Girardi made the right call

I’ve said all along, all that matters is whether your #3 starter on three days rest is better than the #4 starter.

I said all along it would be better to start Gaudin. In this case it works in hindsight too, not because AJ was bad on short rest but because he was just the “Bad AJ” that we all fear.

You’re telling me Chad Gaudin couldn’t have done better than 6 runs in 2+ innings? Hell, AJ actually wasted a fine effort from the offense that tagged the mighty Lee for 5 runs. If Gaudin just had a typical Gaudin outing of 5 innings the 3-4 runs we have a very real shot to clinch.

You say using Gaudin would have been like a forfeit. As it turns out, using him would have given us at worst a performance similar to AJ and at best a very legit shot at the title. And this isn’t even why I never liked the move to begin with.

The real reason I didn’t like this move was that while AJ has shown to be capable on short rest, Andy Pettitte has a mixed history with it and is 37, coming off a performance where he was admittedly gassed at the end. Putting AJ on short rest forces us to use Andy on short rest. We’ll see tomorrow how badly Girardi’s maneuver backfires on us.

I never thought this was a good move.

well said

There was first guessing. And we were right, much like the Robertson/Aceves switch in Game 3. Doesn’t mean the “Fire Joe” crowd is ALWAYS right, but in this case we were.

AJ is a headcase, and you have to give him every opportunity to succeed. AJ at home has an ERA 1.3 runs lower than AJ on the road.

AJ might have a good history on short rest…but did those starts come in the post-season, at the end of a long season? Did they come against a credible opposition? That sample size is WAY too small to make a decision. The one that matters is pitchers are something like 12-36 on short rest in the post-season over the past 20, 30 years.

Now we have Andy Pettitte, 37 years old, on short rest, after a middling performance which exposed that he’s tired. I know we have a Yankee legend pitching Saturday…but if past performance was what mattered, I’d be on the phone to Ron Guidry.

Last night should have been Gaudin 3, maybe 4, Ace 3, then see where the game is. If Gaudin was his usual mediocre self, we probably win that game, or at least he’s on a quicker hook and we don’t wait for 6 runs to figure out whether he has it.

The only good thing about last night was some of our relievers (Hughes, Ace) looked better and our offense put the fear of God into Philly about their bullpen. They will absolutely keep Pedro in too long Wednesday night. Only question is whether it’s enough.

I liked Gaudin last night because I thought it maximized our chance of winning the series by increasing the probability of winning either game 6 or 7. I stand by that prognosis.

I thought the Yanks would scuffle for runs last night. The irony is that if you had told me that the Yankees would score 5 against Lee last night, I would have said throw Burnett since he gave us the best chance of keeping the Phillies under 5.

This is why we love baseball and arguing about baseball. In no other sport do disputes like this provoke this level of debate.

Can anyone explain why AJ insists/demands on Molina catching for him over Posada? Obviously it doesn’t work. He gave up 4 runs in the 1st in Anaheim and 3 in the 1st last night and went to the showers after 2 innings. So why? All NY gets is a much weaker bat with Molina and AJ gets to satisfy his ego proving he is the boss over Girardi. This is bullshit. If he threw a shutout everynight with Molina it would be a different story but he cannot be counted on. He has proved that.

Yes the bad AJ showed up in Game 5, who knows what Gaudin would have given them maybe better, maybe not. Would it have been possbile to have beaten Lee, maybe considering how bad a start he gave the Phillies. Yes, Lee’s start was a bad one, probably the 3rd worse of the Series, only behind Burnett’s and Hamel’s meltdowns. He gave up 5 runs in 7 innings people, that is an ERA of 6.43. He got lucky that he pitched this game against Burnett and that Coke bombed as well. Without the 2 homeruns off Coke, against lefties, the Yankees tie the game in the ninth at 6-6 because the Phillies have no closer. Both Lee and Burnett would then have gotten a no decision.

I have to agree with Joe’s strategy of separating CC from Lee, which meant going with CC in Game 4. I think that Gaudin has shown himself to be a capable journeyman pitcher. He is not junk, but he has not been tested under extreme pressure. We should pray that AP has one more masterpiece, even on short rest. It would be fitting for the best post-season start-finish combination (Andy & Mo) to finish the Series. I would not have been afraid to pitch Gaudin, but Joe’s decision was reasonable given AJ’s prior history on short rest. Gaudin can still do long relief if needed. The fact that the game is in Yankee Stadium is a factor in Andy’s favor. Remember that the Phils have a real problem with Game 7 if it gets that far. Also, both Posada and Matsui have been strong against Pedro consistently. Pray that this continues — the battle is not man’s but God’s.