Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Chapter 713 39: Burn the Boats

"Yes, I messed up—it was indeed a misjudgment that changed the game in hindsight. Yes, I wish I had challenged it at the time, but I didn't. That was my failure to fulfill my responsibility as a head coach, and I want to apologize to my players and the fans."

At the pre-game press conference for the third game of the Yankees vs. Indians division series, faced with the outrage of the New York media, Joe Girardi took full responsibility with a wave of his hand.

Trailing 0-2 in a best-of-five series means the Yankees are on the edge of a cliff, one more loss and they'll be eliminated—for New York fans who are used to winning and always set their standards at the championship level, this is incredibly hard to accept, especially since they had high hopes for this season's Yankees team.

Naturally, as the current head coach of the Striped Legion, he became the main target of the New York media and fans' venting:

In the second game, despite leading 8:3, Yankees reliever Chad Green faced Indians hitter Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch that was wrongly judged by the umpire as a hit by pitch.

During this process, Yankees head coach Girardi appeared indecisive, even though the Yankees' professional team told him there was a high probability that it was a misjudgment by the umpire, but he still couldn't make up his mind to use his initial challenge right to try to get the call overturned.

It was Chisenhall's getting on base that eventually became the turning point of the game: with two outs and bases loaded, Francisco Lindor of the Indians came up and hit a grand slam, and the Indians quickly gained momentum in the later innings, winning the second game.

In a best-of-five division series, the difference between being tied 1-1 and trailing 0-2 is huge:

The Yankees already trailed the Indians by a home game due to performance issues, if they had won the second game, they would have leveled that disadvantage and even had a chance to end the series directly in the Bronx without suspense;

But now, being 0-2 down, every upcoming game is a survival match, and the entire team faces enormous pressure, even if they win both home games, they still have to return to the Indians' field for a decisive battle.

If it really comes to that, Terry Francona won't be pulling any tricks, and at Progress Field, the Yankees will face a Cy Young caliber starting pitcher, Corey Kluber, and the Indians' fully formidable lineup that has swept the league.

On October 8, 2017, at 6 p.m. local time in New York, the third game of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Indians kicked off at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Earlier in a series that concluded shortly before, the Yankees' arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, who were also down 0-2, crushed the Houston Astros at home, winning a game and earning a glimmer of hope for the team—and now, it's time for the New York Yankees!

During the pre-game entrance ceremony, the announcer at Yankee Stadium started announcing the home team's starting lineup for today, as they typically would on game days, and every player received warm cheers and support from the fans on site; however, when the announcer mentioned head coach Joe Girardi's name, nearly 50,000 Yankees fans in the stands burst into overwhelming boos:

"Boo——!!!"

This is how New York fans express their dissatisfaction, known for being harsh, they never hesitate to boo, not only to disrupt opponents, but also to offer such treatment if their own players perform poorly—clearly, as the acknowledged "culprit" for losing Game 2, Girardi couldn't escape this fate.

Faced with such a scene, Girardi in the first base dugout seemed completely unfazed, calmly conducting the final pre-game preparations for today's survival game:

Four days have passed since Lin Guanglai's pitching in the wildcard game, by North American standards of a four-day rotation, today should be Lin Guanglai's turn to pitch;

But considering that he also played as a batter in the past four days, especially in the 13-inning second game against the Indians, Girardi plans to rest him for an extra day and have him as the starting pitcher for tomorrow night's fourth game against the Indians.

Today's starting responsibility, then, falls to the team's former ace, Masahiro Tanaka: after experiencing a mid-season slump with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses in 10 starts and an ERA over 5, Tanaka gradually regained his form towards the season's end, pitching a total of 42 innings in his last 6 home games with 57 strikeouts and an ERA of just 1.29, which reassures Girardi to entrust this home game to him.

As for the Indians, without a doubt, their number two starter Carlos Carrasco is taking the mound, marking his first postseason starting appearance in his career—last year, it was his hand injury that ruled him out for the season, indirectly leading to the Indians losing the World Series.

"Come on!" Standing in the dugout, team locker room leader Sabathia reached out his hand to his teammates, "When entering, Joe got booed by the home fans, I believe everyone saw that."