torre could use the rookies because their lead is bigger and the red sox have been decimated by injuries. there is no way, they’re gonna catch new york.

I acknowledged that that was my weaker example. What about Guillen’s use of Logan?

i’d only use the starting five and then miner, maroth, jones, rodney and zumaya. that’s ten guys, miller should only pitch in blowouts.

That could work if you never had more than a couple straight close games.

the guy was pitching in the college world series 90 days ago!

Yeah, I think that indicates how talented he is. I don’t recall any complaints when he pitched in Yankee Stadium last week.

Trammell was crucified when his teams went 10-20 in different slots.

Yeah, and that was just as silly. Managers affect the outcome of maybe 15 game per year. The rest is up to the players. It’s not Leyland’s fault that Inge let a line drive carom off his glove. It’s not Leyland’s fault that Guillen threw a two-hopper to third. It’s not Gardenhire’s fault that his outfielders botched two routine singles. It’s certainly not Leyland’s fault that Miller, who is known for his control, couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn last night.

It’s also worth pointing out that Miner, one of your top 10, went up against the bottom of the order and he couldn’t get anyone out either.

Maroth two shutout innings, was that good enough to start?

No, he’ll need a couple more solid outings to stretch him out.

Miller had pitched well until tonight (the run the other day was on a weak hit to right). You can’t wear out your top pitchers and expect to win key games. That’s why Grilli was out there in a tight game in the 5th inning instead of Rodney.

i’d only use the starting five and then miner, maroth, jones, rodney and zumaya. that’s ten guys, miller should only pitch in blowouts. he can be the 11th man. i think that sounds like fairly sound strategy, don’t you think? the guy was pitching in the college world series 90 days ago!

Trammell was crucified when his teams went 10-20 in different slots. Leyland just needs to be held accountable.

I just forgot about those runs after the bottom of the 6th.

And hey, maybe your guys’ birthday candles lit a fire underneath Magglio’s behind. 4 RBIs tonight!

I would just like to note that Neifi Perez was used PERFECTLY tonight: a defensive replacement in a game that was already decided, and then he got pinch hit for with Alexis Gomez.

Yeah, I’ll agree with that. I just didn’t want to get sidetracked by that argument.

I would just like to note that Neifi Perez was used PERFECTLY tonight: a defensive replacement in a game that was already decided, and then he got pinch hit for with Alexis Gomez. That should be Neifi’s role on this team for the rest of the season.

I wonder how many more at bats he gives perez before he figures out what he’s capable of?

I wasn’t defending the Perez situation. I’m not sure why he’s out their either.

Do you think Bill Parcells is going to bring in a rookie QB in a game with playoff implications just to test his mettle? I doubt it.

Not an accurate analogy. Football has an extremely short season and endurance is not an issue with quarterbacks.

Coming into tonight, there were 20 games left on the schedule. In a close race, they ALL have playoff implications. Are you going to pitch Walker, Zumaya, Rodney and Jones in all 20? Even if you did use them as much as possible, do you think they would be as effective as usual? Even if they were, would they still be that effective in October?

It’s a LONG season. Leyland will shorten the bench, but not yet. You can’t start sprinting when you’re still this far away from the finish line.

P.S. In case you think Leyland’s the only professional that believes this, Ozzie Guillen, who has even more reason to step on the gas pedal, used a 6′5″ 22 year-old left-handed rookie (September call-up) named Logan in a 1 run game tonight. And Torre used two rookies out of the bullpen, though Baltimore jumped out to a quick lead in that one.

Otherwise, that was a pathetic game on every level.