Last night, Joba Chamberlain was awful. Although he was given a 4-run lead in the first inning, he coughed it up by allowing 7 ER over 4 IP. In fact, I would argue that he delivered one of the more frustrating performances we’ve seen from Yankee pitchers this season (maybe it’s because I was at the game and watching it in person made it seem even worse). However, somehow, the Yankees managed to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. They scored 4 runs, trimming the Rangers’ lead by one (10-9), and had runners at first and second with no outs. Things were looking very good for the Yankees and, amazingly, they had a shot at winning despite Joba’s dreadful performance.
That is, until Joe Girardi overmanaged and cost the team the game. Instead of allowing Nick Swisher to extend the inning via a hit or a walk, he instructed Swisher to bunt. Why he did this, I have no idea, as Swisher popped out and failed to move both runners into scoring position. If Derek Jeter were up next, I’d probably understand it more, but when you have a slumping Melky Cabrera up next, who then promptly lined into a double play to end the game, why bunt? Swisher should have been given a chance to hit. He has earned that right this season. There was no reason to give up outs when Frank Francisco was on the ropes desperately looking for one. Why help the opponent at all? Even if Swisher got the bunt down, it wouldn’t have been the right call. I know Girardi likes small-ball, but that was ridiculous (you don’t play it that way when you have a highly capable offensive player at the plate and a lesser player following him—not in that situation).
With this decision, I ask, what do you think of Joe Girardi’s managing this season? Obviously we’re in first, so he’s doing something right. However, when he makes a mistake it always seems like it’s a big one. I was at last night’s game and everyone was pretty pissed about the decision to have Swisher bunt (and they were even more pissed about the subsequent outcome). I get the feeling that Yankee fans have never really liked Girardi all that much and I think that will continue after last night’s noticeable error in judgment.
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Bunting there was the right call. Moving the runners into scoring position needed to happen. If the bunt is succesfull you win with a single and can tie with an out via the sac fly or fielders choice. (infield would be playing back to not allow two runs to score if a hit goes by a drawn in infield)
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I think we’re putting too much faith into Melky and not enough into Swisher. Francisco was looking for help and got it from that bunt call.
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Dan Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
This is not the 1950’s nor is this the National league & to top it off, Swisher can’t bunt – so why attempt it? I would have rather have seen a hit & run. Yankees are winning this year in spite of Girardi – He is over rated & not that good in my opinion. The yankees were crushing this guy – let him hit the ball.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Swisher has at least 4 sac bunts this year and he even has a bunt for a hit this year so to say Swisher can’t bunt if uninformed and based off one bunt attempt he didn’t get down.
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Nothing new here as Girardi is not a good manager. He is terrible at in game managing. He openly lies about things all the time. Frankly I think Girardi sucks!
As for Melky it looks like he will again be matching last years numbers. He just plain SUCKS like I have been saying all along.
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Melky has been awful ever since hitting that cycle. Brett Gardner, we miss you.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
He needs days off every now and then to keep his bat at a level we need it at, but I don’t think this is proof he isn’t an everyday player, the guy is still learning how to hit and he does have holes in his bat but he is a 9 hitter it’s not like Brett hits over .270 if he plays everyday they are BOTH better together as a duo.
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Ace II Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
amen…people keep making gardner out to be vastly superior to melky…
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Yeah it’s just like people thinking Hughes throws 97 as a starter and is better than Joba… people only remember what they see recently, if Melky had gotten hurt Gardner would still be stealing some bases but he would be hitting .260 or so and people would be praying for Melky to come back, and next year when Hughes starts and struggles and Joba has made his improvements people will be calling for Hughes to the pen. The random hysteria and “end of the world” syndrome surrounding the Yankees is actually really predictable.
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Old Ranger Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Look at the stats (for you stat guys) and watch them play and you may see he is a superior player. Melky has Power and the arm but Brett has everything else. Also, he is much more disruptive, at the plate or on the bases.
I like the idea of having Melky around to play the corner spots as he was.
