Joe Gets Too Cute

Jose Veras? Really? In THAT spot? After throwing 22 pitches in 1-1/3 innings the night before? You've got to be kidding me!

The box score will say Veras and Phil Coke blew this game. I say the responsibility for this loss rests with Joe Girardi.



With two outs and no one on in the eighth and the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead, Girardi lifted Damaso Marte to have a tired Veras face rigthy Billy Butler. Veras walked Butler on five pitches before handing the ball to Coke, who proceeded to get pounded, allowing two doubles, a single and three runs in a 6-4 loss to the Royals Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.

Girardi's big mistake came in the seventh. Joba Chamberlain had just pitched six strong innings. He was at 88 pitches and maybe could have gone out for the seventh, though he labored in the third, fourth and fifth. But you can't quibble with lifting Joba there. The mistake was going to Brian Bruney for the seventh.

Bruney has been lights out in the first week and has solidified his role as the eighth-inning bridge to Mariano Rivera. But with the Royals due to send up three righties in the seventh and three lefties in the eighth, Girardi elected to pitch Bruney in the seventh, leaving only a tired Veras or Rivera for a four-out save as his only options against a pinch hitter in the eighth. And apparently, Girardi is not ready to let Rivera, coming back from minor shoulder surgery, go four outs just yet.

The move backfired. Bruney was again brilliant in the seventh and Marte retired to first two lefties in the eighth. But, when Royals manager Trey Hillman sent up Butler to pinch hit, Girardi was in trouble. Butler, though slumping, is dangerous against lefties, so Girardi had to make a bad move.

The smarter option for Girardi would have been to get through the seventh with Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan Albaladejo and a properly warmed up Coke, saving Bruney for the pinch hitter in the eighth and giving Veras the afternoon off.

It is said a good manager will win a team five games and a bad will will cost his team five. So far this year, Girardi is down one.

The Good
Chamberlain deserved the win. He was efficient. He made big pitches. He made a case that he could become a very good starter. The numbers: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks, 2 HBP, 88 pitches, 56 strikes. He should have gotten out of the fourth without allowing any runs, but a broken-bat grounder got under the glove of Nick Swisher and past Robinson Cano for an error, leading to two runs. Joba showed an ability to put hitters away and did a good job of getting ahead of hitters, throwing 16 first-pitch strikes to 23 batters. His fastball topped out at 96 and was consistently in the 92-94 mph range. He still has some work to do, namely developing his slider, change and curve to the point where he can throw them consistently for strikes, but there really wasn't much not to like in this outing.

Brett Gardner was the leadoff hitter and manufactured a run in the first, hitting a single, stealing second, advancing to third on a grounder and scoring on a short wild pitch. ... The offense struck quickly in the seventh with Swisher leading off with a single, followed by a Hideki Matsui single and a Xavier Nady RBI double to put runners on second and third. Cano rolled a grounder to first that Mike Jacobs booted for an RBI, putting runners of first and third. Melky Cabrera brought home the last run with a double play.

The Bad
The bullpen's inability to get the ball to Mo. When you're four outs from a win and have no one on base, there really is no excuse for failing. This should have been a W. ... In his first start of the year, Cabrera grounded into two double plays, the second one short-circuiting what could have been a bigger inning in the seventh. ... Cody Ransom continues to scuffle, going 0-for-2 with a walk. He's 1-for-20 (.050) on the season. Please, Joe, sit him one game. There are no days off this week and he needs some time to work in the cage and get his head on straight.

What We Learned
Bullpen roles are important and it's just as important not to mess with them. Bruney has earned the right to pitch the eighth -- when healthy and rested. Veras has earned the right to pitch the seventh and fill in for Bruney in the eighth -- when healthy and rested. Coke one day may earn those rights, but he hasn't yet. Don't get too cute, when Bruney or Veras is, or should be, unavailable. Ramirez and Albaladejo are going to have to get outs. Let them do it in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Coke and Marte are going to have to get outs. Let them do it in the sixth, seventh and against tough lefties in the eighth. Stick with that, and there won't be too many more of these types of disasters.

Of Note
Alex Rodriguez resumes his rehab in Tampa, Fla., today. He will begin baseball activities and could be back by the end of the month.

Hey Dave...
Those two Bernard Madoff seats for today's opener at Citi Field sold for ... get this ... $7,500 on eBay. And you thought Yankee Stadium seats were expensive!

Runners On Third With Less Than Two Out
Sunday
Two opportunities
0-for-2, 2R, RBI, GIDP
Season
11 opportunities
2-for-11, 3B, SF, 5 RBI, 8 R, GIDP

Monday's Game
At Rays, 7:08 p.m., YES
Chien-Ming Wang (0-1, 17.18 ERA) vs. Scott Kamir (1-0, 1.50)

The Yanks need Wang to bounce back from his dreadful first outing. The good news is he's 7-4 with a 3.35 ERA in his career against the Rays, and at the Trop his 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA. Also, don't expect Mark Teixeira, his wrist still sore, to play.