Irked Girardi stands by his mound moves
TORONTO — A night of sleep wasn’t enough to move Joe Girardi past his tense postgame session with reporters Friday night, one the manager cut short by walking out of his own office while proclaiming, “I’m done.” He may as well have been talking his team’s postseason chances, but he wasn’t. Girardi was irritated by questions about his decision to use unproven reliever Blake Parker in a three-run game in the seventh inning rather than Adam Warren, whose track record is superior.
Part of Girardi’s explanation Friday night was that using Warren might prevent him from being available Saturday. Girardi has been operating by the “We’ll worry about tomorrow tomorrow” philosophy for weeks as the Yankees tried to climb back into the postseason picture, so his reasoning seemed a bit odd.
Presented with that question Saturday, Girardi didn’t back down from his decision to use Parker, even after the righthander allowed four runs to put the game out of reach.
“I’m in the thought process, you have to win today; I understand that,” Girardi said. “So if I use Parker the seventh and we keep it the same, I could use Warren in the eighth. I’m not going to use (Dellin) Betances. I’m not going to use (Tyler) Clippard. I’ve used Tommy Layne a ton. They don’t have lefties. If you put a lefty in, they pinch hit for a lefty. I’m trying to win the game.
“Parker’s gotten some big outs for us. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to keep it as close as possible. It’s not like I went to someone that didn’t have any experience. I went to the guy that we’ve used if we’re down a run, down a couple of runs, during the course of the season because I know if we’re going to make a run, we’re probably going to have to use these guys a lot. I’m not going to necessarily waste the bullet. If I need him six out of nine games, it’s tough to use him for the seventh. It’s a calculated risk that I make. I’ve made them all year.”
Then Girardi revealed the true source of his anger, referring to a published column that suggested he quit on his team with that decision Friday night.
“To insinuate that I’ve quit is ridiculous,” an emotional Girardi said. “I never quit.”
Girardi said his decision to cut his postgame media session short Friday night was “a sign of some of the questions I was asked,” specifically whether he believed a 3-0 game was not still close given the team’s offensive struggles.
Asked why he had an issue with the questions, Girardi did his best to squash the situation.
STAT Of THE DAY
Dellin Betances’ 121 strikeouts this season make him only the third reliever in history to record 120-ormore strikeouts as a reliever in three straight seasons. With nine more Ks, he’ll be the first ever to have 130-ormore in three consecutive seasons.
With their elimination number down to six entering Saturday, the Yankees sent out a lineup that looked better fit for a March game in Dunedin than a September game in Toronto.
Aaron Hicks was in the No. 5 spot, while Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Austin and Donovan Solano were the final three hitters in the lineup.
The makeshift lineup was the result of the Yankees’ injury issues, as Chase Headley (back), Mark Teixeira (neck) and Starlin Castro (hamstring) were all unavailable.
“It’s something you have to deal with, and I’ve had to deal with it before,” Girardi said. “It’s almost like the next guy has to get it done, is the way I look at it. I know we’re dealing with it this time of year. I know it. It can also be in the middle of the season. You just do the best you can.”
Headley played Thursday and Friday, but Girardi didn’t like the way the third baseman was moving around in the field or at the plate, where he went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts.
“I just don’t feel that he’s 100 percent in watching his at-bats and watching him move around,” Girardi said. “He did not complain to me, but just from watching him, I don’t see the same explosiveness from him in either spot.”
TEST YOUR YANkEES iQ
On this date two years ago, Derek Jeter hit a walk-off single to beat the Orioles in his final game at Yankee Stadium. Who was the pitcher?
NEXT GAME
Today at Toronto, 1:07 p.m.; RHP Michael Pineda (6-11, 4.89) vs. RHP Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.62). TV: YES
“I’m not going to get into that now; I don’t think this is the place to do it or the time to do it,” Girardi said. “There are some things I don’t like, and if I don’t like it, I’m not going to deal with it, bottom line.”
MARCH BADNESS
With runners in scoring position Left on base Yankees now have been shut out an AL-high 13 times Yankees are one away from MLB mark of 4 straight shutout losses (Cubs, April 27-May 1, 1992) l The last time Yanks were shut out 3 straight times was 41 years ago (July 27-28, 1975). l The Mets have outscored the Yankees 27-0 over the last 3 days. l NYCFC has outscored the Yanks 4-0 over the last 3 days — and it took just one game.