Extended Spring Training.

Sabathia had retired 17 batters in a row. He had pitched 7 shutout innings. He had thrown only 100 pitches.

Mariano got 3 outs, but Girardi wouldn't let him get 4 outs.

"It's a long season" is Girardi's excuse for tanking a game in April.


While the manager certainly has to balance long-term goals with short-term goals, it's quite clear that Sabathia can pitch one more inning (or even two more innings) at minuscule risk.

If Rivera is available for 3 outs, he's available for 4 outs, if that's the difference between winning and losing.

The real reason Girardi and the Yankees tanked this game is because it's April, it's the Twins, it's mid-week, it's a half-empty stadium.

That's not being careful, that's being unprofessional.


Uber-Hack Wallace Matthews focuses on what Rafael Soriano did after the game. Who cares what Soriano did after the game?

I find it continually amazing that sportswriters spend so much time attacking the characters of players who don't talk to them.

Soriano has nothing to say -- he did all of his talking on the field.