Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Girardi takes the blame for not challenging call
NEW YORK — After a crushing loss, Yankees manager Joe Girardi spent the night pondering his decision not to challenge a critical hit-by-pitch call during a game-changing sixth inning. His verdict? “I screwed up.” Girardi took the blame Saturday after his call not to challenge possibly shifted the complexion of the Yankees’ 9-8, 13-inning defeat in Game 2 of an American League Division Series against the Indians.
“I take responsibility for everything,” Girardi said during a day off. “And I feel horrible about it.”
The Yankees trail 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Game 3 is Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.
With the Yankees ahead 8-3 Friday, the Indians’ Lonnie Chisenhall was awarded first by plate umpire Dan Iassogna on an inside pitch by reliever Chad Green.
Catcher Gary Sanchez immediately asked Girardi to challenge, and slowmotion replays showed that the ball hit the knob of Chisenhall’s bat. The question was whether it first grazed Chisenhall’s hand.
Plate umpires often rely on sound more than sight on such plays, making calls based on what they hear — as in, did a pitch nick the body, the bat or both? To get the ruling reversed, an umpire in the replay room would’ve needed definitive proof the ball completely missed Chisenhall’s hand.
Sanchez caught the 0-2 pitch, which could have been an inning-ending foul tip.
Girardi relies on coaching assistant Brett Weber to scour replays before challenging. Weber didn’t see Game 1: Indians 4, Yankees 0 Game 2: Indians 9, Yankees 8 Game 3: at Yankees 7:30 p.m. Sunday, FS1 *Game 4: at Yankees TBD Monday, FS1 *Game 5: at Indians TBD Wednesday, FS1 anything conclusive in the 30-second window allotted by Major League Baseball to request a review, and so Girardi disregarded Sanchez’s plea and didn’t challenge.
Weber and the Yankees didn’t get the slo-mo replay until Francisco Lindor was already at-bat. Lindor hit a grand slam off Green to make it 8-7, sparking a dramatic comeback by the Indians.
The Yankees led the major leagues by winning 72 percent of their challenges in the regular season. Girardi said Friday night that he didn’t want to waste one of his two challenges and that he didn’t want to disrupt Green’s rhythm. The Yankees had already won an earlier challenge. But if he could do it over? “Yeah, I wish I would have challenged it,” he said.
“Very seldom have I ever wasted a challenge when it wasn’t conclusive,” he added. “That’s just what I’ve done, you know. Maybe that’s the wrong way.”
Indians slugger Edwin Encarnacion hopes to play again this postseason after spraining his right ankle during Game 2. Manager Terry Francona said Encarnacion probably won’t start Game 3, but the designated hitter hasn’t been ruled out despite using crutches and wearing a boot Saturday . ... Late Friday, the Instagram account belonging to closer Aroldis Chapman “liked” a fan’s comment calling Girardi an “imbecile.” Girardi isn’t concerned about losing the clubhouse ahead of Game 3. “We’ve had our backs, each other’s backs all year long,” he said. “We’ll continue to have it.”