Before the wild card sudden death game against the Minnesota Twins was about to start, in the home team's locker room at Yankee Stadium, Joe Girardi was giving the players their final pep talk.
"The Twins' selection for their starting pitcher is out, and as we predicted, apart from Ervin Santana, there will be no other choice."
"Remember what we said in the pre-game meeting, Santana's pitching quality has a high probability of declining after the first round of the lineup. They might bring in their number two starter, Jose Berrios, to help Santana eat up some innings, and he naturally struggles against left-handers. Plus, the Twins' bullpen itself is relatively weak... With our strength, as long as we remain steady, winning this game should be no problem."
Girardi paused for a moment, then slowly scanned the players in the locker room with his gaze, and spoke slowly:
