy Pettitte), and a bullpen whose slowest fastball is in the 92-94mph range (Jose Vizcaino). It's safe to say that the Yankees have decided to go with talent over diversity and experience. It's a gutsy call, but it's also in line with the decisions that have brought the team back from their horrible start.

I'm not usually one to quote ads, but Nike's 80 foot tall billboard by Penn Station pretty much sums things up:

Off to see the Wizard

You might think that since I've advocated resting players to get ready for the playoffs, I'd be ready to slam Joe Torre for breaking the Joba Rules on Sunday. If so, you'd be wrong. The Joba Rules were certainly a great idea, minimizing the risk to a very valuable arm as Chamberlain adjusted to a bullpen role, and pitched more than 100 innings for the first time since his sophomore season at Nebraska. However, anyone who thought that the Yankees' were going to keep to those rules in the playoffs was crazy. So, it makes sense to get Joba ready for what might be a slightly heavier workload in the postseason. Its especially important for him to be able to warm up and be available to come in mid-inning. With his ability to get strikeouts, he is definitely the man you want on the mound in a tight game with runners on base.

In more entertaining news, after yesterday's game the Yankees left for their final road trip of the season, which meant it was time for some rookie hazing. As in years past, the veterans stole the rooks' clothes from their lockers and replaced them with new outfits. Last year, it was George Steinbrenner turtlenecks and blazers. The year before it was cheerleading uniforms. This year, with a dozen rookies, the Yankees' were able to put on their own production of the Wizard of Oz. Here's Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Shelley Duncan and Phil Hughes as Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man:



Additionally, the Daily News has shots of Edwar Ramirez as the Wicked Witch of the West, Kei Igawa a flying monkey, Chase Wright as the Good Witch of the East, and Ross Ohlendorf as a palace guard. Plus, a guy by the name of Rob managed to get pictures of Igawa's translator Yumi Watanabe as a talking tree, and strength coach Dana Cavalea as the Mayor of Emerald City. Sadly, I wasn't able to find pictures of Munchkins Matt DeSalvo and Alberto Gonzalez, or of flying monkey Tyler Clippard and palace guard Bronson Sardinha. Hopefully I'll be able to catch them once they start their run on Broadway.

Makin' Me Sweat

Never let it be said that I'm not man enough to admit when I'm wrong, even when no one would know. I didn't get around to writing it before the game, but I didn't think Roger Clemens should have started tonight's game. I simply did not believe that his elbow could stand up to the Red Sox offense. Granted, Clemens said he could pitch, but I'm pretty sure he'd say the same thing if he were run over by the bus. He's just that kind of Texas son of a gun. The Rocket, however, was pretty sharp, pitching an efficient six innings, allowing only one unearned run, while striking out four and allowing only six men to get on base. While he had only thrown 87 pitches at that point, Joe Torre wisely decided that he didn't want to push Clemens' elbow to hard and turned things over to the Joba Chamberlain.

Unfortunately, Curt Schilling was just as sharp, if not more so. He only needed 69 pitches to get through seven innings, giving up only one run off a solo homerun by Robinson Cano in the 5th. Considering that Chamberlain was available for two innings, and Mariano Rivera was pretty well rested too, it seemed like we might be in for a long night, waiting for someone to scratch out a run against these dominating pitchers. Derek Jeter, perhaps having plans for the rest of the night, had other ideas.

After Melky Cabrera struck out to start the eighth inning, Doug Mientkiewicz managed to get on with a single. It was then that Joe Torre made a gutsy, brilliant call. Rather than have Jose Molina try to sacrifice Mientkiewicz into scoring position, Torre sent in Jason Giambi to pitch hit. What made this decision so surprising was that the only catcher who could replace Molina, Jorge Posada. For those who don't know, when you have a DH take over for a player in the field, the pitcher has to take over for that player at the plate. Torre, however, saw his chance to get a run and took it, deciding to worry about the pitcher's at bat when it came.

The gamble worked out beautifully, as Giambi singled and Damon grounded into what would have been the third out had Torre used Molina to sacrifice. Since Torre didn't, though, the Captain had the opportunity to come through in the clutch, and he did so in style, knocking a home run over the Green Monster to put the Yankees ahead 4-1. That would be all the offense the Yankees' needed, though the bullpen would make it close.

In the bottom of the 8th, Chamberlain gave up the first earned run of his short career when Mike Lowell took him deep for a solo home run. The 21 year old remained poised, as he came right back against J.D. Drew. Joba the Hutt struck him out with a breaking ball that Drew watched go by like he was frozen in carbonite.

The real nailbiting came in the botton ninth, which Mariano Rivera started by walking Jason Varitek. A Julio Lugo double would score him, and a hit batter followed by another walk would load the bases with two outs for David Ortiz. It's funny how Yankees/Red Sox games always seem to come down to big moments like these, where the game is on the line and each team has exactly who they want on the mound and at the plate. This time the moment was Mo's, as he got Ortiz to Big Papi out to shortstop with the classic cutter inside. The perfect ending to a game that was everything this rivalry is supposed to be.

