The next week could decide that Sam…….

Cliff, I hear what you’re saying. But, I also know from experience that Torre is a “hot hand” guy – to a fault. He goes with whoever is hot and keeps doing it until they burn out and/or fail in a big spot. Look at Gordon last year. Look at Sturtze this year. Before Sturtze went on the DL, what was the ratio of his appearances to Yankees Games Played? It was probably near 50%. That could be the reason he ended up on the DL.

So, to Q’s lament, I would counter with “Dude, if you were pitching better, Torre would have you in every game. It’s your own fault that you were not in a game for 9 in a row.”

Maybe it’s time to get rid of Mr Torre

I dunno, I think Q has a point there. There are too many men in the pen and Torre uses them too inconsistantly (people are overreacting against Torre right now, but this has always been a problem with him). You couldn’t fairly expect a hitter to come off the bench after not seeing live pitching for nine days and do much of anything with a pinch-hit at-bat, so why would you expect a pitcher to be able to spend 9 days on the bench and come in and be effective. Also, if you have a guy who’s been inactive for 9 days (and who has a almost non-existant K rate), why is he the first one you bring in in a bases-loaded no outs situtation that could make or break the game?

Beyond that, Quantrill actually pitched very well, the sac fly was inevitable and he retired the first two batters he faced without the other two runners advancing. He then went 0-2 on the next batter and just missed numerous times only to go 0-2 on the next man and again *just* miss numerous times. Credit the Blue Jays hitters for laying off those close pitches (and even with those, Q threw 70 percent strikes). After giving up the one hit he then retired the next man. For a guy who hadn’t pitched for nine days (checking the stats it was actually seven days, six games, but still), that’s mighty fine.