Friday, October 23, 2009

Quantrill, Proctor, Sturtze, Hughes...? Will Phil take his place in the Tanyon of Heroes?

Posted by el duque at 1:54 PM

3 comments:

Kenny Phelps said...

Shouldn't that be out in LA now?

October 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Sean said...

Phil Hughes bit the bullet the last night.

October 23, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Brian Coyle said...

I listen to you and Susan on XM radio in California, as an ancient Yankee fan. You guys do a nice job, most times, but this Angels series had its glitches. You've "suffered" through past Angel defeats, and it showed. Listening, I understand why the Red Sox lost so often to us; if players fear the "inevitable" as much as you did in Anaheim, they have to lose. The irony, as a Californian I assure you the Angels are just as anxious about the Yankees.

You do not affect the players, I assume, so fatalism does no damage. But please see one thing... in fearing a loss in Thursday's game, you suggested Giardi use Mariano for more than six outs. Why? Because he was rested, and a Yankee victory would give everyone plenty of time off. What happened? Young relievers came in and didn't hold the lead, as you feared.

Giardi studied managing under Torre, who showed that if you get desperate to win, you lose. If Giardi brought in Mo on Thursday, and Mo lost, the Yankees would have been devestated. If Mo held, or the game was tied, Giardi's unwillingness to trust his young relievers would have resonated in the bullpen. How would you expect Hughes et. al to have a winning attitude then?

One of Torre's most celebrated moves came in the 2001 AL Championship Series. The Mariners dropped the first two games, you'll recall. Manager Piniella held a press conference and guaranteed the Mariners would win two out of three in New York to return the ALCS to Seattle.

Torre, in response, could have have guaranteed the Yankees wouldn't return to Seattle, since they led two games to none, but he knew better. He told players and reporters that in a best of seven series, the team just needed to win four games first. He said he liked Seattle, and would gladly return if necessary.

Piniella and Torre's different approaches distinguish what makes post-season success: in order to play your game, you have to forget about special conditions. The Mariners understood Pineilla's guarantee: they had to win in New York. Torre protected the Yankees from this, even when they lost the next game. They remembered who they were, not what they were supposed be. Their goal was the World Series, not a sweep.

Giardi has learned this lesson, and so he played the Yankee game on Thursday, even bringing in Jaba. If Jaba and Hughes are nervous now, how else to settle them down for the World Series? Giardi was there in 1997 when Torre brought in 25 year old Ramiro Mendoza against Cleveland in game 4 of the ALDS, after Mo had blown a save in the eighth. Mendoza lost that one, but never another in Yankee post-season play.

I appreciate that you may not believe that Giardi is following in Torre's footsteps, which seems hard to do. But Thursday in Anaheim was what gave me that belief, because in the teeth of fear, Giardi played his game, and not a desperate one.

October 23, 2009 at 10:44 PM

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