Even though the Yanks won the series, without the sweep they're too far back to have a realistic shot at the pennant. However, by winning five of their last six against Boston, they've proven that they're more than ready to meet them in October. As far as getting to October, they remain two and a half games ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card, and their magic number drops to 10.

Save Me

This is the kind of loss that drives me nuts. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth and the heart of the Blue Jays' order coming to the plate, Joe Torre hands the ball to Chris Britton. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera watchs his team lose from the bullpen.

Torre has allowed himself to become a slave to the save. Granted, he's not alone in this. Most, possibly all, major league managers refuse to bring in their closer unless its a save situation, letting a statistic dictate their strategy. Don't get me wrong; I'm a big stat geek, but they're only supposed to inform your decisions, not make them. Sometimes the most crucial situation in a game isn't a save situation, because baseball is more complicated than the eight lines that make up the definition of a save.

For example, when its the bottom of the ningth in a tie game, when just one run ends the game, and the other team's best hitters are coming to the plate, I say that you want your best pitcher on the mound. If that means that a lesser pitcher facing lesser hitters picks up a save, then so be it. If you end up losing the game altogether, then at least you can say that you gave your best.

Play it again, Alex

Last night's game was almost a repeat of the night before. They were both pitcher's duels early, until the Yankee offense, led by a player with two homeruns, explodes in the later innings while the Yankee pitching keeps dominating. The funny thing is that while the results were much the same, the players weren't.

Joe Torre shuffled his lineup, resting Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu. Surprisingly, Alex Rodriguez was able to talk himself into the lineup after rolling his ankle the night before, though he was limited to DH duty. It turned out to be a pretty good decision, as Rodriguez hit his 47th and 48th homeruns in the 8th inning (yes, he hit both in the same inning), tying his own record for most homeruns hit by a righthanded Yankee.

Last night's two homerun star, Jorge Posada, was replaced by Jose Molina, though Posada did come in as a pinch hitter in the 7th. Molina filled Posada's large cleats well, knocking in the Yankees' first run in the 3rd with a solo shot that just snuck by the left field foul pole.

The most important performance, though, belonged to Philip Hughes. It was Hughes' first start since Dave Eiland, his pitching coach in Triple-A came up to New York to see him. I'm not sure what, if anything, Eiland did, but Philip Hughes: Ace of the Future was back last night. Jose Molina barely had to move his glove as Hughes was in complete command of his fastball, curve and change. He had a little trouble with his slider, which kept diving in the dirt, but three strong pitches were all that he needed to stymie the Mariners. With Roger Clemens' elbow woes and Mike Mussina's sudden inneffectiveness, the hope that Hughes can be a dependable starter down the stretch and into the playoffs is a welcome one indeed.

A couple of random notes:

• Wilson Betemit earned my eternal respect when he walked to the plate to the strains of Pearl Jam's "Better Man". Its almost as good as Hideki Matsui using Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".
  
  
• One of the downsides of rosters expanding in September, at least for fans, is the sheer number of pitching changes a manager can make. While the Yankees were scoring eight runs in the seventh, Seattle manager John McLaren seemed to change pitchers with every swing of the bat. Every time I looked at the bullpen to see who was coming in, it seemed like there were a dozen guys left there. All told, Seattle made seven pitching changes, painfully extending the game.
  
  
• Before he was a coach, Eiland was a reliever for the Yankees, Padres and Devil Rays. He holds the distinction of being the only player in major league history to give up a home run to the first batter he faced and to hit a home run in his first at-bat.
  
  
• The Yankees' magic number for the wild card is now 20. I'll try to put up some kind of counter in the coming days.

Tough loss

Last night was exactly the kind of gut wrenching affair we've come to expect from the Angels. Coming back against their bullpen is no small feat. To do so and still lose is pretty heartbreaking.

Joe Torre's taking the brunt of the blame after sending the lefty Sean Henn to face a talented righthanded hitter in Howie Kendrick, who would eventually score the winning run. This is probably a bit unfair, considering his options. The only righthanders left in the bullpen, were Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez. Chamberlain is only a year removed from the arm troubles that plagued him his final season at the University of Nebraska, and the Yankee brass has rightfully decreed that he not be used on consecutive days. While Ramirez is under no such restrictions, he had pitched two innings the night before, and the decision that Henn would be more effective is a valid one.

Overlooked amidst all this is the fact that Torre elected to bring in Kyle Farnsworth in the 8th inning of a tie game. Considering that everyone, myself included, wanted to see this guy traded, if not released outright, he acquitted himself pretty well. In fact, his past few outings have been pretty good, and I'm starting to think that its more than dumb luck. When he was struggling, Farnsworth's fastball had dipped down into the low 90s, but over the last few weeks its been 98mph at the knees; the kind of stuff he's paid to bring. I suppose it was inevitable that he catch the fire that's lit up the rest of the team.