SportsRadioInterviews.com posted the skinny from Joe Girardi’s interview with Mike Francesca on WFAN today. Couple of intriguing thoughts swirling around in the manager’s well-bic’d noggin approaching game time - he’d be willing to throw Mariano for 45 pitches and isn’t ruling out bringing him in in the seventh inning.

From Sports Radio Interviews, on Mariano coming in the 7th inning:

“Well yeah you are going to think about that. I mean you think about if you can get him to throw one pitch per batter we could start him too.

Mariano threw 39 pitches and got two innings worth of outs in Game 2, but as Tom Verducci pointed out on SI.com, that was a rare feat:

It was the most pitches he has thrown in a game in two years. Of the 74 times Rivera has pitched in the postseason since he became a closer, he has thrown more than 39 pitches only two times, and both were in potential clinchers: the epic 48-pitch outing in 2003 ALCS Game 7, and the 40 pitches in the Yankees’ ill-fated 2004 ALCS Game 4.

Frankly, for once, I’d like to see it come down to who’s coming up - like say, Utley, Howard, Werth in the top of the seventh? For example, Purist Bleed Pinstripes posted an interesting analysis on Facebook of why Mariano, the best reliever on the team, should have been brought in to face Hunter, Guerrero and Morales in Game 5 of the ALCS. And as an aside, Mo went 2+ in that 13-inning affair that was Game 2 of the ALCS. How great if Chase Utley slithers out of the dugout to face Rivera tonight prior to the beer being shut down? (You then see veins start to exponentially appear on Girardi’s well bic’d temples with every foul ball.)

Only a few hours till we’ll know which way this goes. Personally, I’m just trying to get the word out on this so that whatever he does we can hopefully second guess the guy tomorrow. Enjoy the game, keep it going Phillies!