Kuzul

He spent big. He won big.

George Steinbrenner reshaped baseball and one of its most prized franchises when he took over the New York Yankees in 1973. The Yankees responded to his leadership by winning seven World Series titles during his reign.

Two days after the Yankees lost their long time friend and announcer Bob Sheppard, they have another loss to mourn. George Steinbrenner passed away this morning from a heart-attack, leaving years of success and an empire behind.

For over 30 years, Steinbrenner ran an organization that is now a model for what every baseball franchise wants to become. Like the Yankees or hate them, there is no denying their success.

Today, baseball lost a visionary. A leader. A model.

He will be missed by all.

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When Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano received an invitation to participate in this years Home Run Derby, the All-Star was surprised and excited.

He did not think twice about it. Cano accepted the invitation and had every intention of participating. Then the Yankees stepped in. The problem however is that it seems the Yankees stepped in without Cano knowing.

When it became public knowledge that Cano would be a participant in the home run hitting challenge, Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long became concerned. Long made it known to the media that he would prefer Cano not participate. The batting coach stated the derby puts an exhausting strain on your body and could do damage to a players swing.

Yes, there are plenty of examples of players going down hill after participating in the Home Run Derby. Just last year we saw six of the eight participants numbers drop in the second half of the season. Detroit Tigers Brandon Inge who hit 21 home runs in the first half, hit just six in the second half. Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres   hit 16 home runs in the second half after belting 24 before the All-Star break.

In 2008, Houston Astros   first baseman Lance Berkman   had a monster first half in which he hit .347 with 22 home runs. After participating in the derby, Berkman hit just .259 with seven homers in the second half of the season.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau   had participated in the home run derby twice in the past four years and both times his second half numbers dropped drastically.

One of the more well known examples of this is Mets third baseman David Wright in 2006. The star third baseman batted .316 with 20 homers in the first half and participated in the home run derby, finishing second overall. In the second half of the ’06 season, Wright batted .305 but hit just six home runs the rest of the year.

Continue this article at Double G Sports .

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasted no time pulling starter A.J. Burnett after 6 2/3 scoreless innings once Burnett surrendered a two-out single. But the skipper was nowhere to be found as reliever Joba Chamberlain struggled through the eighth inning, eventually yielding the tying run.

Such is baseball in the 21st century.

So is this: With runners on first and second and no one out in the bottom of the sixth, Francisco Cervelli stepped to the plate with a chance to help the Yankees add to their slim 1-0 lead.

So with New York struggling offensively all week, and entering the at-bat hitless in their last 17 tries with runners in scoring position, did Girardi have the catcher bunt?

Of course not. Cervelli swung away and grounded into a rally-killing double play.

Facing the same situation in the top of the 11th, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston had Jarrett Hoffpauir lay down a successful sacrifice, which led to a game-winning five-run rally.

But Girardi wasn’t entirely to blame for the 6-1 loss. The Yankees’ lineup, which has now mustered just five runs in the past three games, collected only five hits on Friday and stranded eight baserunners, including three with nobody out in the third.

Here are the grades from the Bombers’ defeat in the series opener.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (D-) I’ll give Girardi credit for the double steal he put on in the third, but that’s about the only thing he did right in this game.

A.J. Burnett, SP: (A-) With pitching coach Dave Eiland back in the Yankees’ dugout, Burnett rebounded from a horrific June to toss 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start of July. The right-hander gave up only four hits with six strikeouts, but he was wild at times, walking three, delivering two wild pitches, and hitting his league-leading 10th batter.

Derek Jeter, SS: (B) The captain was 1-for-4 with a walk, run scored, and stolen base.

Nick Swisher, RF: (A-) Swisher was 1-for-3 with two walks and a steal, but he struck out twice.

Mark Teixeira, 1B: (C) Teixeira walked twice, but his 12-game hitting streak came to an end with an 0-for-3 performance. However, he did do his job by advancing runners to second and third with less than two outs via a grounder to first in the first, which led to the team’s only run.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (D) A-Rod had a productive plate appearance in the first, driving in the Yanks’ only run with a sacrifice fly, but he was retired in his following four at-bats, including a strikeout with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (D-) Cano had a rare bad day, going 0-for-5 at the plate and striking out with the bases loaded and one out in the third. He also should’ve been charged with an error on Lyle Overbay’s rally-starting single in the 11th. I’ll give the second baseman a little bit of credit, though, for his nice snare earlier in the game.

Jorge Posada, DH: (D) Posada was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.

