Let’s act, for a few minutes anyway, as if Jerome Holtzman had never created the save rule. If that were the case, who would have been pitching in the eighth inning Sunday for the Yankees?
The score was 2-2. The best part of the Blue Jays order was due up, with Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales and, if anyone reached base, team homer leader Justin Smoak. Joe Girardi made the standard move, bringing in his eighth-inning man, Tyler Clippard.
But if there were no save rule and he were simply managing by wisest strategy, shouldn’t Girardi have turned to his best – Dellin Betances – against their best?