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