Curtis Granderson, CF: (C-) After making a poor read on Overbay’s deep drive to center in the fourth, Granderson recovered in time to make an outstanding catch near the warning track. But at the plate, the outfielder was once again useless versus left-handed pitching. He walked once, but he went 0-for-3 to fall to .232 on the season and 14-for-73 (.192) against lefties. In unrelated news, Austin Jackson is hitting .308.

Franciso Cervelli, C: (B) To use Cervelli’s two hits in his first two at-bats as a reason why Girardi didn’t bunt with him in the sixth is ridiculous because the catcher also entered the game hitless in his last 13 tries and 14 for his last 79 (.177). Cervelli also had a passed ball on Friday and should’ve been charged with a second that was ruled a wild pitch.

Brett Gardner, LF: (D+) Gardner went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, but he made an incredible leaping grab against the left-field wall to rob Alex Gonzalez of an extra-base hit.

Damaso Marte, RP: (B) Marte went to a full count before retiring the only batter he faced in the seventh inning.

Joba Chamberlain, RP: (F)

Mariano Rivera, RP: (A-) The “greatest reliever ever” is too fragile to pitch more than one inning on a consistent basis anymore.

David Robertson, RP: (F) The right-hander has worked just three perfect outings in his 28 appearances this season. That’s good for a guy who throws only one inning at a time, right?

Chan Ho Park, RP: (F) Garbage.

Yankees Overall: (D) It’s nice to see Burnett back on track, but the offense and bullpen were once again miserable, and Girardi didn’t give his team the best chance to win.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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On Thursday afternoon, the New York Yankees avoided getting swept by the Seattle Mariners.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia led the team in the 4-2 win over the last place team in the AL West.

A-Rod sealed the deal with a two run A-Bomb. It was really in the bottom of the eighth inning and not the ninth, but who cares? A-Rod doesn’t seem to think it mattered, and he was right.

Over the July 4th weekend (Happy Birthday America!) the Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are a team that known for starting out hot, but always end up finding their way back to fourth place in the AL East.

The Blue Jays can play baseball, and have proved it for over two months without Roy Halladay. Toronto just offers no fan support.

They play in a stadium that only fills when the Red Sox or Yankees are in town. It is not motivating when a team goes into a slump. There is no booing or heckling from 30-40,000 fans to encourage players to want to turn things around.

That is the only excuse left for the Blue Jays. Fans are essential and that is consistently what the Blue Jays don’t have.

Ironically, the Yankees latest problem is ex-Blue Jay AJ Burnett, who will open up the series in the Bronx.

Burnett has an 11.35 ERA since June 4th, the day that Yankee pitching coach Dave Eliand took a personal leave of absence. For such a tough guy, Burnett has been affected by Eliand’s absence. Guess we will find out today if this rumor has any truth to it.

No matter what the reason, the fact is that Burnett has to pitch well in this start. His strikeout rate has been down all season, but Burnett’s problem seems to be more mental.

Girardi, being a player’s manager, rested catcher Francisco Cervelli so he can be fresh to catch for Burnett. This was smart and considerate of the Yankee skipper.

In Burnett’s last three starts, he only made it through a total of 10 innings, with 12 walks and 12 strikeouts. Burnett’s walk rate had been down prior to June 4th, but his focus should be on the bigger picture for now.

Its about time for AJ Burnett to be getting back to being himself again so that he can win games. At some point, Burnett has to address his walk rate. He already has 41 this season…yikes!

Burnett will face Blue Jay’s Brett Cecil, who is in a similar situation.

Cecil has only pitched 15 innings total in his last three starts, striking out 13 and walking an acceptable four batters.

Cecil beat the Yankees already this season, going eight innings, striking out five, walking just one batter and allowing only one earned run to score.

It seems that this new Cecil will not present as much of a challenge for the Yankees lineup. The Bombers are also hitting as a whole, making any pitchers job much harder.

Yankee fans need to watch the Red Sox and Rays. Our rival Red Sox are just 1.5 games behind. The even hated more Tampa Bay Rays are just 2 shy of stealing back a spot these entitled kids had for too long anyway.

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Once again, the New York Yankees fell victim to their own rules.

Last night, the result ended with a Yankees loss of 7-4 to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have consistently held the last spot in the AL West this season.

The Mariners had baseball’s best pitcher on the mound in Cliff Lee to face a well-rested Phil Hughes.

Hughes has exceeded all expectations this season and entered the game with a 10-1 record, an ERA of 3.17 and has been the most consistent on the Yankees rotation.

No question that Hughes is the real deal, but at 24 years old the Yankees worry about using him too much.

Hughes just turned 24 and this is his second full season in the bigs—the first as a full time starter. So the Yankees place an innings limit on him, also known as the Hughes Rules.

Innings limit on young arms is the latest craze around baseball. I was under the impression it was used when a pitcher was transitioning from the minors.

