Well, didn't see THAT coming :-/

Fuck.

Girardi is a baseball moron.

It appears Mitre is coming in. I will not watch. Why should I?

I can't believe it, but I am actually saying, "our manager obviously has no interest in winning this game."

How on God's earth Girardi does not understand the investment of capital that exists in this game by virtue of throwing your only dependable starter and getting eight awesome innings out of him is beyond me.

I watched every drop of madness of post-Jeff Weaver insertion Torre, with many moves that could only be explained by a manager being drunk or dead.

These last two innings still - even in light of the above - may stand out as the most insane moves I have ever seen a Yankee manager make.

Girardi, you sick twisted bastard.

I don't care who was at this game. If an intern was the only guy available, he should have been sent into the dugout to fire Girardi the moment Gaudin's name was announced.

I have asked for managerial suggestions in a challenging manner before - now I ask for them as a beseeching question. Who? Who would we have? Plausible candidates only, please.

Our manager has either lost his mind, or this is the equivalent of Manny striking out on three pitches with the bat on his shoulder.

Madness. Utter madness.

This is the first time I've felt the Yankees organization doesn't view winning as a priority.

If George was alive he'd fire Girardi.

Jeff Weaver follies.

[197] That doesn't make sense either; neither guy should be on a playoff roster.

[197] Are Mitre and Gaudin seriously in contention?

I was thinking he was running them out there to rest the other pitchers.

[205] I couldn't even venture a guess as to what Girardi was hoping to accomplish this week.

Glad I missed that. That is the most batshit insane thing I can recall witnessing. What explanation is possible?

I really fear a Mets-style collapse is on the way. Girardi has lost his mind.

This game was a genuine firing offense. It was a thrown game pure and simple. Adding insult to injury, literally, he also used injured players in a game he had no intention of trying to win.

This is how the Mets have been run over the last four years.

[211] Joe wants to be a Cub.

that was by far the most infuriating 3 1/2 hours of the entire season...fuckity fuck

[213] I cannot imagine someone explaining with a straight face how this man tried to win this game.

[214] So do I.

I wasn't upset over the weekend...okay, a little. And losing 1-0 in a great pitchers duel is nothing to be too upset about either. But Girardi really hasn't distinguished himself lately. And so this doesn't feel good at all. And if the Sox win later tonight that'll cap a shitty day.

[205] IN TAMPA. IN MOTHERFUCKING TAMPA.

If George were alive, he'd never be allowed in a Yankee dugout again. Maybe - maybe - he gets a plane ticket home. Or maybe just kick his ass out on the street.

George is not alive, so they should rip the GMS off his jersey and send him the hell out of our universe. That was gross incompetence. It was criminal.

I don't think I'm going to waste another second on this season. Which is good for me. So thanks, Insane Joe #2.

I meant [206], but who cares. It's all the same.

Alex, you are a marvel. How can you be calm after that. I turned it off rather than watch Mitre, but decided to yell anyway, and then realizing mid-yell how angry I was, proceeded to almost have a heart attack.

I really believe what Mattpat said may be the only explanation.

Taking spray paint to the mural of the Boss would have been a tame attempt to get fired.

This is George Costanza dragging the World Championship trophy across the parking lot.

God awful, once again. What is Girardi thinking with Gaudin and Mitre? Why is that truck Posada trying to steal second? What is the point of Gardner trying to steal third with two outs?

Again there was no clutch hitting. The yanks are hoping to back into the playoffs as the wild card in the AL. Sad. Again the emperor shows that he has no clothes.

Coffee Joe is now Evasive Joe in this interview :)

Joe is *pissed!*

I must continue to analogize as my brain strives to comprehend what just happened.

I think I have it:

Having watched Gaudin somehow, miraculously only leave the bases loaded, Girardi was like a man not satisfied with the first pull in a game of Russian Roulette.

The Gaudin result simply would not do.

Clearly, he had Albaladejo, Javy, and Edwar Ramirez queued up in the other chambers. And then Joba, if the satisfaction of having a bullet lodged in his brain had not been attained.

[223] Evasive, rude and making no sense. Why does Cashman tolerate it?

[221] Either he really wants to be a Cub, or its another one of his "we've got to TRICK the other manager" moves. I'm sure Joe Maddon didn't expect that Girardi would bring in his two worst pitchers with the division on the line, so its a moral victory, really.

[224] Good. Maybe he'll quit.

Can anyone paraphrase the individual sentences for those who can't get the postgame?

Not the overall meaning, as I know that's gobbledegook, but the sentences, as they were delivered. Unless he stopped speaking English, his head rotated in a complete 360, and he started speaking in tongues. Which seems entirely plausible.

