And That Happened

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.