Looking at pitching sensation Steven Strasbourg of the Washington Nationals, it makes sense. The Nats manager was upfront that Strasbourg was allowed to pitch for 120 innings in 2010, no matter what.

Strasbourg is clear on this rule, along with everyone who watches Sports Center . It is extremely helpful, especially from a young player’s mental outlook.

That is why skipping over Hughes’ start made utterly no sense. Hughes was in a rhythm, which was working.

Why did Girardi not let Hughes throw the allowed 170-180 innings on an unchanging basis?

Not to mention Hughes skipped start was in his hometown and his parents were planning on attending. Remember the last time Mrs. Hughes was in the house her son almost threw a no-hitter.

Did the Joba’s Rules not teach Girardi and GM Brian Cashman anything?

It brought horrible memories back for me. Girardi having panic attacks when Joba got near 70 pitches or was through four innings. Even when Joba was throwing heat, everyone knew he was coming out no matter what, including Joba.

This whole state of affairs falls under something my dad calls, “The Da-Boom-Theory.”

The Da-Boom-Theory is when a person gets an idea (the ‘da’) in their mind that makes sense by anyone’s standards. Then instead of thinking it out or learning from past mistakes, that someone goes boom.

The ‘boom’ is acting on the idea with positively no understanding of possible repercussions that might affect the result.

Specifically, in these situations the DA would be the Hughes Rules. The boom would be the skipped start, which ended in a Yankee loss and cut Hughes mental game.

Aren’t the young guys supposed to be the workhorses and the veterans coddled?

It is time to stop babying these men into boys and start letting them work. The timing here was totally off and the Yankees should know better than this.

Finally, congratulations to Mariners Cliff Lee who threw his fifth no-hitter of the season. It did not go overlooked, and the Yankees do apologize for the mess.

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It felt like a heat wave in New York City on that October 8 night back in 2007.

Fans were funneling into Yankee Stadium extra early for Game 4 of the ALDS .

The prior evening, I had watched my Yankees pull out a win to avoid getting swept.

Which, was all thanks to a home run hit by Johnny Damon in the seventh inning. I remember how I jumped on my stadium seat as my Yankees dreams of the post-season were not over yet.

Now, the Cleveland Indians were up 2-1 over the New York Yankees . Losing meant the season would end, but there was a lot more on the line that year for the Yankees.

Fans were just as aware as the players, but no one wanted to believe it. It broke my heart to think of being in the Bronx without Joe Torre , as he had become such a figure and was a father to an entire city.

In my life, I have never been to a baseball game with such tense and ardent fans, which made it difficult to imagine how the players were handling it.

By the end of the seventh inning, the Yankees chances were bleak. The Yankees were playing as hard as they could, but the Indians were the better team and the fans knew it.

As the eighth inning began, low chants of “JOE TORRE, JOE TORRE, JOE TORRE, JOE….” were becoming louder every moment, as fans started to rise and join in a slow, chaotic wave that took over Yankee Stadium.

It continued well after the last pitch because the team’s loss was incomparable to losing our skipper. For 12 years, Joe Torre lead the Yankees to four World Series titles, six AL Pennants, and a record of 1173-767 in games. More than all the baseball accomplishments, Torre was admired by Yankees fans for his everyday demeanor and were so proud to call him our leader.

As I dried my tears and exited the Stadium , it was hard to let go of never seeing Mr. Torre in pinstripes again. That is why I bought a photo from a stadium vendor of Torre with Mariano Rivera . Early the next morning I had my ticket and the image professionally framed, so I would never have to forget it.

No one knew this would be the last post-season ever played in the Old Yankees Stadium that night, as well. Crazy.The days right after October 8 were filled with Yankees fans fighting for Torre. To describe it as an uproar would be an understatement, as protests, newspaper ads and innumerable letters were sent to the Boss all pleading to keep Torre here forever.

Now it is 2010, and numerous adverse events have come between my feelings about Joe Torre. Sadly, it eventually led me to taking down my Joe Torre collage from my wall. Today was the first time in nearly two years I took it out of my closet to look at it again. I was not angry anymore, but still cannot forgive Torre for taking cheap shots at players who still play with the Yankees. Overall, it is the former impression that came to the forefront of my mind.

As I literally wipe the tears from my face, I can finally remember Mr. Torre this way again. No hard feelings but still not worthy enough to hang on my wall ever again.

Now I can say it was a much needed separation, and the Yankees have a new Joe. Girardi embodies all I loved about Torre, and then some.

In the end this worked out for the best, but back in 2007 it tore me apart.

The Yankees will be at Dodger Stadium tomorrow for a three-game series against Joe Torre and his Los Angeles Dodgers . It is still business as usual, with the desire to win.

