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The man criticized by some for making too many moves and by others for not making enough, made the boldest managerial move in Yankee history last night.

Because Joe Girardi had the onions to pinch hit Raul Ibanez for Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning of Game 3 in the ALDS against the Orioles, the Yankees are nine innings away from advancing to the ALCS.

The left-handed hitting Ibanez not only homered off gas-throwing Jim Johnson to tie score in the ninth, he repeated the heroic act three innings later against lefty Brian Matusz and lifted the Yankees to a pulsating 3-2, 12-inning victory that sent the sold-out crowd of 50,497 into a frenzy.

Incredible feat for Ibanez. My take away: I watched the post-game interview with him, seems like a great guy to have on your roster. Last night only solidified that. With Hughes going tonight, one cannot overstate how important that game was last night.