4/26/07 TOR 6 Yankees 0 (8-12)

This might be Torre's worst decision of all time. Doug Mientkiewicz, someone who probably shouldn't even be in baseball anymore, batted 2nd for the New York Yankees. The "evil empire", with close to a 200 million dollar payroll, had Doug Mienkiewicz batting between Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu. In a shocking turn of events, the Yankees failed to score a single run in the game. As a sidenote, Torre wasted his good closers tonight, even though the game was out of reach and the Red Sox are coming into town.

Torre 8-12
# of times bullpen has been misused: 8
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 6
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/24/07 NY 4 Devil Rays 6 (8-11)

A look inside Torre's head: "hmm, Jeter isn't playing today. He usually plays SS and bats 2nd. So, if Cairo is going to play today for him, I guess he has to play SS and bat 2nd too."

Cairo batted 2nd while Cano batted 8th!

Torre 8-11
# of times bullpen has been misused: 7
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 5
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/23/07 NY 8 Devil Rays 10 (8-10)

Sometimes a reliever just doesn't have it. If Torre cuts bait on Bruney sooner, perhaps the Yankees runs in the 9th inning would actually have meant something.

Torre 8-10
# of times bullpen has been misused: 7
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 4
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/22/07 NY 6 Red Sox 7 (8-9)

Yankees lose, but Torre gets a win. I still don't know why he's been using Andy in relief, but I'll take it.

Torre 8-9
# of times bullpen has been misused: 6
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 4
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/21/07 NY 5 Red Sox 7 (8-8)

Why does Melky lead off? Is it really because Jeter is a "typical #2 hitter"? What a waste. In terms of pitching, I know Torre's in a tough position because he needs to get innings out of his starters, but his starters haven't been good . However, at some point, leaving a pitcher in to give up 7 runs in 4.1 innings is just not acceptable. Torre should just have the confidence in Phelps to cut bait with Mientkiewicz and carry another pitcher. Then, if one mediocre pitcher is struggling, they can bring in his counterpart as a long reliever. Giving up 7 runs that quickly just concedes the game too early.

Torre 7-9
# of times bullpen has been misused: 6
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 4
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/20/07 NY 6 Red Sox 7 (8-7)

This game will be remembered for Mariano blowing the save, and the Redsox scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th. However, with two outs in the 9th, Jason Giambi's spot in the lineup came up with a runner on first and a chance to take the lead (or tie the game, or prolong the inning). I say "spot in the lineup", because Giambi had been removed for a pinch runner an inning earlier with no outs. If this was a combination of "pinch runner, and defensive replacement", I could tolerate it. But Giambi is the DH. However unlikely, there was a non-zero chance that his spot in the order would come up again in the 9th (in a meaningful way). The fact that Torre just refuses to account for this scenrio is what gets him the loss today, and the ire from me in general.

Torre 7-8
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 3

4/19/07 CLE 6 Yankees 8 (8-6)

It was a blowout, until it wasn't.

Torre 7-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/18/07 CLE 2 Yankees 9 (7-6)

See, as long as the Yankees win by 7 runs, Torre's flaws can be masked.

Torre 6-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/17/07 CLE 3 Yankees 10 (6-6)

In a blowout, Torre gets the default win

Torre 5-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/15/07 NY 4 A's 5 (5-6)

The Yankees offense is too good to be giving up outs with failed hit and runs and caught stealings. It happened last night, but I let it slide. Not today though. I'm not going to give Torre a loss today either, because he didn't pinch run for Giambi when he could have. You are on thin ice though, Joe....very thin ice.

Torre 4-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/14/07 NY 4 A's 3 (5-5)

And just like that, Torre redeems himself in an extra inning game. He did everything correctly.

Torre 3-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/13/07 NY 4 A's 5 (4-5)

Torre should never be allowed near an extra inning game. He just refuses to use Mo w/o a lead. And watching Thompson bat where Giambi should have been (b/c he pinch ran for him earlier in the game) was just painful.

Torre 2-7
# of times bullpen has been misused: 5
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 2

4/11/07 NY 1 Twins 5 (4-4)

Everyone but Torre knows that Farnsworth is a guy who can dominate one night, and be dominated the next. In a 1-1 game, Farnsworth immediately walked the first guy he faced. Luckily, because the Yankees didn't need Mo in yesterday's 10-1 blowout, they were able to bring in the greatest closer of all time. No wait, nevermind. Torre wasted him yesterday, so he lets Farnsworth give up FOUR runs, and hands the game over to the Twins.

Torre 2-6
# of times bullpen has been misused: 4
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/10/07 NY 10 Twins 1 (4-3)

How does a manager get a loss in a 10-1 win? Simple, use the greatest closer of all time to pitch a meaningless 9th. Yes, Mo hadn't pitched in awhile. However, after the game tomorrow, the Yankees will have an off day. So, just save Mo for that game, which might, just might, be closer than 9 runs.

