And That Happened
by Craig CalcaterraOctober 17, 2012
Tigers 2, Yankees 1: It's kinda crazy that the following two things are both true: (a) Justin Verlander didn't have his best stuff; and (b) Justin Verlander took a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning. That's every bit the testament to the Yankees' offensive futility as it is to Verlander's greatness, of course.
The big question: why didn't Joe Girardi pinch hit someone -- be it Nick Swisher or A-Rod -- for Raul Iabanez against Phil Coke in the ninth inning with the Yankees threatening? I understand that if A-Rod comes in that Leyland brings in a righty. And I understand that both he and the switch-hitting Swisher are in funks so bad that Bootsy Collins looks at them and says "damn." But Raul Ibanez against a lefty killer is a pretty awful matchup no matter how you slice it, and it makes me feel like Girardi was proving a point just as much as he was managing to win last night.
Craig writes the HardballTalk blog for NBC Sports.com