Torre is too wedded to the guys that got him glory in the 90s. Is there anyone who thought Clemens would go five solid innings? Nope. As I predicted, he was out in the third, broken down, old and in the way. What good is experience if your body is in shambles? Jorge Posada looked into the eyes of Clemens and saw there was nothing left. I got the same impression and I was about fifty yards away in the right field bleachers. Unfortunately, what should have happened next didn't -- they should have taken Clemens out back and put him down, like a noble racehorse that had broken its legs. Phil Hughes should have started this game (and frankly if Kennedy were fit, he should start in place of Mussina). If Torre tries to start Clemens in the next round instead of putting him in the bullpen, he will turn misguided loyalty into stupidity. There is no way Clemens can start in the next round after sucking in mid-September and early October. The same goes for trying to squeeze in both Giambi and Matsui. If you wanted to DH Matsui, you should have sat Giambi, especially the way Doug M. has been batting. Finally, why didn't Phil Hughes come back out for another inning? Bringing in Joba when Hughes looked good was a mistake. Hughes should at least have started the inning. Joba and Mo came through but they'll be far less effective on Monday.
Speaking of Monday, let the kids play and the old men watch. Let's win one.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I realize it's easy to play "Monday Morning Quarterback" or is it Tuesday morning...?, but you have to second guess several of the moves that Torre has made during the series.
Bringing Hughes back out for the 7th was a no brainer in my opinion. He looked sharp in the 6th.
I don't understand starting Wang on 3 days rest. He's looked less than a 19 game winner in his last few starts, and throwing him on short rest wasn't going to help his high sinker. If I were the skipper, I would have started Moose.
It's time for a parting. Torre is excellent at managing personel, but I think he mishandles his bullpen and is not very good at managing the game.
The real question is who do the Yanks bring in to replace him. Is Mattingly the answer? That's a big task for someone with absolutely no managerial experience.
I agree with you dasnootz about the Hughes move among others. Why Torre took him out is beyond me. More to the point, I would have started Hughes instead of Clemens and said so before the game. I'm not sure about Mussina versus Wang but since Kennedy was out with back spasms (my first choice), maybe you're right. Wang was weakening but he was still a 19 game winner while Mussina was flailing. If Mussina was improving at the end of the season, I'd go with that. Personally, I'd go for Joe Girardi because he's already proven he can do it.
What scares me about Girardi is that he played with several of the current players... but if you listen to all the media, most of those verterans will be gone by next season anyway.
As of now though, I'd take Girardi over Mattingly, despite my appreciation of what Mattingly brought as a player.
On a side note... with the Yankees out of it, I'll never have to sit through another FrankTV pop-up.
Good point. Impersonations are really the bottom of the barrel when it comes to stand up comedy and Frank TV was getting on my nerves too.
Post a Comment