Torre 2-5
# of times bullpen has been misused: 4
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/9/07 NY 8 Twins 2 (3-3)

Torre gets a W here by default. When you are facing Sindey Ponson, it's best to just get out of the way. However, using your 2nd best reliever to close out a 6 run lead is a waste.

Torre 2-4
# of times bullpen has been misused: 3
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/8/07 Baltimore 6 Yankees 4 (2-3)

I didn't catch the game, but I still cringed when I saw Melky lead off and Cano batted 7th (behind Phelps!). If Joe is so gung ho on the L-R balance, there are still a million better lineup constructions. I would have loved to see why Pettitte tossed an inning in relief on his throw day. As a devoted reader reminded me, I've been advocating such usage for SP's for a long time. It's basically giving the team a bonus 25 innings a year from each of your best pitchers. Well done Torre, but the Phelps/Melky mistake still gets you the L.

Torre 1-4
# of times bullpen has been misused: 2
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 3
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/7/07 Baltimore 7 Yankees 10 (2-2)

In terms of actual baseball, this has to be the 2nd greatest regular season game I've ever been to. Subjectively, it's EXACTLY how I would want a game to end. And there were nice little moments getting to that end as well (Damon pinch hitting, Giambi's homer, and Mo coming in). Torre gets a win here, as his only mistake was using the LOOGY Myers for a full inning. However, you can't even blame him on that one because he was attempting to save the overused bulpen. Extra credit for bringing Mo in in a non save situation. Gutsy move that paid off. Since I'm being generous, I'll also mention that he used Posada at C despite it being a day game after a night game. I guess he thought the lineup was looking a little weak without Damon in there.

Torre 1-3
# of times bullpen has been misused: 2
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 2
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/6/07 Baltimore 6 Yankees 4 (1-2)

I'll use small words: Cano is a better hitter than Melky. If you want to win, you try to get Cano more at bats than Melky. Cano should be at the top of the order, not Melky. Batting Melky 1st is just making it easier for the 0's.

Also, for his entire career, Myers has been a LOOGY. That means he's good at getting lefties outs, but not so much with righties. Torre left Myers in to face a righty in the 8th inning. That is the opposite of smart.

Yankees 1-2, Torre 0-3.

[i'm starting to worry that it will be impossible for Torre to 'win' a single game this year. I may have to lower my standards. Unless I break it down into different categories.]

Yankees 1-2.
Torre 0-3
# of times bullpen has been misused: 2
# of times of poor lineup construction [not counting damon leading off]: 2
# of times Giambi pulled too early: 1

4/5/07 TB 7 Yankees 6 (1-1)

I can understand why Damon "must" lead off, because that's why the yankees signed him. So, I don't get too upset when he doesn't bat 7th, like he should be. But when Damon is hurt, it's the perfect opportunity for Torre to stumble into the correct lineup. Of course, he failed again though, by reversing the optimal lineup of Jeter/Cano. Jeter gets on base, and Cano has more power. It's a no brainer. But whatever.

With two outs in the 7th (of a tied game), Jason Giambi was on 2nd base. Once again, Torre decided to pinch run for him. The chances of the next ball being hit being the type of single where a fast runner scores, but a slow runner won't, is so minuscule. What was more likely, and what actually happened, was that the spot in the lineup where Giambi should have been came up in the 9th inning. Instead of having one of the best hitters in the game up, the Yankees were forced to pinch hit with Phelps.

Although Torre has made this mistake for years, it's getting worse. Cairo is their best baserunner on the bench, but he's also their only utility infielder. By using him to pinch run in the DH spot, Torre is hurting both his offense, his flexibility, and his late inning defense. Should Cano, Jeter, or Arod get hurt, the Yankees would most likely have to forgo the DH. At least when Giambi was pulled in earlier years, you could argue that they were getting better defense at the end of the game.

This has to stop.

Extra credit goes to the yankees announcers for noticing that it was Jeter's hustle that willed the TB pitcher to incorrectly throw the ball to third. I'm just surprised that the pitcher was willing to sacrifice his body to stop that scorcher of a grounder.

Yankees 1-1, Torre 0-2

4/2/07 TB 5 - Yankees 9 (1-0)

With a 4 run lead going into the 9th, and with TB's 7,8 and 9 hitters due up, Torre decided to use his best weapon, Mariano Rivera. If you can't trust Scott Proctor to get 3 outs before giving up 4 runs, you shouldn't even play the season. Pack your stuff and go home.



Torre gets a slight pass because the Yankees are off tomorrow, but it's still unacceptable. As Mo ages, he's going to need more rest. There was absolutely no need to bring him in. Plus, it could only help Proctor's confidence to be in there at the end of the game.



The Yankees are 1-0, but Torre is 0-1.