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As you may have heard, tonight’s interleague opener between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers doubles as a reunion between Joe Torre and the franchise he once helped lead to four World Series titles.

Nearly to a man, the praise of Torre has been effusive, with the notable exception of Alex Rodriguez, who’s been conspicuously tight-lipped on the topic. (Translation: He no-like the guy.)

Joe Girardi took over in the Bronx after Yankee brass decided to part ways with Torre following the 2007 season. Girardi—who played under Torre from 1996-99—is now in his third year on the Yankees bench, while Torre is in his third year managing the Dodgers.

River & Sunset has fond feelings for both field managers. With the showdown at Chavez Ravine looming, we figured it was time to breakdown Joe v. Joe.

Résumés

Torre had already been fired three times before George Steinbrenner named him Yankees manager in 1996, a move that was quite unpopular at the time. (You may remember the now infamous “Clueless Joe ” headline that ran in the Daily News ).

Ironically enough, Torre was something of a lovable loser before he started winning titles in the Bronx. He rolled off four championships in his first five years with the Yankees, and New York made the playoffs in all 12 seasons with Torre on the bench.

That said, he exited on the heels of seven straight years of postseason futility—including gonad-busting losses against Arizona (2001), and in The Series That Shall Not Be Named (The Year That Shall Not Be Named).

Girardi won praise and the NL Manager of the Year award for leading a babyface Marlins team to respectability in 2006.

In 2008, he managed the first Yankee team that failed to qualify for the playoffs in 15 years. He saved face, and likely his job, by leading the Yankees to a World Series win in 2009.

Advantage: Torre

Management clashes

Torre basically had the run of the lot during the dynasty era, but his power slowly eroded as playoff failures piled up in the 2000’s. It came to a head in 2007, when the Yankees decided to cut ties after the disappointing midge-and-Wang-induced ALDS loss to the Indians.

How pissed was Torre about being dumped? Well, he and his buddy, SI writer Tom Verducci, teamed up to write The Yankee Years, a 400-page FU letter to Yankee management. Well, that wasn’t what the whole book was about, it just felt that way.

Girardi became the first manager to get fired after winning the Manager of the Year award. This generally happens when you reportedly tell your umpire-heckling owner to “sit down and shut the f**k up” in the middle of a game.

Girardi hasn’t had any run-ins with Steinbrenner, though that may have a lot to do with the fact that ol’ George doesn’t know where he is right now.

Advantage: Girardi

Hollywood crossover appeal

Torre’s initial success in New York spawned a 1997 made-for-TV movie in which he was portrayed by Goodfellas star Paul Sorvino with pasta-swilling indifference.

Did I mention Tori Spelling’s husband played David Cone, and the homophobic black guy from Grey’s Anatomy played Dwight Gooden?

I mean, seriously, how is Joe Torre: Curveballs Along The Way not on DVD and Blu-Ray right now?

Additionally, Torre appeared as himself in Sesame Street, the 2002 Mafia comedy Analyze That, a bunch of awkward Subway ads with Willie Randolph (“This sub tastes like a home run!”), some show called Castle, and some other show called Gary Unmarried.

How he didn’t work himself into the George Costanza Yankee-arc of Seinfeld is baffling in retrospect.

Girardi has not appeared, or been portrayed in any film or television production as of press time.

Advantage: Torre

Off-the-field heroism quotient

On the night the Yankees beat the Phillies to clinch their 27th championship, Girardi was driving home when he came upon a woman who had been in a car accident. He flagged down a passing police cruiser and offered assistance to the victim.

“The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help,” said Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano. “It was totally surreal.”

No stories have ever surfaced of Torre stopping to help someone in danger on the side of the road. I like to think he has the Ivan Drago “If he dies, he dies” mentality.

Advantage: Girardi

Look

Girardi has the A**hole Cop-look down pat: White, physically fit, salt-and-pepper crew cut, square jaw, braces. Okay, the braces do kind of clash here, but apparently he got them for his daughter (which is weird in and of itself) so we’ll overlook it.

Torre, by contrast, gives off the appearance of the quiet grandfather who you don’t want to piss off. He’s always looked older than his age, with sagging bags under his eyes, heavy eyelids, and a nose out of central casting of the Godfather II flashback act.

Girardi is always on the top step, always intense, always looking like the next Jorge Posada passed ball will lead to his head actually exploding. Torre’s look on the bench ranges from disinterested to dead.

Advantage: Even

A-Rod approach

Torre once batted Alex Rodriguez eighth in a playoff elimination game (2006 ALDS in Detroit), and in The Yankee Years, revealed that Rodriguez’s own teammates called him “A-Fraud” behind his back. Kind of dick move, dude.

