You know how it is. If the bunt works Joe is a genius. If it doesn’t, he shouldn’t be allowed to coach little league. I know its a little late in the season to claim moral victories, but I was proud they mounted that comeback at all. That kind of fight is what will help this team in the playoffs.

This is completely off topic, so forgive me. But who do you think we send down when Gardner comes back next week. I think it should be bruney, since he can’t seem to get it together and marte seems to be ok so far.

The name of the game is to get 27 outs, with a lead. With only 3 outs left, a guy who has 20 hrs., a left handed hitter( a right side, ground ball has the same effect), in a park where the ball fly out to right, and a pitcher who was in trouble,….YOU DON’T GIVE UP THAT PRECIOUS OUT! THIS ONE REALLY HURT! I won’t be happy with a 6 game lead until there are only 5 games left to play!

But it’s not that simple. Swisher should have been given some discretion regarding the pitch as to whether he should have tried to bunt the ball or pull back. Both pitches appeared to be high, especially the first one. A good bunter knows a high pitch is difficult to get down. The usual result is exactly what happened, an easy pop out. Had he been permitted to pull back, the two pitches would have likely been called balls. Then it would have been really interesting. Would he have walked and Melky’s liner been a triple play? Like the Mets?

I was begging for the bunt, and felt really relieved when I saw Swisher square around. Sure, Swish could have drawn a walk, but a .368 OBP also means that 63 percent of the time, something bad is gonna happen, including the very high possibility of a strikeout or double play.

Nine times out of ten, that sacrifice is gonna work, and Melky/Jeter (or Jeter/Damon if Melky walks) will have a great shot to tie the game.

Sacrifice bunts may be discouraged in the sabremetrics era, but we’re not talking about trying to string together another 4 runs in this particular inning (which is the modern philosophy in most situations). This is the bottom of the 9th, and we were desperate to just get one or two more runs. Had this been the 6th inning, a bunt would have been stupid, but under the circumstances the bunt was a no-brainer.

Absolutely the right call by Girardi, and I hope he makes the same decision if given the same situation in the playoffs.

Joe did the right thing Swish was 3-3 on sac bunts so it is not like he was asking him to do something he hasnt attempted. Jeter probably then would have come up with the bases juiced. I like that scenario. Anyway great rally and I see were putting the boots to them tonight.

It will always be be debatable whether it was the right call by Girardi for Swisher to bunt last night but what is NOT debatable is as to whether the player called upon to execute the bunt is CAPABLE of bunting. Simply put, Swisher cannot bunt. End of story. Similiarily, you don’t ask a player to steal if he is a slow runner or put in a poor fielder for defense. Those are the kind of things are what a manager is paid to do. Girardi, IMO, is frequently making the wrong decisions. And if I remember correctly, Swisher bunted at the first pitch. Is there anything with taking a strike to see if the pitcher can even get the ball over the plate. He had to be thinking about it.

I don’t care if the bunt works or not. Papo R is right on the money. You get three outs an inning, and giving one away (and that’s if the bunt works) is just crazy stupid. If I have one objection to Girardi’s strategy this year, it’s that he bunts too much. And by that I mean he deliberately gives his team an extra out. I thought when they hired him he was supposed to be a numbers guy who looked at the odds.

I would bet if you checked all the times Girardi has bunted this year, you’d find that on the whole it has cost the team by a decent margin.

Look at the situation last night. Guys on first and second, no outs. One run behind. That means you’ve got the tying run in scoring position. You’ve got three outs left to get a hit and drive him in. What on earth is the advantage of bunting? IF it works, and that’s a big IF with this team, you’ve got two outs to drive him in. The Yankees had a much better chance of winning this game if you don’t bunt.

If Girardi gives away at-bats like that in the playoffs, they’re in trouble.

Continuing on with bunting and Girardi, it wasn’t too long ago the Yanks had runners on 1st and 2nd, Posada was at the plate and Girardi had him bunt! Can you believe that? I think he bunted into a double play. I don’t think Posada has EVER bunted before! And, in that particular at bat, he was hitting from the left side! Girardi is an idiot and unfortunately, his job is not in danger because the team is the best in baseball. They are winning but not because of him. What does he do besides make up the lineup? Speaking of that, why in the world would he ever bat Swisher in the #2 hole? He has the lowest average on the team and can’t run. Going on, A-Rod needs to be moved down. Girardi locks him in the cleanup spot but he cleans up nothing. He has the 2nd lowest batting average on the team after Swisher. I’d put him around #6. I think Cano, Matsui and Posada all should be batting ahead of A-Rod. He also has had trouble over his years with the Yankees hitting consistently in the clutch. Some of you will disagree but that is only my opinion.

The facts say that A-Rod is one of the worst offensive players the Yankees have had in post season play. Isn’t that what it’s all about? You, me and everyone else should expect a lot more than a .260 ba out of the highest paid player not only in MLB but in all of pro sports with a quarter of a BILLION dollar contract. Sure he has hit a lot of home runs but so did Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Rafael Palmira to mention a few juice heads. He probably could do a lot better hitting if he would learn to finish his swing with two hands on the bat, swing at pitches in the strike zone and stop trying to pull every thing to left field. I mean, when did you ever see him hit a ball to the right side?

If A-Rod didn’t struggle in post season, ESPN wouldn’t bring it up nor would anyone else, and, as far as having done well in 2004, well this is 2009! The other Yankees not doing well? Are you refering to the likes of Jeter, Posada, Paul O’neil, Scott Brosicas, Rivera, Pettite, Clemens, Cano or some others? And let’s keep in mind that they don’t make 30 million/year. Sure he hit over 500 home runs but maybe I could too if I took steroids. Same reason I don’t like or respect Clemens, even though he was a Yankee and a 7 time Cy Young award winner. That’s what drugs do. They turn athletes into robots. The NBA is next.

In the 4th, with runners on 1st and 3rd, 2 outs, “Mr. Clutch” bounces back to the pitcher to end the inning. Then again in the 7th, runners on 1st and 2nd, Mr. Clutch strikes out on 4 pitches, two of them outside of the strike zone. He’s added one or two other strikes outs during the game today. Maybe he is upset because he wants more money. If Cashman had half a brain, which he doesn’t, he should try to trade Mr. Clutch, to anybody. I would say if they could get 2 bats and a ball for him the Yanks would get the better of the deal. I can’t believe NY is stuck with this clown for the next 10 years. What A JOKE. And remember, I love the Yankees. This guy is not a true Yankee. He is a high priced primadonna who just can’t get it done. I will give him credit for one thing though. He runs the bases hard, when he gets on.