Last night, Joe Girardi's binder told him to go bring in Rafael Soriano with a 4 run lead to face the Twins' 7-8-9 hitters.
It's not the move I would have made: David Robertson hadn't pitched since Saturday, and I'd have saved Soriano for the top of the order in the ninth, with an eye towards skipping Mariano Rivera.
To make matters worse, Joe waited until Soriano had walked in a run (his third walk of the inning) to go get the right-hander. Frankly, I'm happier walking Mauer with the bases loaded than giving the future Hall of Famer a pitch to hit, but I would have put a fresh D-Rob in to face him, rather than Soriano (26 pitches at the start of the Mauer AB).
By the time Roberston was in the game, the Yankee lead was gone faster than you could say "dying quail."
I wish the result had been different, and I would have done it a little differently, but I think Soriano in the 8th is an acceptable call:
Don't let the score dictate pitcher use. I'm glad to see Joe going to his best pitchers, and not just saving them for save situations.
Always monitor pitcher workload. Joba Chamberlain has already pitched in 3 games, including Sunday and Monday. He's unavailable.
Play to win. How would you have felt if Girardi had gone to Luis Ayala? The binder must have said, "Never save a pitcher for tomorrow; tomorrow it may rain."
The pitching choice in the 8th was the right move... but drawing in the infield in the 10th was not.