It was really an amazing sight to see and even more amazing to hear. The sight was Joe Girardi not having anyone up during the top half of the ninth inning of Friday night's New York Yankees - Boston Red Sox game, the first of 19 such encounters between the two rivals. The hearing part was the YES TV voice for the Yankees, Michael Kay, loudly exclaiming to new color man David Cone that no one was up in the pen. The Yankees held a 3-1 lead entering the ninth - the perfect save situation for closer Mariano Rivera, or even young phenom Joba Chamberlain.

In fact, even recent managerial rules dictate that the closer is brought into the game. It is such an easy decision for managers:  bring in your closer, and whether you win or lose the game, the manager cannot be second guessed!

"Why, I brought in my closer. He just blew the game." See, no second guessing.

So it was very refreshing last night to see Joe Girardi be his own man and let Chien-Ming Wang go the distance in the Yankees 4-1 triumph. After the 8^th inning, Wang had accumulated only 79 pitches; but more importantly, had dominated the Red Sox lineup all evening. While most managers would have brought in Rivera to close it out, Girardi decided to buck the trend and let his starter, his ace, finish the game.

And Girardi should have let Wang finish the game - win or lose. After last season's 19 wins, Wang "choked" in the playoffs against the Cleveland Indians, losing both his starts. Wang did not just lose those two starts, but was pummeled all over the field, yielding a playoff ERA of 19.06. Coming off that playoff debacle, it was mighty important for Girardi to allow Wang to finish the game, especially a game against the rival Red Sox, in Fenway Park where Wang was only 2-3 with a 6.35 ERA entering Friday night's contest.  

Wang now is the unabashed ace of the staff riding a 3-0 record and 1.23 ERA. I am sorry, but you can still be an ace of a staff even if you don't perform in the post season like Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Jack Morris or even Josh Beckett. In fact, after Friday night's performance, Wang is now 49-18 for his career, a .731 winning percentage - best winning percentage of all time since 1900.

While Girardi kept his ace in Friday night, two other managers, Bobby Cox in Atlanta and Bob Melvin of the Arizona Diamondbacks, had opportunities to keep their ace starters in for complete games, with Tim Hudson of the Braves even having a shutout after 8 innings and only 96 pitches. It was to no avail, though, as both managers pulled their starters. Also, the Reds lost Friday night 1-0 to the lowly Pirates as manager Dusty Baker pinch hit for his starter, Edinson Volquez, in the 6^th inning with a 0-0 game. Baker loves to use his bullpen, just ask the San Francisco Giants fans watching Game 6 of the World Series in 2002.

It appears that these managers have a pre-printed chart similar to those charts for NFL head coaches; the one that tells them when to go for the two-point conversion. The MLB chart must tell managers when to use their bullpen - either when a starter lets a man on after the 6^th inning or when he nears 100 pitches, whichever comes first. The new method of managing a game is to "shorten the game" and let your starter throw 100 or so pitches over 6, maybe 7, innings then get him out of the game so your 8^th inning guy and your closer can finish off the opponent. I don't know how a manager can really shorten a game considering all the games still go 9 innings.

The mix and match bullpen philosophy is usually credited to current St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. When he managed the Oakland A's in the late 1980's through the early 1990's, LaRussa used relievers Rick Honeycutt, Jim Corsi, Greg Cadaret and closer Dennis Eckersley to perfection, winning three straight American League Titles.

Similar to the Willie Randolph school of managing. Bring in your shoddy relievers any time one of your starters allows a runner in the middle of the game. Maybe Randolph picked up LaRussa's ideas when Willie was his 2^nd baseman in Oakland during most of the 1990 season. Willie did start at second base every game of that 1990 World Series for the A's (who lost in four games to the Cincinnati Reds).

Memo to Willie and other MLB managers:  LaRussa knew how to use a bullpen and had the right players. You need good pitchers in order to mix and match; you can't mix and match with bad pitchers. Even good bartenders know that when you mix and match too many ingredients, sometimes the drink just doesn't taste good. So managers - let your starters go longer. Remember that is why they are starters - because they are your best pitchers.

The current mindset is that you don't want to tire out your starters, but starting pitchers have four days of rest. Most bullpens tire out quicker because they are required to pitch every game. Every time a team falters late in the year it is usually due to a tired bullpen.

While Wang deserves all the accolades for pitching his gem, Girardi deserves a lot of credit also - for sticking with his starter and not bowing to conventional wisdom.

Let's hope this trend continues.