"eff Francoeur saw the reasoning in intentionally walking Josh Hamilton to get to Vladimir Guerrero.

"You've got to. That's the only way to do it," Francoeur said. "Second time, he made 'em pay."

Guerrero burned manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees in the fifth inning of last night's 6-1, ALCS-clinching Game 6 Texas triumph. With the game tied 1-1, the Rangers had a man on third and two outs and Hamilton coming to the plate. Girardi intentionally walked him for the second time in the game and let Phil Hughes take his shot against Guerrero.

On the second pitch, Guerrero smacked a two-run double to left-center, giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead that they never relinquished.

"That's the smart play," Hughes said. "[Hamilton] is arguably the MVP of this league, and you can't let a guy like that beat you. We put him on. My job isn't to speculate about moves. That's Joe's decision. My job's to get someone out, and I couldn't do it.""