Bengie Molina pushes gutless Yanks to the brink

"Joe Girardi managed this game like a regular season game."

-John Flaherty, YES Postgame Show

Thank you, John, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Apparently Joe wasn't satisfied with getting A.J. Burnett into the 6th inning without completely flushing the game down the toilet, and despite the fact that Burnett was losing command and had been pitching himself into trouble for four straight innings, Girardi left him in one batter too long, and with one swing Bengie Molina put the Rangers ahead with a three-run homer that leaves the Yanks a game away from the end of the 2010 season.

The first two Rangers runs were classic Burnett.  Leadoff walk, wild pitch, HBP (on an attempted sacrifice bunt), then a couple of bleeders.  Other than that, Burnett did what you had to hope he would, getting through five innings with minimal damage.  Once he got himself into trouble again in the sixth, it was time for him to go. With Mariano Rivera ready for the 8th and 9th innings, all the Yanks needed to do was get six outs while maintaining the lead.

For a second straight night, the bullpen imploded anyway, and for the second straight night Girardi let Rivera rot in the bullpen rather than bringing him keep the game as close as possible.  I guess he's saving Mo for the Grapefruit League opener in March.

In reality, though, it's not fair to place the blame solely on Girardi's failure as a manager.  The Yankees offense has been absolutely pathetic for all but one inning in the four games of this series, and only a brutal managerial job by Ron Washington in Game 1 kept this from being a lopsided Rangers sweep.  The Yanks scored five runs in the 8th inning of that game, and have scored a total of six runs in the other 35 innings of this series.  Not one big hit in the last three games.  Not one.

Texas has been the better team in every single phase of the game, they've outscored the Yankees 30-11, and they deserve their 3-1 series edge.  They are a better team, there's no other way to say it.

At this point, I'm not ready to give up on the series, but if the Yanks are going to lose, they deserve to lose this afternoon at home so they can feel the wrath of the fans for a putrid stinkbomb of a series.  Of course that means they'll probably win, and I'll feel obligated to find a TV on Friday night when I should be laying the groundwork with the female guests the night before my friend's wedding.

And in case anybody was wondering why I am the way I am, here's my dear mother's take on the series so far:

"I hope the crowd in the Bronx boos them off the field when they lose this afternoon! IF they manage a win today, I still don't plan on watching another game this year. AND they can only win if Texas decides to stop playing, because the Yankees do not know how to win on their own at this point."


That about covers it.