"Yes, I ssed up—it was indeed a misjudgnt that changed the ga in hindsight. Yes, I wish I had challenged it at the ti, but I didn't. That was my failure to fulfill my responsibility as a head coach, and I want to apologize to my players and the fans."
At the pre-ga press conference for the third ga of the Yankees vs. Indians division series, faced with the outrage of the New York dia, Joe Girardi took full responsibility with a wave of his hand.
Trailing 0-2 in a best-of-five series ans the Yankees are on the edge of a cliff, one more loss and they'll be eliminated—for New York fans who are used to winning and always set their standards at the championship level, this is incredibly hard to accept, especially since they had high hopes for this season's Yankees team.
Naturally, as the current head coach of the Striped Legion, he beca the main target of the New York dia and fans' venting:
In the second ga, despite leading 8:3, Yankees reliever Chad Green faced Indians hitter Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch that was wrongly judged by the umpire as a hit by pitch.
During this process, Yankees head coach Girardi appeared indecisive, even though the Yankees' professional team told him there was a high probability that it was a misjudgnt by the umpire, but he still couldn't make up his mind to use his initial challenge right to try to get the call overturned.
It was Chisenhall's getting on base that eventually beca the turning point of the ga: with two outs and bases loaded, Francisco Lindor of the Indians ca up and hit a grand slam, and the Indians quickly gained montum in the later innings, winning the second ga.
In a best-of-five division series, the difference between being tied 1-1 and trailing 0-2 is huge:
The Yankees already trailed the Indians by a ho ga due to performance issues, if they had won the second ga, they would have leveled that disadvantage and even had a chance to end the series directly in the Bronx without suspense;
But now, being 0-2 down, every upcoming ga is a survival match, and the entire team faces enormous pressure, even if they win both ho gas, they still have to return to the Indians' field for a decisive battle.
If it really cos to that, Terry Francona won't be pulling any tricks, and at Progress Field, the Yankees will face a Cy Young caliber starting pitcher, Corey Kluber, and the Indians' fully formidable lineup that has swept the league.
On October 8, 2017, at 6 p.m. local ti in New York, the third ga of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Indians kicked off at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Earlier in a series that concluded shortly before, the Yankees' arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, who were also down 0-2, crushed the Houston Astros at ho, winning a ga and earning a glimr of hope for the team—and now, it's ti for the New York Yankees!
During the pre-ga entrance ceremony, the announcer at Yankee Stadium started announcing the ho team's starting lineup for today, as they typically would on ga days, and every player received warm cheers and support from the fans on site; however, when the announcer ntioned head coach Joe Girardi's na, nearly 50,000 Yankees fans in the stands burst into overwhelming boos:
"Boo——!!!"
This is how New York fans express their dissatisfaction, known for being harsh, they never hesitate to boo, not only to disrupt opponents, but also to offer such treatnt if their own players perform poorly—clearly, as the acknowledged "culprit" for losing Ga 2, Girardi couldn't escape this fate.
Faced with such a scene, Girardi in the first base dugout seed completely unfazed, calmly conducting the final pre-ga preparations for today's survival ga:
Four days have passed since Lin Guanglai's pitching in the wildcard ga, by North Arican standards of a four-day rotation, today should be Lin Guanglai's turn to pitch;
But considering that he also played as a batter in the past four days, especially in the 13-inning second ga against the Indians, Girardi plans to rest him for an extra day and have him as the starting pitcher for tomorrow night's fourth ga against the Indians.
Today's starting responsibility, then, falls to the team's forr ace, Masahiro Tanaka: after experiencing a mid-season slump with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses in 10 starts and an ERA over 5, Tanaka gradually regained his form towards the season's end, pitching a total of 42 innings in his last 6 ho gas with 57 strikeouts and an ERA of just 1.29, which reassures Girardi to entrust this ho ga to him.
As for the Indians, without a doubt, their number two starter Carlos Carrasco is taking the mound, marking his first postseason starting appearance in his career—last year, it was his hand injury that ruled him out for the season, indirectly leading to the Indians losing the World Series.
"Co on!" Standing in the dugout, team locker room leader Sabathia reached out his hand to his teammates, "When entering, Joe got booed by the ho fans, I believe everyone saw that."
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