Mo, Lack of Offense Ruin Ponson's Gem

Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay asked a question after Mariano Rivera gave up a run in the ninth Friday night to cost New York the game for his second straight outing.  He pondered, "How can Rivera be so unhittable in save situations but inconsistent in non-save situations?"

I can answer that.  Pressure.

Believe it or not, there's actually more room for error when you're leading by one to three runs than there is in a tie ballgame, and that buffer makes it easier to pitch.

But Mo's indestructable.  He's a god among men.  He's cured cancer.  He's infallible.

No, he's not. 

He's simply a pitcher who's very good at usually getting three outs before giving up one to three runs.

Let's say you were in sales and your job was to wake up at 4 p.m., come into work at 4:30, and close the deal on a client that your co-workers had been working on impressing with their outstanding presentation since 8:30 am.  Sure, you're responsible for making the client sign, but chances are he will due to the great job your teammates did persuading him over the past eight hours.

But what if your associates weren't on their game and they left you to finish off a client who was completely on the fence over whether or not he wanted to do business with your company.  More difficult, right?

Maybe that's why Rivera is 26 for 26 in save situations with a 0.33 ERA and a 0.51 WHIP, but he's 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in tie ballgames.

Maybe it's time we stop heaping so much praise on Mo and start paying more attention to the work done by the 9 to 5'ers.

Here are the grades from the Yankees' 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (C-) Girardi's use of small ball was inconsistent in this one.  In the first inning, he had runners on first and second with no one out when Abreu came to the plate.  You wouldn't bunt with your number three hitter in the first inning, would you? 

Sure, why not?  The Angels entered the game with a record of 48-5 when they score first, so why not lay one down and try to get on the board early with a ground ball or sac fly from Alex Rodriguez?  If he singles, that's two runs.  This type of strategy makes sense against a great pitcher like Ervin Santana.

With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Wilson Betemit led off with a single.  With Ivan Rodriguez up next, Girardi chose not to bunt, steal or hit and run and Pudge grounded into a rally-killing 4-6-3 double play.

But the skipper did have his guys hit and run once and steal two bases, so he made some effort, but once again, the Yankee hitters couldn't come through in the clutch, going 0-6 with runners in scoring position.

Johnny Damon, LF: (A) Damon did his job.  He went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Derek Jeter, SS: (A) The Captain was on his game also, going 2-4.

Bobby Abreu, RF: (C-) Abreu went 1-4 with two strikeouts and four men left on base.  He did, however, make two good plays in right and stole a base.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (D) A-Rod went 0-3 with a walk, struck out twice and left three runners on.

Jason Giambi, DH: (F) The Human Rally Killer took three victims on this night, going 0-4 with a K and leaving an expected five men on base.  Why is he still batting fifth?  Giambi is hitting .203 in the five hole, but .339 in the six and seven spots.  Doesn't take a genius to figure this one out.  He can't handle the pressure.

What's worse, is that Giambi is making it more difficult for A-Rod to get big hits.  Why pitch to one of the greatest hitters of all time when you have a guy behind him, who's 9 for 45 with runners in scoring position and two outs?  When Abreu stole second with two outs in the sixth, the Angels wisely intentionally walked Rodriguez to get to Giambi, who struck out.  In the ninth, Francisco Rodriguez wasn't afraid to throw a 3-2 change up to A-Rod because if he walked him, he'd just have to pitch to Giambi.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (F) Cano went 0-4.

Wilson Betemit, 1B: (A) Not a bad game for a change.  Betemit went 1-3 and made a great leaping grab at first.

Ivan Rodriguez, C: (F) Pudge went 0-3 with a K and a double play.

Melky Cabrera, CF: (D-) Cabrera made a nice play in the field, too, but he was 0-3 with a strikeout at the plate.

Sidney Ponson, SP: (A) Rule of thumb: never lose a game when your fifth starter throws a two-hit shutout through seven innings.

Damaso Marte, RP: (A) I wasn't thrilled to see Marte come out in the eighth, but he was impressive, retiring the Angels in order with two strikeouts.

Mariano Rivera, RP: (F)

Yankees Overall Grade: (C-) Ponson and Marte were great.  The offense and Rivera were horrible.  New York has eight more games left with the Angels so they better start figuring out how to beat them, because Los Angeles may very well determine whether or not the Yanks make the playoffs.

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man" is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com. Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]