Sometimes a manager can twist a simple equation into a knotty problem.
So it is with Joe Girardi, who last night said there are still issues to be resolved before he determines whether it will be Andy Pettitte or A.J. Burnett who follows C.C. Sabathia in the Yankees’ playoff rotation.
“The opponent; how a guy is pitching; whether he’s better home or away; is it more of a right-handed hitting lineup or a left-handed hitting lineup?” Girardi said. “There are things that need to be answered, and we don’t have all the answers yet.”
But while conducting his customary due diligence, Girardi seems to be omitting the factor that is paramount. That’s the first-round schedule, which would allow the Game 2 starter to be ready on full rest to pitch a potentially decisive Game 5. That’s the same schedule that would take the Game 3 starter out of the equation and into the bullpen if so required in an ultimate showdown.
And that’s the factor that should make the decision to go with Pettitte in Game 2 an automatic, regardless of whether Detroit or Minnesota emerges as the AL Central champion and as the Yankees’ first-round opponent.
One game to win, one win to advance, one loss to walk off into the winter: Pettitte or Burnett? There is no need to wait for a response to a question that answers itself.
This does not mean that Pettitte is a guarantee or that Burnett is a bum who could not be trusted with the assignment. If Big Game Andy were a sure thing, he would have won the potential World Series-clinching Game 6 in Arizona in 2001 instead of allowing six runs in two innings of a 15-2 defeat that presaged Game 7 loss of the crown.
This also does not mean that the concept of handing the ball for Game 2 to Burnett is anathema. The Yankees love Burnett’s assortment of power stuff as much now as they did in the winter when they gave the Toronto free agent right-hander $82.5M over five years.
Plus, Burnett is finishing with a flourish. He was excellent for the third straight start, leaving to an ovation after limiting the Royals to one earned run on three hits while striking out eight in 6 1/3 innings of the Yankees’ 4-3 victory at the Stadium.
“I’m really confident where the ball is going; there’s no thinking out there,” said Burnett, who is entering the first postseason action of his career on a roll, having allowed four runs in 19 innings while striking out 25 his last three times out. “It doesn’t matter to me which spot [in the rotation] I’m in.
“Getting to the playoffs is what I came here for. It means a lot.”
Somehow there is this notion that the Yankees’ fate rests almost exclusively on Burnett’s performance; that he alone is inscrutable while the rest of the roster is packed with known quantities.
Considering the Yankees’ 4-13 playoff record since Game 4 against Boston in 2004, this is nonsense.
If Burnett is a playoff question mark, he isn’t necessarily as large a one as Sabathia, who has allowed 20 earned runs on 27 hits over 19 innings in his three postseason starts in 2007 and 2008 for Cleveland and Milwaukee.
If Burnett is a playoff question mark, he isn’t necessarily as big a one as Alex Rodri guez, 7-for-44 with one RBI in his last three playoff se ries and whose every at-bat will take place under a spotlight of white heat fol lowing a Garbo- esque regular season in which he was left alone.
The Yankees shouldn’t be afraid to pitch Burnett on the road in Game 3. They shouldn’t worry about the ramifications of sending him to the mound in case the team is down 2-0 facing elimination. If the Yankees lose the first two at home, their issues will be larger than the identity of their Game 3 starter.
This decision between Pettitte and Burnett shouldn’t be about Game 2. This should be about Game 5. Girardi may be waiting for answers, but some questions answer themselves.
Like this one.