About last night

So, I was fortunate enough to attend the Yankee game last night.

From the ceremonial Mariano Rivera first pitch until the Ibanez walk-off home run it was a fantastic evening.

Quick Thoughts:

• Kuroda pitched a great game, pitching into the ninth while only allowing two runs. His opponent, Miguel Gonzalez, was just as good too, letting up one run in seven innings, striking out eight. On the season Gonzalez had a 3.25 ERA but his 4.36 xFIP was less than stellar. Still, the Orioles might have something on their hands with Gonzalez. He won't be an ace but he could provide valuable innings, something the Orioles struggled to get from their rotation until this season and will need to continue to have if they want to be back here next year. 
• Jonah Keri nailed it a few days ago when talking about Orioles closer Jim Johnson and it rings true again today -"regression is a bitch." 
• Obviously Girardi pinch hitting Raul Ibanez for Alex Rodriguez was the right call based on results, but was it necessarily the 'right' call? Hard to say. I didn't hate the move but I also wasn't calling or cheering for it, like the many fans around me at the game. On the year Arod had a .346 wOBA, the worst of his career but still higher than Ibanez (.325). In a situation where outs are more valuable, Arod's OBA was also .353, significantly higher than the .308 mark that Ibanez put up. However, small sample size warnings withstanding, against righties this year the left-handed Ibanez had a .342 wOBA compared to Arod's .314 wOBA. In the midst of a slump with a tough right hander pitching that made Arod look silly the night before, I can't argue with Girardi's "gut" - he made the right call.

And that's just the Yankee game. Caught up in the hoopla of the win and the subway ride back, I missed the end of the A's game and their terrific ninth inning come back. The A's scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth off of Jose Valverde, but can anyone be that surprised? You could actually make a (strong) case that Valverde is worst reliever on the Tigers. At least from the right side with Dotel, Alburquerque and Benoit clearly better options right now. Justin Verlander takes the hill next in the decisive game five, so the Tigers may not even need to use a reliever, but it will be interesting to see how long of a leash Jim Leyland gives Valverde.