Girardi has treated A-Rod with kid baby prenatal gloves, standing behind his slugger during his 2009 PED admission, while steering clear of the various tabloid happenings that pop up each year.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Girardi has never actually had a conversation with his third baseman. This may be a better strategy than you think.

Advantage: Girardi

More fun to chill with

I estimate that Torre has roughly 358,000 incredible baseball stories that he’s never divulged to anyone but his closest friends.

I picture him to be a cigar and wine connoisseur who can put down two bottles of the best the house can offer without revealing a buzz.

I feel like Don Zimmer is liable to show up any time and tell some of the filthiest jokes you’ve ever heard. And let’s not even get into all the incredible Italian restaurants that you’ll eat at without spending a dime. Good times all around.

I imagine a wild night for Girardi involves a tonic water with an extra slice of lime. If he’s feeling especially frisky, he may play the Karate Kid II soundtrack at a very low volume on his modest home stereo system. And forget about staying up late, General Joe has a date with his Chuck Norris’ Total Gym® at 5 a.m.

Advantage: Torre

Bottom line

The transformation of the New York Yankees brand during Torre’s tenure cannot be overstated. He took over at a time when the franchise was improving, but still seen as a shadow of its former self.

Torre would become the face of the Yankees in his 12 years, an era that included 12 postseason appearances, six pennants, and four World Series titles. Was his timing impeccable? Sure, but you can’t argue with results.

Girardi is off to a fine start with the Yankees, and he certainly has the respect of his players and the media.

Ownership is far more patient now than in the days of The Boss, which makes you think Girardi could have a tenure that approaches or exceeds his predecessor’s.

That said, he still has a long way to go to earn the reputation of Torre, who put the cache back into being the manager of the Yankees.

Torre became a New York sports icon in his time in the Bronx, and for that, he has to retain the edge over his successor. Don’t tell Chuck Norris I said that though.

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached via e-mail at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @ danhanzus .

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It wasn’t a classic to begin the evening, with lots of walks and terrible clutch hitting, but last night’s New York Yankees-Arizona Diamondbacks matchup ended up being a really good baseball game.

It had everything in the latter innings: great defensive plays, big hits (although not enough), and some stellar clutch pitching by the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history, Mariano Rivera.

With the Boston Red Sox blowing a lead in Colorado and Tampa Bay’s starting pitching continuing to crumble, the Yankees had an opportunity to pick up another full game on both their closest division rivals.

At this point, they were playing with house money.

A nice eighth inning rally scored the tying run on Alex Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly. And it all happened without the benefit hit, the Yankees’ second such inning of the game.

Simultaneously, the game was utopia and a virtual disaster for the sabermetric crowd. The Yankees “didn’t make outs” on 23 of their 47 plate appearances, generating 13 walks and ten hits plus A-rod’s sac fly.

But while their on-base percentage was about .500 for the evening, they were terrible in getting hits with runners in scoring position. Robinson Cano, their best hitter this year, had multiple opportunities to drive in runs, but he could not do the job. They hit into five double plays. It happens.

But it shows the RBI stat can be a big deal and is very important.

Joe Girardi saw an opportunity to steal a game in the standings and went for it. Again, he was playing with house money. What helped was that the Yankees have an off-day on Thursday, and Rivera would have an extra day to rest.

The manager brought Rivera into a tie game, something he rarely does. Not bringing in Rivera in a tie game earlier this season at Toronto cost the Yankees a chance at winning another contest.

(Isn’t the image above this piece priceless? It is from last night’s game, and it shows Girardi leaving the mound basically saying, “I’ve done my job, no need to say anything else. You do your job and go get ’em, Mo.”)

Instead of Rivera in the 14th inning of that game, Girardi used Chad Gaudin (who stinks) and the waiver wire pick-up only needed nine pitches to lose that game.

But Girardi used his biggest bullpen chip at Arizona, and Rivera used his Houdini escape tricks to help seal another Yankee win.

And now they have a 2.5-game lead on both Boston and Tampa Bay.

OTHER THOUGHTS ON LAST NIGHT’S GAME

While Girardi did make a good move by having Rivera in the tie game, he did (and almost did) make some head-scratchers.

1) Why did Girardi pinch-run for Nick Swisher in the ninth inning? Is Kevin Russo that much of a burner that he is significantly faster than the Yankee right fielder? And why put in Chad Huffman to play right field, essentially burning three guys on one play?

Girardi might have been better off sticking with Swisher (since he was not the tying run) and keeping the extra position players. Remember that the Yankees had already used Colin Curtis (a great kid by the way) earlier to hit for Javier Vazquez.

