Mark Teixeira gained his reputation, and his big Yankees contract, primarily for his big bat, but the first baseman has shown in these playoffs that his glove is no small factor, either. In Monday's 10th inning, when the Angels failed to score after having runners at the corners with no outs, and the bases loaded with one out, it was Teixeira who made all three defensive plays to allow New York to escape the jam.
"He's more than just a guy in the batter's box," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who had Teixeira in his lineup down the stretch a year ago. "... When he's struggling at the plate, he's one of the players in this league that's not going to take a pitch off defensively. He's going to be in every game because it's two separate parts of what he brings.
"I can't tell you how impressed we were just seeing him up close in the couple months we had him last year, just how hard he works on his defense, how much pride he takes in it, and the difference maker his is in a position where it's probably a little tougher to be a difference maker than if you play shortstop, centerfield, catch, second base."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi hasn't been surprised to see Teixeira's defensive prowess, either.
"He's done this all season long for us," Girardi said. "... He had a play earlier in the season where he dove to his right, threw from his knees to throw to home plate and save a run and save the game for us.
"He's a complete player, whether it's defensive, base running, offensive. Thinking, talking about his game, he's a complete player. And his defense has saved us a number of times this year."
Scrutiny: Girardi's use of his bullpen in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Angels was predictably the topic of much second-guessing Tuesday, given that -- as a reporter noted -- the Yankee manager is "under a microscope built by NASA." And so Girardi was asked a number of questions about his use of Alfredo Aceves, who gave up the game-winning double by Jeff Mathis.
"Yeah, you are under a microscope," said Girardi. "But if you manage a game not to be second-guessed, then I don't think you're managing the game correctly. Bringing in Ace, if it doesn't work, I know I'm going to be second-guessed, but I believe it was the right move. We talked about it in the dugout, and I believed it was the right move. It didn't work."
And, he said, he didn't view the move as a mistake even a day later, "because of the preparation.
"I did not have the feeling it was a mistake because of the preparation that we did before the game and our reasoning for using Ace. And 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 we would have made, and it just didn't work out."
The same guy: One of the reasons Scioscia has become so popular as Angels manager -- beyond the winning part, of course -- is his personality, specifically his sense of humor, which remains firmly in place during the postseason.
During his pregame press conference Tuesday, Scioscia was asked about the intrusive nature of modern media coverage. After saying the presence of cameras didn't alter anything he did, he added, "I will tell you the camera does tend to put a little more weight on you. I know the camera angles can put on 10 pounds. My wife said ... you must have five cameras on you." (When he only received a halfhearted laugh, he added, "You guys don't get that one?")
Earlier in the session, Scioscia was interrupted twice by a reporter's ringing cell phone. There are managers and coaches who would get irritated by this, but Scioscia just joked that the writer was going to have to buy everyone lunch. When he found out the writer was from his hometown of Philadelphia, Scioscia added, "All right, we're doing cheesesteaks then." As the crowd laughed, he added, "You think I'm kidding, but I'm not."