Last night, A-Rod got benched for Chavez in the 13th, with 2 outs. At that point in the game, your hope is that you run into one, put it over the wall, tie the game, and reset the situation. A-Rod has the 5th most home runs *of all time.* And in a homer-or-go-home situation, Girardi says “I don’t think you’re my man to hit a home run.” That’s a complete loss of confidence.

This is important to remember when you think back to teh 8th inning at bat: 2nd and 3rd, one out, A-Rod up. You can do almost anything there but strike out/pop up. A ground ball, while bad, at least gives you a CHANCE. Hell, even a popup can be dropped. This is the point you pinch hit for A-Rod. If you don’t think he has it in him in the 13th, you didn’t magically come to that conclusion in the extra innings of the game. You knew about it beforehand. Why did Girardi leave him in there? For a redemption moment. So that A-Rod could have a shot at making up for his missed opportunities, become a hero, etc.

Instead, A-Rod had the ugliest at-bat of the game. Sub-Granderson. It was horrific and embarassing and ultimately fatal. And it happened because Girardi felt A-Rod needed a redemptive moment. He left him in there in the 8th for his ego. If A-Rod wasn’t good enough in the 13th, he wasn’t good enough in the 8th. Girardi is simply poorly managing here. He’s letting contracts cloud his judgement.

If Girardi starts A-Rod and justifies it by saying Chavez is even worse at the plate fine, but let’s not pretend it’s because of his awesome “Lifetime” hitting against Hammel.

This is a Red Sox fan talking, but the Yankees expect to play in October EVERY year. If A-Rod is not their 3rd baseman for the playoffs, what good is he?

2. How come Joe isn’t taking as much heat today as praise yesterday for NOT hitting for A-Rod in the 8th last night? If you don’t trust him the day before or in the 13th inning last night, why is the 8th inning any different when that could have clearly been the game? Obviously there’s no guarantee Ibanez/Chavez gets the job done, but I like their chances to put the ball in play better. Even if Buck counters with a lefty a) i still like their chances better b) there’s always Nunez who i trust to make contact too.

At this point, the Yankee team is the Yankee team. Play the regulars (including ARod) and let Ibanez DH. The bigger question is if Martin can catch today after catching 26 innings the past 2 days. Might be a Chris Stewart day. My guess:

Jeter SS
Ichiro LF
Teix 1B
Cano 2B
ARod 3B
Ibanez DH
Swisher RF
Granderson CF
Stewart C

ARod will be in the lineup today, Folks. He’s hitting .364 off Hammel w/ 4 HR in 22 ABs lifetime.

Is there a reason not to include the Postseason in those lifetime stats? I mean A-Rod HAS faced Hammel in this ALDS. He has no hits, 1K and 1 W for a grand total lifetime slash line of:
.333/.448/.833

However much of that production was between 2006-2008, an entire era in baseball terms. A more realistic take is this year’s regular season performance:

.286/.444/.286 with 0 HR, 1 K, 2 BB.

Add the postseason numbers:

.222/.417/.222 with 0 HR, 2 K, 3 BB.

And A-Rod looks much less impressive against Jason Hammel. I think it’s more accurate to say A-Rod USED to own Jason Hammel, now it’s the other way around.

The only thing I would try is Ibanez in the lineup, if only because he’s the only guy who’s done squat at home so far. Otherwise, it’s really up to every other player to figure it out for himself. I don’t think that this version of the Yanks is all that great, but it’s better than we’ve seen this week, and surely someone in that group can find a spark. (Yeah, I’m still rooting against them, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think this game is not theirs for the taking with CC on the mound and just one or two hot bats.)