The game might have gone into further innings, but…. 

2) The Yankees didn’t seem like they wanted more extra innings. That is the reason they went for broke and brought the infield in with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 10th.

The normal move would be to play the infield back for the double play, give up the tying run and then try and get out of the inning with the next batter.

By using almost his entire bullpen during Monday and Tuesday night’s games and burning Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and now Mo in the current game, Girardi likely wanted to win the game there in the 10th or lose it there in the 10th.  

He did not want an 11th inning.

3) I would have blown a gasket if Girardi brought in Boone Logan (who was warming up) in for Rivera in the last of the 10th inning. You don’t need to pinch-hit for Mo in that spot already up a run.

I would rather go into the bottom of the 10th with a one-run lead and Rivera on the mound than try to extend the lead with a pinch-hitter and put Logan on the mound.

4) But if you are going to use a pinch-hitter, why use Ramiro Pena? He is your last position player, and you have no one else to back up Francisco Cervelli in case he gets hurt.

Remember that Girardi had used Jorge Posada to pinch-hit in the eighth inning.

That is why burning up all your players for unnecessary pinch-running stunts causes you to lose your bench quickly.

And that is why I always like to have only 11 pitchers at the most and more position players, especially when playing in National League parks.

But if you are going to use a pinch hitter for Rivera (now batting in the No. 2 spot), why not use C.C. Sabathia?

He loves hitting, is pretty good at it, and you don’t use your last bench player IN CASE the game goes longer than the 10th inning.

Sabathia is actually a better hitter than Ramiro Pena, anyway.

But as I said earlier, Girardi was playing with house money, as Boston and Tampa already lost, and he was going to win the game in the 10th or lose it there.

He did win it by making his best move of the night (and maybe the season) by bringing in Mariano Rivera to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game.

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After seven brilliant innings by New York Yankee starting pitcher Javier Vazquez in Friday night’s game versus the New York Mets, Joe Girardi did his usual routine.

He pulled out of the game a very effective pitcher who was cruising through a lineup all night long, giving up one very soft run in the top of the 1st inning.

Why did Girardi pull Vazquez?

Well, by God, Javier was over the magical 100 pitch count threshhold! Vazquez threw 109 pitches before being pulled.

Oh my goodness! The Yankees best starting pitcher over the last month was pulled out of the game during a very critical moment. The game was 1-0 Mets, and Vazquez was cruising, having not allowed a hit for five and a third innings!

And this was after Vazquez quieted the Mets bats earlier this season on one hit over six innings.

That mistake of pulling Vazquez based upon pitch count by Girardi COST the Yankees an opportunity to win that game.

And to make matters worse, Girardi brought in perhaps his most inconsistent pre-8th inning guy Chan Ho Park to start the inning. He put Park in the game ONE NIGHT after Park gave up two hits in a third of an inning in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

In that game, Park relieved another reliever, Joba Chamberlain, who had replaced an effective starter in Andy Pettitte. Pettitte was relieved after throwing a whopping 105 pitches!

According the Michael Kay on the broadcast, Andy’s pitch count was high.

Take him out!

Is that why Girardi took Petitte out yesterday after 105 pitches? Pettitte could have AND SHOULD HAVE gone out for the 8th inning against Philadelphia.

AND VAZQUEZ SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT FOR THE 8TH INNING FRIDAY NIGHT.

Are 109 pitches really too much for one of the most durable pitchers (besides Roy Halladay and Mark Buerhle) in the entire sport? A guy in the 34 year old Vazquez, who has averaged 217 innings and 33 starts in each of his 10 full seasons in the majors?

That is flat out retarded. Girardi is not a good manager when it comes to pitching. That is surprising Girardi was a pretty good catcher. He is the same as every other manager in baseball, making the same moves with pitchers and trying to lose ballgames.

They do not follow the most basic rule in pitching.

It is also DelGrippo’s Baseball Rule No. 1 to win games :

In a close game, if your starting pitcher is throwing well (and especially dominating the opposition) NEVER, EVER take him out due to an innings limit or pitch count.

WHY?

Because as a manager, you know how your current pitcher is throwing, but you have no idea how your relief pitcher will throw. Is it a good day, or a bad day for them?

We don’t know, but we do know our starting pitcher (who is usually at least 30 years old if they are throwing for the Yankees).

*This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George is going to get married to Susan. Kramer then tells Jerry all about the horrors of marriage, including the following exchange:

Kramer: Yeah, and you can forget about watching TV while you’re eating.
Jerry: I can?
Kramer: Oh, yeah! You know why? Because it’s dinner time. And you know what you do at dinner?
Jerry: What?
Kramer: You talk about your day! “How was your day today? Did you have a good day today or a bad day today ? Well, what kind of day was it? I don’t know, how ’bout you, how was your day?”
Jerry: Boy!
Kramer: It’s sad, Jerry. It’s a sad state of affairs.

