Captain Hook Sinks Yankees in Game 3

Because the New York Yankees’ 5-4 loss to Los Angeles on Monday was their first defeat of the 2009 postseason, the manic over-managing of Joe Girardi has not received the national attention it deserves.

It should now.

There was no bigger culprit in the 11-inning loss Monday at Angel Stadium than Girardi.

If the Yankees lose this best-of-seven American League Championship Series to the Angels despite having the superior talent, graduate schools of business will be able to offer a new elective: Micromanaging a $200 Million Payroll to Defeat.

Girardi, in his second season as Yankees manager, has earned a dubious nickname — Captain Hook — for his rapid removal of pitchers throughout the postseason.

Captain Hook’s decision to replace right-hander David Robertson with righty Alfredo Aceves with two out and nobody on in the 11th inning Monday was the final, head-scratching affront to Yankees fans.

Aceves promptly blew the game, allowing a hard single up the middle to Howie Kendrick and a booming run-scoring double off the left field fence to Jeff Mathis.

"We thought Ace [Aceves] was a better matchup against Kendrick and that’s why we made the move," said Girardi, who actually made the move by himself. "It didn’t work."

During action in the ALCS, Fox network cameras often show Girardi with his back to the field poring through the pages of a large notebook containing computer printouts of head-to-head matchups — Yankees pitchers vs. Angels hitters and Yankees hitters vs. Angels pitchers.

Captain Hook would be better off just sitting down and watching the game.

The computer printouts to which Girardi has become enslaved show that Kendrick had faced neither Robertson nor Aceves more than a half-dozen times, hence there was not really enough of a statistical sample upon which to make the kind of decision that could lose a game for your team.

Kendrick was 1-for-2 against Robertson, a strikeout and a bloop single. And Girardi yanked Robertson? And that's how the Yankees lost a playoff game?

Mind-boggling?

Before the fateful ending, Mariano Rivera channeled his inner Houdini and pitched out of a 1st-and-3rd, nobody-out jam in the 10th, an inning he should have started.

Instead, Captain Hook started Phil Hughes in the 10th, even though Hughes had pitched in the eighth and the ninth and had not pitched in relief in three innings in the same game all season.

In the eighth, Girardi replaced southpaw reliever Damaso Marte with southpaw reliever Phil Coke on consecutive batters.

Being a slave to computer printouts compelled Girardi to burn through both of his bullpen lefties before the ninth inning in a playoff game. Incredible.

Trusting your talent and putting good people in position to succeed is a tenet of sound management, in sports as well as the corporate world.

Girardi, however, does not inspire confidence in his pitchers because he yanks them at the first sign of trouble, or, as in the Robertson-for-Aceves switch, because he fears there might be trouble.

In Games 2 and 3 of the Division Series against Minnesota, Girardi went through pitchers the way a chain-smoker goes through a pack of Marlboros. He inexplicably gave starter Andy Pettitte the hook in the eighth inning after just 81 pitches with a 2-1 lead in Game 3.

Because the Yankees swept the Division Series, Girardi escaped scrutiny.

Were it not for late-inning, game-tying home runs by Alex Rodriguez and baserunning blunders by Twins players Carlos Gomez in Game 2 and Nick Punto in Game 3, Minnesota could have won Game 2 and would have tied the score in Game 3.

The Yankees now lead the ALCS two games to one. But the work of Girardi has shown that if the Yanks are to win a record 27th World Series title, they will do so in spite of their manager, not because of him.

Captain Hook has the privilege of managing the best baseball team money can buy. All he can do at this point is screw it up.

In Game 3, he did.