Mike Francesa: Don't Blame Girardi For Leaning On Bullpen
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- The Yankees are lousy and manager Joe Girardi should not be faulted for turning the game over to his three best relievers every chance he gets, WFAN's Mike Francesa said Wednesday.
The Bombers lost for the fifth time in seven games on Tuesday night, falling to Toronto 4-1. CC Sabathia allowed two runs and five hits over five innings. Dellin Betances entered the game in the seventh inning and surrendered two more runs.
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"If you're going to question Betances, (Andrew) Miller and (Aroldis) Chapman or their use, then this team is just dead and buried because that's the three best players on this team," Francesa said.
"CC's a guy most people didn't even want to pitch this year. Now you're going to tell me you want CC left in a game when you can bring in Betances? I mean, come on now! Get in the real world! That's just ridiculous criticism. Your whole team is built on getting to those three pitchers and let them salvage whatever they can salvage of this terrible team. It's not a good team."
The bigger problem, Francesa said, is the Yankees just can't hit. He noted that in addition to Alex Rodriguez's struggles, Mark Teixeira is batting .190, and Brett Gardner is hitting .215. Even Carlos Beltran and Starlin Castro, thought to be two of the team's most reliable hitters, are batting just .265 and .245, respectively.
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New York currently ranks 14th in the American League in runs scored with 193.
"This team doesn't hit at all," Francesa said. "It doesn't matter. You can't blame one guy. This isn't about one guy. The team doesn't hit. And you cannot ever get on Joe Girardi if he tries to get the game in the hands of the three best players on this team. But they're not robots. They are going to once in a while give up a run."
To listen to the full segment, in which Francesa also discusses the Mets and more, click on the audio player above.
