Yankees’ Joe Girardi regrets going against his gut
To win a World Series, a manager not only has to be decisive, but he also has to be right. And the New York Yankees’ Joe Girardi certainly was both last season.
But at a key moment in Sunday’s loss to the Angels, he was neither, and it proved costly.
With the Angels clinging to a one-run lead with two out and two on in the seventh inning, Girardi told reliever Damaso Marte to intentionally walk Kendry Morales. But after Marte threw the first pitch wide, Girardi changed his mind and let Marte pitch to Morales, who hit a three-run homer to put the game away.
“I wanted to walk him. That was my first instinct,” Girardi said of Morales, who reached base five times. “I probably should have stayed with my first instinct. I screwed up.
“Not everything I do is going to be right.”
Out at the plate
Catcher Bobby Wilson said he doesn’t recall anything about Friday’s home-plate collision with the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira that put him on the disabled list with a concussion and a strained left ankle.
“I didn’t remember getting hit,” he said. “The last thing I saw was Bobby [Abreu] throwing the ball. After that point, it was just pretty hazy for me.
“And then I just remember after coming off the field, asking the trainers, like, ‘What happened? What went on?’ ”
Wilson, who was wearing a soft boot on his left ankle Sunday, said he had several tests Friday and Saturday, including an MRI, a CT scan and X-rays. None showed serious damage. But because Wilson suffered a concussion on a similar play during a drill early in spring training, the Angels put him on the disabled list immediately as a precaution.
Wilson had not spoken with Teixeira as of early Sunday, but he said he had no hard feelings toward his former Angels teammate.
“I know the kind of person he is. And I know his intent wasn’t to hurt me,” Wilson said. “It’s baseball. Next time it comes around, I’ll tell you I’m not going to back down. I’m not going to shy away from contact just because this happened.
“It’s part of the game, and it is what it is.”
Another bad break
Wilson, who was hurt three innings into his first start of the year, has the clubhouse locker next to fellow catcher Jeff Mathis, who went on the disabled list Tuesday after breaking a bone in his right wrist — taking a .324 batting average with him.
“It was frustrating, for sure,” said Mathis, who is wearing a soft support on his wrist and forearm until the swelling goes down. “But you look at it on the positive side. I didn’t have to have surgery. It’s not career-threatening.
“It’s just a bump in the road.”
Mathis is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Long day
It was a tough Sunday afternoon for Angels center fielder Torii Hunter, who was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, then jarred himself making a spectacular catch a half-inning later.
Manager Mike Scioscia and a trainer attended to Hunter as he limped to first base after he was drilled by Marte, but Hunter recovered quickly enough to steal a base two batters later.
In the eighth, though, he appeared to hurt himself while making a diving grab of Alex Rodriguez’s liner to left-center. Hunter landed hard on his side and winced as he slowly walked back to center field.
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
