TORONTO -- I'll be in the house covering tonight's Yankees-Blue Jays game in the Rogers Centre and I'm shaking my head at how Joe Girardi is handling things. Girardi is starting CC Sabathia tonight and risking his entire playoff rotation at a time when the Yankees' pitching is basically CC, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and prayers.
The Bombers' magic number to clinch a berth is one. To miss it, they'd have to go 0-5 and have the Red Sox go 6-0. That's not going to happen. Sabathia was going to pitch Friday in Boston to be lined up for the opener of the division series but Girardi apparently panicked again after A.J. Burnett blew up last night and is going back to his ace.
The Yanks are just 11-14 in September and headed for their first losing record in the month since 2000. Girardi gets lots of blame. He took the pedal away from the metal and seemed to just be worried about getting healthy rather than winning the AL East and now his team is in a funk. Bad decision.
I would have kept Sabathia on Friday. What do the Yankees do now? Give him an inning or two in relief over the weekend? You don't want him starting Game One after seven or eight days rest. Goofy. Girardi meets the media today at 5. It should be interesting.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
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