Leading up to Wednesday night's game against the Orioles, the only question on reporters and fans minds about the Yankees was where Alex Rodriguez would hit.
Game 3 is a crucial contest when it comes to best-of-five series and with the Yankees offense struggling, it was a must-win game. Rodriguez had been awful through two games, striking out five times in nine at-bats. But at the start of the game, manager Joe Girardi penciled him in at the number three spot, leaving some to scratch their heads.
Part of the reason reporters thought Girardi was weary of moving Rodriguez down in the lineup stemmed from an incident years ago when Joe Torre was the manager of the Yankees.
In the 2006 playoffs while Rodriguez was struggling, Torre decided to bat him eighth in the order against Detroit. Rodriguez took the demotion personally and never forgot about it.
Rodriguez didn't do himself any favors in this game, striking out twice in three at-bats, but after the game he showed why he is one of the most professional and veteran players in baseball. He handled himself with class and totally supported the team and the moves by the manager.
Baseball superstars can be fickle and emotional when it comes to the batting order, and this is one thing Girardi took into consideration while deciding where to bat Rodriguez. If he moved him, he might not hit and he might damage his mental makeup in the process, helping no one.
Instead Girardi hit Rodriguez third and in the ninth inning he made one of the gutsiest calls a manager could make: He brought in a pinch hitter for Rodriguez. The veteran had never been pinch hit for in the playoffs and he remarked after the game that the last time it happened was "(probably) in high school."
"It's a tough move," Girardi said to the Daily News. "Sometimes you do what your gut tells you to do,"
The move worked out to the fullest extent. Raul Ibanez came into the game and tied the game in the ninth inning with a home run before hitting a walk-off home run off of the first pitch in the 12th inning.
"I never question my manager. That's where my head is now," Rodriguez said to ESPN.com. "I come out, I prepare very hard every day, and I got to tell you, I was as relaxed and enthused and as positive as I've been in a long time."
According to ESPN.com, Ibanez became the first player to hit two home runs in a postseason game that he didn't start.
"You know you're going to be asked a lot of questions if it doesn't work," Girardi said to ESPNNewYork.com.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay summed it up on Twitter:
"That was the absolute, against-the-book, gutsiest move joe Girardi has ever made. And it paid off. Only if they win. If they don't..,,,wow."
Rodriguez was the first person in the dugout to greet Ibanez and after the game he described to reporters how he felt about the whole thing.
"I love Joe," Rodriguez said of his manager, "and I'm one of the leaders of the team. Maybe 10 years ago, I would've reacted in a much different way, but I'm in a place in my career now where the team is everything."
That quote says a lot about Rodriguez. Throughout the years many reporters and critics have said Rodriguez can seem out of touch with how he is perceived, but here, he shows that he is aware of how he once acted as a young player and how important it is for him as a veteran to support his manager.
"We preach about team, team, team; that's all we care about," A-Rod said. "When he told me, I said, 'Joe, you've got to do exactly what you've got to do.' Then I got up to the top step and started cheering."
Girardi spoke after the game about the move.
"I just went to him and I said, 'You know, you're scuffling a little bit right now. We got a low-ball hitter and we got a shorter porch in right field than left field, obviously. Raul's been a good pinch-hitter for us. I'm just going to take a shot,'" Girardi said to reporters when asked about his conversation with Rodriguez in the ninth.
Rodriguez has proved to be a Hall of Fame player throughout his career, but now, with the playoffs on the line, he understands what it means to be a team player and a supportive veteran.
"We preached all year that it's about 25 guys. It's about whatever it takes to win," Rodriguez told reporters. "I gotta be honest, I don't know how I would have reacted to that 10 years ago. But I've said -- and I know you guys don't like to hear it -- that I've matured a lot over the last few years. There was no one happier than me. It was just an awesome moment and a big game for us."
The move might end up being the best thing to happen to Rodriguez. The pressure is off him now for a bit after the Yankees were able to take a 2-1 series lead.
"I wish I could go up there every time and do some serious damage because I really want to, but tomorrow is another day," Rodriguez said. "Look, I wish that was me hitting two home runs tonight. If it wasn't me, it was the next best guy."
If he can bust out in Game 4 with an extra-base hit or home run, the Yankees will be a hard team to beat.
Here is a link to Rodriguez's post-game interview.