I don’t ask you to change your mind, just pointing out some things you may not have taken into consideration.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
So you think that’s breaking news? That Brett is faster? He is a good player but people act like if Melky got hurt and Gardner had been healthy Gardner would be hitting .320 and single handedly stealing us wins and that just isn’t true. I like Gardner he brings something to the game the Yankees haven’t had for a very long time but he isn’t that much better than Melky with the bat if at all he’s just faster and has a little more patients so when he gets on he can do a little more but on the flip side Melky can homer more than Gardner they compliment each other more than one being that much better… there skills go hand in hand and they push each other.
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Eh personally I think you’re making too much of this. Personally I would have let Swisher hit in that spot, but I can understand Girardi’s reasoning. You play for the tie at home.
Swisher is just as likely to hit into a DP in that spot (or strikeout) as he would be to get a hit. Bottom line is Swisher didn’t get the job done. I love him but he failed and of course because he did it looks bad on Girardi.
For anyone to say Girardi is a bad manager is mind boggling. The team has played inspired baseball this year. Of course he makes curious moves at time, but all managers do from time to time. It’s what happens when fans follow the manager under a microscope.
Last night his plan didn’t work, so what lets move on. We still have a nice lead, just play smart baseball going forward.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
The fact that Girardi shouldn’t have even been in that position had Joba been able to limit the damage at all with 2 outs in the 4th inning… Personally anyone who says Giradi sucks as a manager just doesn’t know baseball or doesn’t want to be fair because no manager would have been right.
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Girardi sucks? You guys can’t be serious. He knows more about baseball than all the people who comment on this site combined. He handles his pitching staff much better than Torre ever did and has not yet ended any reliever’s careers (Baker and Torre could wipe out an entire pitching staff before the all star break). He was manager of the year in 2006. Tex called him the best coach he ever played for. The yanks are in first place despite losing an ace (Wang) for the year. Cano lost the spare tire he had around his waist playing under the lazy Torre. He was the catcher for 3 of Jeter’s 4 rings (and pitching won those rings). The Yanks now play w/ a chip on the shoulder ever since he arrived. They no longer just sit around waiting for things (bats and starters) to get better like they did under Torre. They go out and make things happen. I haven’t enjoyed watching the Yanks play this much since 2001 and it’s all thanks to Giradi’s attitude adjustment.
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Dan Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
,
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Dan Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I hate Girardi. And if I remember right – Torre won 4 WS as the Yankees manager. The Yankees would be good with even you as their manager – so stop with the Girardi is great & Knows more than the average fan
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Tom Gaffney Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Not fair. He’s done an excellent job this year. I don’t like the move last night, because it lets the pitcher off the hook. Swish has a good eye – make him throw a good pitch.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
People act like Swisher is a .280 hitter he isn’t, in fact he has the worst batting average on the team for any starter, he walks a lot and hits some bombs but he strikes out a lot and he grounds into doubles plays as well to second guess a sac bunt with the worst hitter on the team up is ludicrous.
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And while I have ripped Melky myself at times, to be fair here he hit that ball on the nose. Unfortunately it was right at Andrus, that happens sometimes. It wasn’t like he hit into some weak DP on a bad pitch.
Also I agree he’s not an everyday player, but he’s done an okay job this year, and he’s not hurting the team.
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I love Girardi. I would not have bunted, but I get the decision. The bunt there increases your chances of scoring one run, and you play for the tie at home. This is what Dave Pinto had to say:
“Remember, the run difference here is less than a tenth of a run. That is, if you bunted with men on first and second and no one out in every game during the season, you’d cost your team one win. This wasn’t bunting with a man on first and no one out in the first inning. This was a situation where scoring one run was paramount. It didn’t work this time, but the logic to me was pretty sound.”
Ok, back to me cave for more interviews. See you all next week.
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Good luck, Mo!
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I think it was the right decision this isn’t Alex Rodriguez at the plate and it sure wasn’t Tex it’s .240 batting average Swisher…. Somehow everyone seems to think Swisher was going to get a hit or walk the likely hood of him grounding into a DP himself or striking out is much more likely with Swisher, he can come up clutch but he isn’t the greatest pure hitter. Does he have a good eye? Sure, but that doesn’t mean jack in a big situation where Swish could have been pressing for the HR and ruined the chances by grounding into a DP and everyone today would be bitching that Girardi didn’t bunt the worst BA on the team… what ever he does that doesn’t work gets blown out of proportion, you would think he was managing a below .500 team.
