Joe Girardi Costs the Yankees a Chance to Win

Yes, the umpires were on the field

Yes, they reviewed the "home run."

Yes, they blew the call anyways.

"It was a missed call, but there was also a misunderstanding on the rule," Torre said. "He just missed it, but his interpretation was that the back fence was behind the wall and out of the ballpark. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of doing his job, just a misunderstanding of the rule."

Girardi did not file a protest after the ruling, saying he "believed the umpire" and "figured Dana knew the rules." Asked whether a protest might have been upheld, Torre declined to speculate.

Yankees first-base coach Mick Kelleher explained how it was explained to him:

"It’s supposed to go over the padded bar. If that wasn’t the case, there would be a yellow line."

Yes, I'm disappointed with the umpires for not knowing the rules.

But my rage is reserved for Joe Girardi. There is no penalty for playing under protest, just as there's no way to know if the Yankees could win the game if it were replayed from the misruled double. So there's no reason not to take the chance, no reason to allow the game to go on.

If the Yankees lose the division by one game, I suggest hoisting General Joe up by his jock strap and hanging him from the flagpole where the banner would fly.