[227] Maybe he forgot that it's shock and awe that is an actual maneuver, not simply "shock."

Although I can only imagine the confusion in the Rays' dugout as Girardi brought out the tee for extra innings.

[224] He is, isn't he? Seems that he isn't angry at himself, though.

[226] Perhaps he doesn't see it as a big deal? Maybe there isn't anyone there to take over? Perhaps the defending world championship manager has a bit of a longer leash? I dunno.

At least Joba and Robertson are rested!!! This man is obsessed with resting people to a ridiculous degree. I understand guys need to be rested, but it's seemingly his primary focus.

Joe is stonewalling in the YES post game interview. He even got some tough
questions fro Kim "the shill" Jones.

Of course YES didn't keep their cameras in the manager's office for too long. Might be too delicate.

[227] I think we are all overlooking the obvious. Girardi isn't very bright and should be managing a baseball team. I don't think there needs to be any other reason but that.

[230] You know, sometimes its also okay to just manage by the book. Thats why there is a book. It tends to work.

I don't know what big a deal it is if Maddon knows that Chamberlain and Robertson are or aren't available. It's not like managing isn't fluid, or anything. I mean he can look out and see who's out there warming up in the Yankees' pen.

I also don't get why no one asked him about bunting 2-0 with Granderson against a righty, so Curtis and Jeter could make outs...the same mistake he made on Friday night.

YES is taunting us now by showing Maddon.

It was the failure to understand the concept of "investment of finite capital" that made me so desperate to see Torre jettisoned.

Girardi has failed in this regard miserably over the last weeks.

I have an out of the country wedding in early October and then a conference all the way across the US the next weekend. I've been trying to come to grips with the inconvenience that could pose. I'm coming to grips with it.

[229] Basically saying that the guys he would normally go to in that situation were unavailable, and that he discussed Gardy's attempt to steal 3b with him. Didn't go into details.

[236] THAT enrages me. Its like when he started lying about A-Rod's return from the DL last year. Who the fuck cares if the other manager knows who you have?

[240] Why, exactly, were they unavailable?

The 2-0 bunt was also unforgivable. Maddon is no Golden God, either. Managing against Girardi in that game was like Kramer ruling the dojo.

[235] I think he was reading from the book; hence Granderson's bunt attempt, and not going to Mo with a tie game on the road, and not going to his trusted relief aces without a lead...

Girardi said "the guys you would expect" were not available. He wouldn't say what was wrong with them. Just overworked? Resting them up for postseason? Secret injuries?

Girardi has been like this since he was first hired as manager. Remember, he wouldn't even say which pitchers were available? Thought that would give the other manager an advantage.

YES talking heads seemed to think there might be injuries involved, and implied they would be investigating.

[242] He childishly wouldn't say. In fact, he wouldn't even say by name who was unavailable. Of course, "I over used bullpen in TX so had to give away a game in Tampa" IS NOT a valid excuse. It is an admission of mismanagement.

if the other guys aren't available, don't use logan for only 1 batter.

[242] Damned if I know, Girardi didn't explain, part of the stonewalling referenced in post [233]

[240] Thanks for the answer. I imagine those watching are left as unsatisfied as those of us are who can't get the postgame. I'd really like the answer to [242].

If those two are not available, isn't there some other option? Like if you know those two aren't available then you know you can't use an actually viable reliever like Logan for only one batter?

Unacceptable answers from Girardi.

Dang it [247], you beat me to the punch.

[245] The image of Bob Lorenz ON THE CASE, possibly with a magnifying glass, made me crack a smile for the first time in hours.

Brett Gardner is now on my TV making no sense. Holy Christ, its contagious.

Girardi should learn from Gardner and simply admit he screwed up. Then again, doing that every night could get redundant.

Gardner's error is also revolting.

[251] They should make a WB ad out of it.

[251] Gardner admitted he screwed up.

Eiland, OTOH, isn't making any sense...

Now Eiland is advancing the party line with the same smugness. Someone needs to let Girardi and his coaches now that if you lose too many battles, you also lose the war.

Dave Eiland just said that they lost the battle to win the war. They damned well better win that war.

[254] I started posting that when he was rambling and repeating himself and claiming that he saw something but he wouldn't say what.

Kim went to Eiland to pursue the mystery of the unavailable bullpen.

He wasn't that much more forthcoming, but he hinted that the pen was overworked and they were saving it for tomorrow. They figured young Nova would need backup more than veteran workhorse CC.

[259] It has been a death march on the schedule, but really, again, not an acceptable answer. If he's going to claim that you rest A Rod because this series is more important than the Texas series, than you damn well make sure you don't enter this series with no bullpen.