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If Torre was still here, Mo would have 50% more innings, Hughes would be on the DL, Cano would be fat, Jeter would still not be getting to the ball up the middle, A-Rod would be today’s story instead of a sac bunt gone wrong, and the Sox would be in first place. Long live Girardi!!
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
HA! I think Girardi is a good manager, but as you said, he does make some rather peculiar decisions sometimes.
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Girardi makes some mistakes with managerial calls on the field every once in a while (I don’t believe last night was one but it doesn’t matter) but he is one of the best players managers in baseball and his team plays for him and plays hard for him! You can not tell me the Yankees would have the club house vibe they do if Girardi was dis liked in the least…
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At least he was awake at the time.
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
That’s because someone forgot to bring him his tea.
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girardi made a mistake by bunting last night, a manager should always have a player contribute by executing something thats a strength rather then a weakness, obviously having swish bunt is not a strength, also by deciding to do that girardi was acting from a position of weakness rather then aggressiveness regarding himself and his managerial position, its like he bunted because that was the play to make, work or not, that wouldn’t get second guessed.
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Chris H. Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Agreed. If Swisher struck out or grounded into a DP, I don’t think anyone would have said, “Why not let Swisher bunt there.” I think people would have said, “Oh, well Melky is coming up—that’s why (and Swisher doesn’t bunt).”
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Joe O Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
While I don’t really have a strong opinion either way had Swisher hit into a DP the talk of the day would bt why didn’t he play for one run and the tie at home. Any move a manager makes that doesn’t work is criticized and that is the fact. It’s a long season moves back-fire and lets move on.
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Dan Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Exactly!!
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Swisher has bunted well all year how can you say he doesn’t bunt?
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Almost on schedule in today’s game Swisher’s “good eye” worked the count to 3-2 then Swisher’s batting average showed up and he swung at a pitch below the zone and struck out… that is why Girardi had him bunt… if he struck out last night 3-2 your no better off than a popped up bunt that all Major League hitters should be able to do and Swisher has done several times before this season.
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This is what I like, a person that let’s one know where they stand….by Dan.
“I hate Girardi. And if I remember right – Torre won 4 WS as the Yankees manager. The Yankees would be good with even you as their manager – so stop with the Girardi is great & Knows more than the average fan”
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The Yankees made Joe T, not the other way around. When his team got older he showed why he was fired as a manager and was a TV man until the yanks gave him a break. Some people forget his history before he became the Great Joe T.
As for the bunt call last night (as a few have stated), I think it was the right move, Swisher has done it before…why not last night? It didn’t work out, so get over it.
Joe G is a much better boss then Joe T ever had been and ever will be. Joe T can’t win without all the horses, whereas, Joe G. showed he can win with a bunch of kids.
If Joe T. was so good, how come he didn’t win more WS?
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
The last line is really a good point to say Torre was responsible for 4 WS and responsible for the lack of inning on great teams is ridiculous! If Joe Torre was such a great manager why didn’t he attempt one stolen base against Tim Wakefield in 2004 3-0 come back by the Sox?
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Oh here is another reason for the bunt…. If Swisher had gotten the bunt down Ron Washington said he would have walked Melky Cabrera and let Derek Jeter hit, we would have had the bases loaded with one out and Derek Jeter quite possibly the hottest Yankee period up at the plate, sounds good if Wisher just does his job.
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I love when all these “expert” bloggers criticize good fundamental baseball.
Swisher is not Arod, Jetes, Tex, etc.
He needs to get the frikin bunt down!!!!
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Exactly!
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Old Ranger Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Best post yet!
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The other Chris H Reply:
August 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
I was making fun Dan….
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Of course his mitakes are always big ones. Every maager’s is. If it didn’t cost, it wouldn’t be a mistake, or at least not one you would note. If Swish had properly executed, you wouldn’t be complaing and Joe would be a brilliant strategist. If he swung away into a double play, we’d be asking why he didn’t bunt.
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I didn’t like the bunt at the time, and even less after swisher popped out, but if it worked, I would have been pleasantly suprised, and Joe G would have been a genius. We wouldn’t even be talking about this if melky’s line drive was a couple of feet to the left or the right as hairston was going to score the tying run. Just bad luck. I’m just glad we didn’t hit an inning ending triple play like some other team around here.
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