NEW YORK -- For Luis Severino, the raw numbers look awful -- an 0-5 record, a 6.12 ERA, seven home runs allowed in six starts and 42 hits surrendered in 32 1/3 innings.
And yet, when Joe Girardi was asked Sunday night if he could afford to continue running Severino out there while his team was mired in last place, already seven games under .500, the manager didn't hesitate to swat the question away. He knew where it was leading -- to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, home of the Yankees AAA affiliate -- and he wasn't having any of it.