The Yankees will be hosting Game Three of their Division Series against the Indians today with one foot out the door. It isn鈥檛 just because they鈥檙e up against the American League favorites that came to within a play of claiming the World Series last year and ran roughshod against the opposition in the regular season. More importantly, it鈥檚 because they squandered a chance to win the other day and thus forge a tie with three matches to go in the best-of-five affair.
Instead of being rewarded for a sterling effort on the road, the Yankees managed to snatch defeat from the throes of victory. Thanks to Joe Girardi, they鈥檙e on the brink of elimination. Never mind that they had a five-run advantage at the start of the sixth inning, with their vaunted bullpen waiting to finish off a masterful showing on the mound by starter C.C. Sabathia. Who knows what was going through the manager鈥檚 mind when he failed to challenge the hit-by-pitch walk that should have been the final out of the pivotal inning? As things turned out, the erroneous call set up a grand-slam home run that ignited a remarkable Indians comeback.
Hindsight always makes for 20/20 vision, but Girardi鈥檚 decision was questionable even in the moment. He should have called for a review of Indian Lonnie Chisenhall鈥檚 at-bat, especially since he still had two challenges to use. And his postgame explanations served only to underscore his faux pas. First, he said he didn鈥檛 want to disrupt the rhythm of pitcher Chad Green by challenging the call, wrongly giving the impression that the Yankees are constrained from ever issuing a challenge. Not true; they led Major League Baseball in successful challenges. Second, he said there was no indication that the umpire鈥檚 judgment of the 0-2 pitch was wrong. Not true as well; catcher Gary Sanchez, who caught the ball, was clearly asking the dugout to step in.
Bottom line, Girardi wasted his charges鈥 exertions, and the Yankees now appear to have a long vacation ahead of them. And needlessly, too; he pulled still-in-control Sabathia after five and a third innings just because he 鈥減repared鈥 and had a 鈥減lan鈥 that he could not — or, rather, refused — to veer from. Which is just too bad, because they deserve better. They left nothing in the tank the other day, and should have been amply rewarded, not compelled to accept an extra-innings loss brought about by an off-the-field blunder.
If there鈥檚 any silver lining, it鈥檚 that, no matter what happens from here on in the ALDS, the Yankees possess a bright future. They鈥檙e said to be ahead of schedule. Hopefully, they鈥檒l continue to be so, Girardi notwithstanding.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
