You have to feel bad for Clayton Richard.  The kid went out and gave his team six plus innings of solid starting pitching against the Yankees last night.  He did his job.  The big question this morning is if his manager did his.

In the seventh inning, with a 1-0 lead, a man on second and two outs, Ozzie Guillen left Richard in the game to face the right handed hitting Xavier Nady.  When you are a major league manager, it goes one of two ways.  Make the right call and you are a genius.  Make the wrong one and you are a goat.  Last night, Ozzie was a goat.

Even though Richard had handled Nady all night, it was obvious that the kid was running out of gas.  He had not gotten further than the fifth inning all year at the big league level and most people, not named Ozzie Guillen, figured that Ozzie was going to the mound to congratulate Richard on a fine effort and to being in right hander Mike MacUseless.  But Ozzie, in a move that really is out of character for him, left Richard in the game.

Nady promptly made Ozzie pay for his confidence in Richard by smacking a low, outside changeup back through the box for the game tying single.  Ozzie continued to let Richard try to work out of it, but after the next Yankee hitter, Robinson Cano doubled, Ozzie decided that Richard needed a shower. Nady would eventually score the go ahead (and game winning) run when MacUseless uncorked a wild pitch before getting Pudge Rodriquez to ground out to end the inning.

The game quickly went downhill from there as Scott Linebrink surrendered a two run tater to Johnny Damon and a solo shot to A-Rod in the eighth.  Game, set, match, Yankees.

I suppose the question you have to ask yourself is if Ozzie did right by Richard and the Sox by leaving him in to face Nady.  With the Sox desperately trying to make the playoffs, should Ozzie have managed more like a playoff game where you make the move regardless of how the pitcher feels or your confidence level in him.  Did Ozzie believe that MacUseless could get Nady out?  Or did he take his chances with his kid pitcher, because he looked to his bullpen and recognized the Stealer's Wheel parable: "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you."

Thank goodness the Indians still know how to win.  The magic number is now nine.  So close, and because of Ozzie's bullpen dilemma, so far away.

The White Sox play their final game ever at Yankee Stadium tonight.  Let's give them a going away present that they won't forget.