The same exchange can be used in the sad state of pitching affairs in major league baseball. All around you see how young pitchers are doing well , and that more have sub 3.00 ERA’s. But many of these hurlers are being conditioned to look over their shoulders towards the bailout bullpen at every hint of trouble from the fifth inning on.

But the sad state is when managers think that after 100 pitches, it is time to take your starter out of the game, and never go above 120. This is because some guy who never played the game suggests that pitchers will be injured for life it they do.

That is why Justin Verlander has not thrown above 120 pitches since I wrote this article .

And if your starter IS OUT due to some reason, like getting hit hard or has been replaced by a pinch hitter, and your first relief pitcher is pitching well, NEVER, EVER take him out to bring in your 7th inning, 8th inning or closer (unless it is Mariano Rivera).

WHY?

Same reason above, you know how your current pitcher is performing and you do not know how the next guy will do.

When relief pitchers have good days, everyone is happy. But why take the risk? That is why they are relievers – they really aren’t great pitchers.

But when relievers have bad days, and they oftentimes do, the team usually loses the game. Most of the time when relief pitchers give up runs, games penciled in the win column turn into losses. Or as Girardi has shown the Pettitte and Vazquez games, he takes a one run deficit and makes it into a game you never will win.

Maybe, just maybe they turn into games you barely squeak out but use up your entire bullpen by playing the idiotic matchup game.  

And the matchup game is because lefty pitchers supposedly can only get out left handed hitters, and righty pitchers can supposedly only get out right handed hitters.

And that is why (as I mentioned earlier) relievers are not good pitchers because they can pretty much only get out the same side hitter. They never had the pitches to make it as a starter.

That is why starters should pitch longer than seven innings and 100-110 pitches. They are your better pitchers. They should pitch more, especially when they are in their 30’s and have been involved in the majors for a decade as have Pettitte and Vazquez have been.

No way Vazquez should be taken out of Friday night’s game. Girardi cost the Yankees an opportunity to win that game. I have much more confidence in Vazquez (after throwing 5.1 consecutive hitless innings) pitching the 8th and, even the 9th, innings than I do some middle reliever guy.

And that includes Joba Chamberlain.

A team today should only have ten pitchers – five starters, a closer, and four guys who can get out both right handed and left handed batters and pitch multiple innings. One of those four needs to be a five+ inning type guy (a sixth starter)- in case there is an extremely long extra inning game.

I ask you, “is it too much to think that a pitcher can’t throw 15 pitches per inning? That equates to 105 pitches for a seven inning game. Then why can’t he go two more innings than the usual seven if he feels good, his legs are strong and he is dominating the opposition?

The biggest knock on the “abuse of pitchers” was that the pitches they threw when tired is what led to injuries. Vazquez (and Pettitte*) did not appear tired after seven innings. So why take them out, and lose those games?

* I do understand a little about Pettitte as the Yankees are a little worried because his rib cage injury from last season has begun to act up again . The Yankees may think it might be a little more serious than just a pull .

Is is that hard? Or is everybody scared of what the agents will think? Are the GM’s who let this craziness continue worried too much about the money lost if a pitcher gets hurt?

Are wins and losses important?

As I said earlier, it is not just Girardi who makes this terrible blunder time after time. Zack Greinke’s bullpen has blown at least three games for him this year, Tim Lincecum’s bullpen blew several of his early starts.

Just yesterday, The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen blew a win for Cole Hamels . The Phillies bullpen is a sad group of pitchers who should be the poster children for complete game advocacy.

But Hamels had thrown 117 pitches by that time, and the Phillies had a five run lead with two innings to go. As the PAP guys say, “the game is in the bag, why abuse the starting pitcher?”

It is not pitch counts or innings workloads which hurt pitchers arms. Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins, the second best pitcher in baseball had Tommy John surgery at age 22. He was not abused via pitch count or innings increments, having a steady increase throughout his pro career. 

Johnson was taken out of yesterday’s game  by manager Fredi Gonzalez, he of the double-switch lineup snafu’s, removed Johnson after eight innings because he had thrown 117 pitches.

How about a 34 year old man in Javier Vazquez, who has a history of durability and was pitching great baseball?

Why take him out after 109 dominating pitches?

Now that the Yankees are in sole possession of first place, Girardi will try like hell to help his team lose games.

You can pitch count on it.  

