Girardi's decision paid off

Fortune favors the bold.
And no matter how poorly Alex Rodriguez has been swinging the bat this October, sending a pinch hitter to the plate in place of one of the greatest sluggers of all time is as bold as it gets. But Joe Girardi followed his gut, and now Wednesday night’s dramatic 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles will forever live as one of the great moments in the vast lore of the New York Yankees.
Raul Ibanez, who turned 40 in June, not only hit a solo home run to tie the American League Division Series game with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, he launched another to lead off the 12th and give the Yankees the win.
"I just had a gut feeling," Girardi said said of sending Rodriguez and his 647 career home runs to the bench. "I just went to him and I said, ‘You're scuffling a little bit right now, we have got a low-ball hitter and we've got a shorter porch in right field than left field obviously — Raul (Ibanez) has been a good pinch hitter for us, and I'm just going to take a shot.’”
It’s the kind of shot that would never happen during the 162-game regular-season. But the playoffs are different.
In the postseason teams will try anything to win. They’ll bench a slumping slugger, bring an ace starting pitcher out of the bullpen on no rest and pinch run just to have a chance to put a player in scoring position.
That’s what makes the playoffs so exciting. Fortunes can change on any pitch.
Anything goes, and anyone can be a hero.
On Wednesday, momentum swung in the Yankees’ favor thanks to a bold choice and two blistering swings from a 40-year-old’s bat.

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