Did the Yankees really get cute in the Wild Card game? Severino got lit up right away and Girardi didn't want to let it get out of hand. Sure, Severino could have recovered and gone 6 innings allowing 3 or 4 runs. But if Girardi leaves Severino in and he gives up more runs and they lose, Girardi gets torched in the media. He knew he had a stud pen and they did exactly what he hoped they would (8 2/3, 5 H, 1 R). I'd also argue that the Sale thing worked for a while since he got 4 scoreless innings. Maybe Farrell just left him in too long (I can't speak for how he looked in his fifth inning since I wasn't watching). The other three, though, I 100% agree with you.