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Coming off a sweep of the Astros that propelled the Yankees into a tie with the Rays for the best record in baseball, New York faces a stiffer challenge this week as they play a three-game set with the defending National League champion Phillies.

However, Philly doesn’t appear to be the same team the Bombers beat in last year’s Fall Classic, as they have lost 14 of their past 20 games. The Phils have averaged just 2.4 runs per contest over that stretch and most of these struggles have come since they were accused of stealing signs by using binoculars in the bullpen.

Charlie Manuel’s bunch has been shut out an astounding six times since May 22 while they currently rank 20th in the Majors with a .258 batting average.

Pitching, meanwhile, continues to be a strength, as Philadelphia’s 3.94 ERA puts them 10th in baseball. The upcoming series opens with a tremendous matchup on the mound.

Tuesday, June 15—CC Sabathia (6-3, 4.01) vs. Roy Halladay (8-4, 1.96)

If Sabathia only had to face the Orioles, he’d have no problem winning a second American League Cy Young Award. This season, the big lefty is 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA against the Birds, including a seven-inning, two-run effort in his last outing on Wednesday. But versus everyone else, Sabathia is a more pedestrian 2-3 with a 4.69 ERA.

The former Brewer is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Phillies, but allowed just five runs in 13 and 2/3 innings (3.29) over two starts during the ’09 World Series.

Placido Polanco has had success against Sabathia, going 14-for-43 (.326) with seven extra-base hits, but Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, and Wilson Valdez are a combined 0-for-12 off him in the regular season. Of course, Utley did smack three homers off the southpaw last fall.

Halladay’s transition to the NL has been expectedly easy, with the right-hander leading the league in complete games (5) and innings pitched (101), while ranking second in wins, fourth in ERA, and a WHIP (1.02). His perfect game at Florida on May 29 was the icing on the cake.

The Yankees were happy to see the former Blue Jay head to the NL because he is 18-6 with a 2.84 in 37 games (35 starts) against them. He was 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA at the old stadium and went 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA in two starts at the new ballpark last year.

Halladay has handled Derek Jeter (22-for-91, .242, 24 K’s) and Robinson Cano (10-for-48, .208), as well as Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, who are each 4-for-17 (.235) off him.

But Alex Rodriguez is 23-for-77 (.299) with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. In addition, Curtis Granderson is 5-for-12 (.417).

Wednesday, June 16—A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.86) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80)

Burnett has allowed 10 runs in 12 and 2/3 innings over his last two starts (both losses.) His problem has been the long ball as he’s surrendered four of them over that span.

The key to Burnett’s success this season has been keeping the ball on the ground. He is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA when he induces more ground balls than fly balls, but he is 2-4 with a 6.18 when the opposite occurs.

The right-hander is 5-8 with a 4.75 mark in 17 games (16 starts) versus the Phils and had one excellent start and one terrible start against them in the World Series.

Brian Schneider is 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles off Burnett, but Ryan Howard (2-for-12, .167, 6 K’s), Werth (1-for-7, .143), Ross Gload (1-for-6, .167) and Shane Victorino (1-for-6) have all struggled.

Kendrick pitched two scoreless innings of relief on Friday, but his other 12 appearances this season have been as a starter. He has never faced the Yankees and did not appear in last year’s postseason for the Phillies. However, he did dominate Mark Teixeira, during the first baseman’s two stints with Atlanta, to the tune of 1-for-12 (.083).

Thursday, June 17—Andy Pettitte (8-1, 2.46) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-6, 5.03)

Pettitte continued his dazzling season during his last outing against the Astros when he yielded just two earned runs in 7 and 1/3 innings to take home the victory.

The veteran currently ranks in the top four among AL pitchers in wins, ERA, WHIP (1.10) and winning percentage.

The left-hander is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA in seven regular-season starts against the Phillies and beat them twice in the ’09 Fall Classic.

Werth is just 1-for-13 (.077) with five strikeouts when facing Pettitte, while Howard (1-for-9, .111) and Utley (1-for-6, .167) struggle as well. Polanco, on the other hand, is 3-for-7 (.429) with a homer.

Moyer’s ERA jumped more than a run after giving up nine in just one inning of work at Fenway Park on Friday. He is now 3-4 with a 6.69 ERA on the road this season and has only had moderate success in the Bronx, going 6-5 with a 4.84 mark in 19 games (18 starts).

Overall, the 47-year-old is 10-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 36 career games (34 starts) against the Yankees.

Facing Moyer, Jeter is 22-for-68 (.324), A-Rod is 21-for-54 (.389) with six homers and 12 RBIs, Jorge Posada is 15-for-45 (.333) and Teixeira is 11-for-36 (.306). Only Granderson (1-for-7, .143) seems to have a tough time versus the left-hander.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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