And, of course, the whole concept of going in on a game you have a chance to win, with the understanding that in other games in the series, capital may be worthless because you don't even have a chance to win a game - well, that appears to be lost on Joe.

[259] Here's the only legitimate answer. "We managed the weekend series in Texas so poorly, that were forced to punt a key game against Tampa."

That's basically what happened today. Girardi has bungled so many games this season, but no one on the beat seems willing to put his feet to the fire. Apparently, Cash and Hal are interested in doing that either.

Very disappointed in Jack Curry. The one area SNY has YES beat is on the quality of their analysis. It's obvious that you can't be too critical if you want to work for YES.

[259] So they made this decision prior to the game, and decided that nothing that could happen in this game would change their minds? With the division on the line?

[259] Yeah, but even so, it doesn't make any sense to burn both the long guys in Mitre and Gaudin.

In summary, I think I would just refer everyone to the first post in this thread. The Yankees have shut it down. That might be acceptable for another organization, but it is a disgrace for this one.

I don't think it's a bad strategy. Save the pen for Nova, because CC can be trusted not to implode early. The problem was the offense didn't score a single run in 11 innings.

Kim noted that Joba hasn't pitched for several days. His last outing was the 10th, and he only threw 20 pitches. You gotta wonder if maybe there is some kind of injury involved.

[263] It does sound like that was the case.

Before the game, Kim said the Yankees didn't really care if they won the division or the wild card, and neither did the Rays.

[267] There was an interview with Maddon in which he explicity stated he wanted to hang another division banner. That's exactly the attitude a team should have...it's the one the Yankees used to have.

[265] If 'the Yankees have shut it down," why have CC throw 8 innings or use Swisher and Gardner?

[266] If he wasn't injured, he should have been out there.

Meanwhile, to echo what William's been saying ... SWB's playoff run ended 2 days ago.

Where are the goddamn callups?

I mean, Miranda and Huffman and Russo aren't great, but they're bodies and *bats* that might just be used by the "Chessmaster" at some point.

Especially with the Swisher AND Gardner injuries.

[268] Yeah, but he also told Kim that he had no idea the Yankees had been swept by the Rangers. He said he was too busy watching the Red Sox to pay attention to the Yankees. That sure doesn't sound like someone who's playing for the division.

[271] That wasn't Maddon...that was GM, and his point was he expected the Yankees would be in the playoffs, so the Red Sox had been the main focus.

[270] I don't think there's anyone in Scranton who would be much help. I went down there Friday to watch Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, and even though I go to SWB games fairly regularly, I hardly recognized anyone on the team. Half the team was called up even before the playoffs started.

Kei Igawa started. The guy they supposedly moved to the pen. He's actually one of the best pitchers they have down there, but I doubt many want to see him up here.

And then there are the roster issues. To get Igawa or whoever on the roster, someone has to be DFA'd, or moved to the 60-day DL. Which would make them unavailable for the post-season. You can see why the Yankees don't want to do that with Gardner or Swisher.

Also, if Robertson wasn't available, WHY WAS HE WARMING UP ALONGSIDE LOOGAN?

I'd be curious to get a straight answer to that one ...

[273] I believe the Yankees have three open slots on the 40-man. Marte, Johnson and Aceves are all on the 60-day DL.

[273] Each of the 3 I mentioned are already on the 40.

Each would be helpful in their own way.

Huffman, for example, ought to have been starting tonite instead of Greg FREAKIN' Golson.

[274] Good point...he also warmed up with Mariano in the ninth, which is why I referenced him in an earlier post.

If you read the Texas game threads, the general consensus was it made no sense to lift Hughes after only one inning and having Robertson throw 35 pitches on Saturday was a bad move. Not only did each decision contribute to losses in their respective games, but they manifested again tonight.

Girardi has managed so poorly in his three seasons, it's really hard to believe there is talk about resigning him.

[275] They're at 40, not counting the guys on the 60-day DL.

[276] Russo and Miranda were called up as soon as the SWB Yanks were eliminated.

Not sure why Huffman wasn't.

[278] I just checked Yankees.com and they are at 39. I think they just waived De La Rosa.

[279] I count 40. Counting Pettitte, but not counting Aceves, Marte or Johnson.

I don't see De La Rosa on the list.

[280] You're right...I mistakenly counted Andy. I don't recall Garrison being on there. Maybe he was added when they waived De La Rosa.

Here something for laughs. Before the game, Girardi said this:

"Neither one of us are in yet, so there's still a lot of work to be done," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "The division is important because everyone wants their home fans behind them as long as you can. We had it last year and it worked out very well for us. It's important to us."

WDLR was waived, but they did it to pick up a LH reliever from San Diego.

His spot is taken.

[281] Yeah, WDLR for Garrison.

Emma's put up the game recap.