Rangers @ Yankees 6/30-7/2

The lineup is changing everyday b/c we have some guys out and we have all year. The lineup would look mostly the same every game if our lineup was healthy all year. Did we lose last night b/c he sat Jeter? Did we lose on Sundayt b/c he sat Abreu and others? No, we lost b/c we couldn't hit.

 

Betemit got on base, did you expect a HR out of Jeter? Did you want Jeter to hit for melky? Melky to bunt? I guess Melky bunting would be the way to go but then if he wasn't successful or even if he was and others couldn't drive in Gonzalez we'd see complaints about that.

I don't understand the Betemit hate either, the guy has been hitting when he's playing. he's a good bench player.

 

its called putting your team in the best position to tie the game...melky, who is 0-19 swinging away is a worse option than melky bunting or jeter pinch hitting. This isn't obvious to you?

 

Why don't we hit? Well, the problem isn't even that we don't hit, it's that we don't hit consistently. This team gets a lot of baserunners. They just never touch home.

There's no consistency to the lineup card, so why should there be any in the performance? How many unique lineups has Girardi sent out this year? And it's not all thanks to injuries. Even for that period of a few weeks, where the entire team was healthy, he refused to stop resting players.

As for Sunday, I firmly believe the regular starters should have played. If a guy is an MLB hitter, he can hit. If you fail with your best, it's on the players. If you fail with a lineup that would struggle against a triple-A team, you're going to lose to a solid pitching performance.

Is any wonder that the human walk machine didn't give up a single BB against them?

No matter how you look at the situation, Melky bunting was the right thing to do.

Personally, I would have PH Jeter for Betemit in the first place. I don't care how much he might like Betemit, you rely on a guy like Jeter in the bottom of the ninth. Given that Girardi didn't do that, why not PH Jeter for Melky then? No matter what Jeter has done this year, it's a better idea than letting Melky swing the bat.

So he keeps Jeter on the bench for both ABs, and then lets Melky swing away. I've been a Melky supporter all along, and even I was sitting there in shock. Why even bother putting in Gonzalez to run?

 

I'm not saying I disagree about certain moves that should or should not have been made but he's in a no win situation as long as his guys don't perform. If he makes all those moves andwe still lose then people complain he should have done something else. You can't manage every game like it's game 7 of the WS. He gave Jeter the night off, a complete night off. He definitely has made some questionable decisions but the bottom line is the players aren't getting the job done no matter what decision he makes. We also forget this is just his 2nd year managing so he's still learning on the job a bit.

 

One point I'll concede is that had he PH Jeter for Melky, and Jeter grounded into a DP, Girardi would be getting unfairly ripped this morning, based on the year Jeter's having.

However, I wouldn't have ripped him for PHing Derek for Betemit, and anyone who would really hasn't paid attention to Yankee games for the past decade and a half. Even if Jeter grounds out in that situation, you still went with your best.

Even if you discount either of those moves, letting Melky swing is stupid. There's no getting around that. Girardi claimed that since Betemit walked so easily, he didn't want Melky bunting. Okay, I'm cool with that explanation. However, why wasn't his instruction "Keep the bat on your shoulder unless he tosses you a meatball"? If you're looking to get him a walk, he shouldn't be swinging at all.

And again, this is on top of a number of really questionable moves made earlier in the year. If this was the first time Girardi had made a stupid move, then it would be a legit gripe to say it's wrong to criticize him. But it's far from the first time.

I agree with you junc that this team is ridiculously underperforming, and it's the players that aren't getting the job done. There's really no questioning that. The situation is being compounded by boneheaded mistakes on the manager's part though.

 

maybe, just maybe it was Melky's one last chance to prove that he belongs on this team. ( bunting not an option) And in that case, the outcome was one that we all can breath a sign of relief over. Hopefully this is the end of The Melk Man..

 

It goes without saying that you have love for wang.

 

False. Jeter was in the on deck circle when the game ended. That's not a complete night off.

He waited too long. Jeter should've pinch hit for Melky, because Melky can't hit at all.

 

Good point.

x2.

 

If that's the case then he should have pinch hit for Melky w/ Jeter.

 

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20080701_TEX@NYY


Frank Francisco (2-2) pitched the eighth for the win. C.J. Wilson walked the leadoff batter in the ninth, but got three outs for his 19th save in 21 chances. Derek Jeter, who got the night off, was in the on-deck circle when Wilson got the final out.

 

That's what I said. You would figure that if they weren't pinch hitting Jeter for Melky (or Betemit), the only logical reason would be that Melky was being sacrificed, and that Jeter was being reserved to PH for a hit, which would have made perfect sense.

Instead, Girardi threw the Book of Common Sense out the window, and let Melky swing away.

 

I was all for replacing Torre with Girardi and I still think it was the right move but the number of bad calls he is making has started to become alarming.

 

Appears to me by this sourpuss photo that the Daily News is fahking with Hank.



Funny, though.

 

it's kind of about time. Melky stuck a fork in himself.