Davidoff: Winning division may not be Yankees' priority

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

In the eerie silence of a losing Yankees clubhouse, a site that has become commonplace over the last eight days, Dave Eiland stood out as a paragon of truth late last night.

Or, at least, of relative truth.

"Maybe," the Yankees pitching coach said, "you have to lose the battle to win the war."

And there, Yankees fans, is your explanation for why Sergio Mitre stood on the mound when your team fell into second place.

A classic duel between two elite pitchers ended the wrong way for the visitors when Mitre surrendered a leadoff, 11th-inning homer to Tampa Bay's Reid Brignac, allowing the Rays to leap a half-game over the Yankees (one in the loss column) in the American League East with a walk-off, 1-0 victory.

Mitre, Chad Gaudin, Boone Logan and Kerry Wood tried to match CC Sabathia's brilliant eight innings, while three Tampa Bay relievers held up David Price's equally sublime, eight-inning effort. The difference being that Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon used his best relievers - Rafael Soriano, Joaquin Benoit and Grant Balfour - while Joe Girardi did not.

"I didn't have everyone available today," a sullen-looking Girardi said after the game. "I used the people who were available. Go from there."

With both clubs virtually assured of playoff spots, Girardi has rejected all notions that the Yankees are thinking about anything besides the division title. Which I guess he has to do. Yet when the Yankees execute a game plan like Monday's, it's hard to take such a message seriously.

Neither Joba Chamberlain nor David Robertson was available, both Girardi and Eiland said. "They've been used a lot lately," Girardi said. "It's something we felt we had to steer away from."

Chamberlain last pitched Friday night in Texas, and he has pitched just four times in September. He warmed up and didn't pitch Saturday night. He said he had nothing specifically bothering him. Said Chamberlain: "It's one of those situations where you have to know your body at this time of year."

Robertson has five September appearances and pitched both Friday and Saturday. "I feel good," he said, yet noted, "Lately, some of my outings haven't been very good."

Mariano Rivera? He was available. However, the brain trust wanted to use him just for a save, thus ensuring a one-inning outing. Of course, the Yankees could've thrown him into a tie game and lifted him after an inning, figuring out a new closer if they picked up a lead later, yet Girardi and Eiland weren't thinking that way.

Nor, Eiland said, were they thinking about the safety net of the wild-card. Then again, however, great thought didn't characterize this Yankees effort. Not Brett Gardner's attempted steal of third base in the 10th, which resulted in him getting picked off by Benoit. Not Curtis Granderson's 11th-inning sacrifice bunt, putting Austin Kearns on second base with one out to set up . . . rookie Colin Curtis.

The Yankees have lost four straight and seven of eight, and neither Gardner (right wrist) nor Nick Swisher (left knee) was healthy enough to start. Their starting rotation beyond Sabathia remains a huge question.

Really, their focus should be on straightening some things out, and if they win the division along the way, cool. If they get the wild card, at least they'll face Minnesota in the first round, rather than Texas and Cliff Lee.

"We've got to bounce back," Girardi said, and that should mean ". . . toward our optimal performance" rather than ". . . into first place." Then again, Girardi is managing like he already knows that.