Girardi Has No Regrets About Game 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Pre-game interview room sessions in the postseason are not normally that well-attended, because transcripts of the interviews are provided and the sound is piped down into the press box, but there was a full house waiting for Joe Girardi on Tuesday afternoon.

The Yankees manager had been harshly criticized for his handling of the bullpen during a Game 3 loss on Monday. As the questions came at him on Tuesday, he said he had no regrets.

"Yeah, you are under a microscope, but if you manage a game not to be second-guessed, then I don't think you are managing the game correctly," Girardi said.

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His last, most serious mistake, in the eyes of the second-guessers, was replacing one righty, David Robertson, with another righty, Alfredo Aceves, after Robertson had gotten the first two outs in the 11th. Aceves gave up a single to Howie Kendrick and then Jeff Mathis' walk-off double.

"Bringing in Ace, if it doesn't work, I know I'm going to be second-guessed, but I believed it was the right move," he said. "We talked about it in the dugout and I believed it was the right move. It didn't work."

Girardi wouldn't give any more specifics about why he liked the matchup with Aceves better than Robertson.

"I did not have the feeling that it was a mistake because of the preparation that we did before the game and the reasoning for using Ace," Girardi said. "The only reason I don't necessarily tell you exactly why I did it is because then you give away a game plan and what you're trying to do to certain hitters. I did think about it. You always think about it. But I still feel that it was the move that we would have made, and it just didn't work out."

One thing to consider is that the Yankees are known throughout baseball for having some of the most exhaustive advance reports in the game when it comes playoff time. They have been known to provide reams of scouting information, more than most teams.