After watching the Yankees and Angels battle for over 5 hours on Saturday night, many questions ran through my head regarding 
the great game.
Should the umpire have called Melky safe at second in the 10th inning? Has A-Rod officially become clutch? Is Vlad Guerrero done?
But through all of the questions that I had, one made me wonder the most. That question is, ”Why did Joe Girardi use Hughes, Chamberlain, and Coke for a combined total of 4 outs?”
Each one of those pitchers is capable of getting 4 outs on their own, and I felt Girardi did a little bit too much with the mixing and matching. At the rate things were going, I thought we were going to see Wade Boggs make a relief appearance! It was ridiculous!
Had it not been for a timely error by the Angels, the game might have continued for another few innings. In that case, what are you going to do with your pitching? You basically used up your entire bullpen in 13 innings, and it seemed like there was no real thought process behind it.
Luckily for Girardi and the Yankees, they don’t need to find out what would have happened had the game gone on any longer. However, if Girardi doesn’t get his act together, he could cost them a big game because of his stunts.
When the Angels took the lead on Chone Figgins’ hit in the 11th, I am sure many Yankee fans were questioning why Alfredo Aceves was in the game to begin with. It seemed awfully early to have to put him into the game, especially when you had guys like Hughes and Chamberlain that could have went a little deeper than a batter or two.
The Angels are the kind of team that thrives on the extra opportunities that are handed to them by their opponents. If Girardi continues to hand the Angels gifts by simply wasting his tough bullpen, the Angels will be sure to make him pay.
The Yankees escaped with one in game 2, but if they want to be successful heading into Los Angeles, they are going to need to have this bullpen business figured out.
Filed under: MLB
