Girardi does it again: fails to use Rivera with bases loaded.

The Yankee manager today added to his resume of unimaginative moves. Oakland had tied the Yankss 1-1, top of the 7th inning, bases loaded, one out. Girardi replaced Yankee starter Andy Pettitte with one of those many interchangeable middle inning relief pitchers. It was another perfect opportunity for a MLB manager to distinguish himself by doing the smart thing: using his best relief pitcher, in this case Mariano Rivera, with the game on the line Girardi's choice allowed all three of Petitte's runners to score plus two of his own and was himself relieved by another mediocre pitcher. By the time the side was retired, Yanks trailed 6-1. Final score: 6-4. Rivera never pitched. Later the announcers babbled something about how the Yanks needed someone to pitch the eighth inning. They, like most baseball people, are so locked into the conventional wisdom that the idea of using Rivera in anything other than his usual ninth inning role never occurred to them.