I did a double-take when I saw Bailey on the mound.

"Now on to the bullpen. The Yankees like Pazos and Cotham and both seemingly are auditioning for potential postseason roles.

Girardi’s closer, Andrew Miller, was not available after throwing 42 pitches in a two-inning stint in Tuesday’s win, so bullpen roles were shifted, giving Pazos, Cotham and, later, Andrew Bailey, a chance in high-leverage moments. Maybe the fact that the struggling Chasen Shreve didn’t pitch says something about his place in the relief pecking order.

Going into the game, Girardi planned to use Justin Wilson in the eighth inning Wednesday and then close with Dellin Betances. 'We never really got to a situation where we could use them,' Girardi lamented.'"

I don't think Pazos, Cotham, or Bailey are auditioning for a spot on the playoff roster.

Girardi turned over the game to middle-of-the-bullpen September callups.

The score was 0-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning with a runner on first base and two outs.



"But this all brings us to the real problem Wednesday − the Yanks mustered nothing on offense against Long Island’s Marcus Stroman, setup man Brett Cecil and closer Roberto Osuna.

'We just weren’t able to get any runs across,' said Brett Gardner, one of the culprits since he is 4-for-39 in his last 10 games. 'You’ve got to score a couple runs if you want to beat these guys.
“We just didn’t do our job offensively.'

What does any move matter if your team does not score against the team it’s chasing in the race?"

This is all hypothetical, of course, but if the score was 0-0 or 1-0 in the ninth inning ... and ARod led off with a (small rally) double ... then maybe the offense plays it differently and gets the run home.

Maybe they win the game in extra innings.

Maybe they pull withing 1.5 of the Blue Jays and make a run at the East.

I doubt any of this would happen, but it might have.


The bullpen moves matter because Girardi's actions speak louder than his words. He knows the Yankees won't win the AL East and he is preparing for the Wild Card.

If Wednesday's game was a playoff game, if it was the biggest game of the season, then Girardi would have put all hands on deck and taken his changes with the White Sox.