[MaTH716]

Torre was an idiot to bat A-Rod 8th. I can't believe people can honestly suggest that Howard should have been benched. Maybe Manuel could have flipped him and Werth, but to suggest that Howard should have been benched is moronic.
With the exception of Utley, Ruiz and Werth the offense floundered, period. Just like the Yanks a couple of years ago, when nobody hit and A-Rod took the blame for everything. Captain America hit into about 5 dp's but it was all about A-rod futility. I guess that's what Howard is dealing with now. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how many situations Howard was in, that he left men on base. I really don't think it was a ton (I could be wrong, but they averaged leaving about 6 men on base per game).
Also, even if you did bench Howard, who would play at first Greg Dobbs? Come On, it's all crazy talk. It's almost like all the Lidge talk, who else do they have to put in? If you are a Phillies fan, it's just unfortunate that Howard had a tough series. But most of the other guys didn't pick up the slack. The opposite could be said about some of the Yanks picking up Texieria.
But if you really think about it, the Yanks were ripe to be knocked off. Decent starting pitching (Burnett was the only lights out performance). CC and Petitte were good but not over powering. Leaky bullpen before Mo. And a lineup that got nothing offensively from their 3 hitter, plus a group at the bottom that collectively batted aroun .188. But their pitchers made pitches when needed and a couple of guys got key hits when needed.
They were definitely there to be had by a very comparable team.