Batting practice
There were many culprits in last night’s Yankee loss, from the ugly Yankee defense to Phil Hughes to Felix Dubront settling down and pitching beautifully after a rocky 1st. But the turning point clearly was the 7th inning, when the Yankee manager called on a certain righty recently brought back from being demoted to AAA. Cory Wade, who has been batting practice for over a month, was brought in to a 1 run game and proceeded to put the game out of reach. Many of us were scratching or heads as to why he was out there so long, and even why he was out there to begin with.
To recap, after a shaky 6th inning where Boone Logan appeared (to me) to be pitching around everyone until he got to Salty, Logan came out again for the 7th to get the lefty Adrian Gonzalez. A-Gon promptly lined a double to RF, and out came Girardi to call on Wade. The next batter was Cody Ross (R) with Sweeney (L) Gomez (R) and Ciraco (R) and two switch hitters in Nava and Punto. You always lean toward using righty pitchers in Fenway to stay away from the Monster and pitch to the big part of the ballpark, but that didn’t do Wade much good. He was victimized by a Russel Martin throwing error, but that was hardly a pivotal moment in the inning. The Sox battered Wade with triple, double, double, double steal and single. Even the outs were loud. With the lefty Ortiz due up Girardi came out of the dugout to get Clay Rapada and Wade’s night was mercifully over.
In any game, we all have our 2nd guesses as to what the heck the manager is doing with certain moves and why. Agree or disagree, there’s usually a solid explanation. With that out of the way here’s what Girardi was thinking as Wade was out there getting tattooed by the Red Sox, courtesy of Mark Feinsand via Sulia:
- For those that wondered why Girardi put Cory Wade in a one-run game on Saturday night, here’s what he was thinking: “We’re asking guys to do a little bit more than what they’re supposed to. … I didn’t want to use Eppley, I didn’t want to use Qualls, because I used them in the first game. We had to ask Cory to get us some outs and it kind of snowballed a little bit. … It’s too early to bring in Robertson and it’s too early to bring in Soriano. Those were kind of my options.”
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8 Responses to What the heck was Wade doing out there last night?
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TIQ IQ
“It’s too early to bring in Robertson…” It is precisely this kind of dogmatic “stick to the binder” brain dead thinking that loses games.
Why is it too early exactly? The game’s on the line – right there. Saving Robertson for what? For after the game is lost?
I still remember Billy Martin bring his “stopper” (they weren’t closers back then) Sparky Lyle into a playoff elimination game in the 3rd inning as he realized he needed his best reliever to keep the game from getting out of hand.
Unlike say, Joe Torre bringing Javier Vazquez into basically the same situation early in an elimination game – losing it right there.
Now nobody’s saying Binderman should have gone to Soriano yesterday – but choosing Wade over Robertson lost the game right there.
My lord watching professional managers make these same mistakes over and over is frustrating.
I almost just turned off the tv when I saw Wade coming into the game. I understand Giradi’s explanation given the sequence of events that played out but I still don’t accept it. (1) Wade shouldn’t have even been on the roster until he rights himself in the minors. They should have called up Igarushi instead. (2) DJ Mitchell would been a better option than Wade. (3) If he knew that he didn’t want to throw Mitchell out there in a close game, he could have stuck with Hughes a little longer which would have been a bad decision if the bullpen was at full strength but understandable given the options he had and then gone with some combination of Logan, Robertson, Soriano in the 7th, 8th and 9th. You can’t win every game though and I prefer Giradi’s bullpen usage to Torre’s treating every game like its the world series and abusing the handful of relievers he trusted.
This is on Cashman. As long as Wade is in the roster, Girardi will use him. Demote him and Girardi can’t use him. Managers need managing at times.
I dont see the need for outrage. The yankees won the earlier game, and Girardi didnt want to go to the same pitchers. Also, it kind of was too early for Robertson. Whos going to pitch the 8th inning? It would ne Wade. So wht waste Robertson when youre going to have to pitch Wade at some point anyway? Then Robby would definitely not be available for Sundays game.
The guys have to get outs. Girardi had one real option available to him. Thats the nature of a doubleheader.
Also, the Yanks are SEVEN up on the division. Giratdi didnt throw the game away, he managed his usual excellent bullpen management so guys actually stay healthy and productive down the stretch. The complete inability of fans to see the long game astounds me sometimes.
I don’t necessarily think that it’s one or the other. There are some frustrating decisions that, it seems to me, don’t have to be taken to keep the general number of innings about the same, and thus keep the same freshness for down the stretch.
And “down the stretch” is a very vague idea. Just how many games do you gain keeping people fresh, and how many do you lose keeping people fresh? I think that’s a valid question.
Not to say that you’re wrong. Like you, I’ve watched Girardi manage his bullpen and get good years out of people consistently, without burning them out. No question there’s value in that. But it’s not the end of the discussion, I don’t think.
Maybe you just don’t realize just how terrible Cory Wade has been lately. Over his last 7 outings (6 innings) including Sunday, he’s allowed 2/3 of his inherited runners to score while allowing an additional 16 earned runs to score. His ERA over that period is 24.0 and batters are hitting him at a .552 clip with a HR every other inning. He’s been flat out terrible. He shouldn’t have been on the roster let alone been put into a close game against a division rival. It would have been safer to try to get another inning out of Hughes and save Logan for the 7th or have taken a chance with DJ Mitchell. Wade just isn’t getting batters out right now and should be in the minors working on his command.
I can’t really kill Girardi on this one (and believe me, I am not a fan of his) although it’s fair to question why he had to use so many pitchers in the first game which made them unavailable in the nightcap. That said, I consider Eppley and Qualls as the same kind of roaster filler as Wade so I’m not sure we’re looking at a real difference there.
My question is why he had the infield corners playing in shallow with the bases loaded in the 6th? At normal depth Nix would have had a shot at making a play on the ball that ended up as a 3-run 2B. He might have at least been able to keep it on the infield. Why play to cut off one run there at the risk of giving up 2 or 3? That was the game right there.
Girardi’s use of the pen is interesting. I think he sees it as there being certain jobs necessary, and certain people who can be used in those situations. But I don’t think whether a pitcher is doing well or not is part of the plan. If a guy can’t do the job over an extended period get rid of him, but while he’s there, he does the job assigned, and the job isn’t modified because thepitcher is in a slump, or doesn’t have it a certain night. None of that makes a difference to Girardi, or at least seems to make a difference.
On the plus side, I think over the course of a season, that system works out well. It doesn’t overtax guys who aren’t going to be any good if they pitch too many innings, it leaves guys fresh, it ets the most out of matchups.
But it also loses games at certain times, and is helpless when someone doesn’t do the job he is scheduled for.
Given how the Yankees have played over the last few years, I think the system probably is more positive than negative, although the losses can be infuriating because they seem to be avoidable. But that does seem to be the algorithm Girardi uses.