10 days ago I wrote a blog post... basically calling Joe Girardi's pitching rotation for the ALCS insane.
I thought that lining up the rotation so Sabathia would not be available to pitch Game 7, flip flopping Hughes and Pettitte so Andy faced Cliff Lee and throwing A. J. Burnett in Game 4 gave the Rangers a clear and almost unfair advantage in Games 3, 4 and 7.
In other words, Girardi had set up the rotation so the Yankees had no margin for error in Games 1, 2, 5 and 6.
I said that Sabathia needed to throw games 1, 4 and 7. (Spare me the "he's tired" act. He had thrown 6 innings over 2 weeks.)
They needed Pettitte to throw game 2 (because he was their second best option) and start A. J. Burnett against Cliff Lee (consolidating their miserable match ups).
Hughes (available for bullpen work in Games 1 and 2) would be on full rest for Game 5... Pettitte 6 and Sabathia 7th.
Instead they sent out the mismatched 3 and 4 games and lost by a combination of 18-3 in those two games.
The fact that the Yankees were outscored 31-6 in the four losses shows that the pitching kinda sorta favored the Yankees.
It didn't have to be that bad.
I told them so.
