Thankfully, Joe Torre doesn’t listen to certain people and won’t use his closer in tie games on the road. As I posted yesterday, if Mariano had pitched the ninth inning Thursday and the Blue Jays did not score, then Mariano would probably have pitched the tenth as well, regardless of whether or not the Yankees scored in the top of the tenth.

But since Mariano is the closer, unless you are at home in a tie game, you don’t use him. He wasn’t and was fresh and ready to close game one in Boston.

Is there ever an exception? Yes, but Thursday was not that time. Especially when the team had a four game lead in the wild card race.

One other thing lost in the excitement –

Guess who has the most assists of any centerfielder in MLB this year?

Great win. Downer for me was “Manos de Piedra”
at first base. I have bad visions of a an ill timed performance like that in a crucial playoff situation.

Shouldn’t this game be on the list of games that were opposite of the games that hurt the most Steve?

BIG win by the Yankees, I still think you don’t use Mo on the road in Toronto in a tie game, you have to have faith that your other bullpen guys can hold Toronto scoreless, plus they had the Red Sox next and the games are ALWAYS close with alot of bullpen moves, I guarantee if needed Mo will pitch all three games.

~~~Anyway, I’ve been meaning to thank you, Steve, and your regular posters, for making this best Yankees fansite out here, and tonight’s a good night for a big: Thanks!~~~

Thanks for the kind words – always appreciated – and I ditto those for posters. I get that comment a lot: How much people enjoy the comments posted here.

bloodyank78 – High five? Last night called for a Shelley Duncan bash!

You use the closer on the road in tie games if you are trying to win the game.

But, you don’t use him in tie games on the road if you are just managing for the sake of his statistics.

It is hindsight that having Mariano available was fortunate, not legitimate interpretation. What happened last night was wonderful but unusual and certainly not predictable. Had I told you on Thursday that Rivera would save a game the Yankees were losing by 5 runs to Boston in the 8th by scoring 6 runs off Okajima and Papelbon, would you have counseled saving him for that eventuality? It does not make sense to preserve your resources for situations that may never arise. The fact that it did does not justify it, unless you have some notion that Torre has mystical powers of precognition or consults an infallible Sybil.

You don’t use your closer in tie games on the road.
=======
At this point in the season, when you’re trying to get every win you can, you most certainly do. Worry about tomorrow’s game tomorrow.

Who was Torre supposed to use then? No Joba. No Farnsworth. Middle innings.

Anyway, isn’t it a good thing that Mariano wasn’t used in the Toronto game, a tie game on the road. If Mariano pitched a scoreless ninth in Toronto, you know he would have pitched the tenth as well. And after pitching 1.1 the night before, well, who would have closed? Mariano certainly wouldn’t have been fresh. You don’t use your closer in tie games on the road.

“As far as Sean Henn, when I want Wayne Franklin, I want the real deal, not some second-rate imitation.”

That needs to be acknowledged as one of the funniest lines ever written on this site. Thanks for the laugh, JeremyM.