New York Yankees Notes: Mariano Rivera, Randy Winn, and the 2010 Draft

The Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 3-2 yesterday in the 14th inning. Chad Gaudin was on the mound when they lost, with Mariano Rivera fully rested and waiting in the bullpen. I’ll never understand why you would ever use such an inferior reliever with Mo waiting.

Play for the win, not the statistic. I get it that the idea is that you want to extend the game, but you do that with your setup men and not your mop-up guy.

Here are some notes:

• Joe Girardi’s excuse for not using Rivera was that he wasn’t willing to use him for two innings.
• Mark Teixeira got the old “Titanium Sombrero” by striking out five times.
• Andy Pettitte struggled in the middle innings, but still managed 7.2 IP and only two ER. His ERA is 2.47.
• Marcus Thames was a last minute scratch because of a stiff neck. It doesn’t sound like anything serious.
• Recently released outfielder Randy Winn signed with the Cardinals.
• The amateur draft starts on Monday, here is a draft preview courtesy of MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

I hate the save statistic. I can’t imagine that if there is no such stat that managers would wait to use their best reliever until last while on the road. That would just be stupid.

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