The Fate of Joe Girardi

Joe Girardi started on the wrong foot from the very first moment he was named manager of the New York Yankees. He came in after the reign of Joe Torre that saw: 4 World Series, 6 pennants, 10 American League East titles, and 12 straight playoff berths. This was a manager who, despite a few malcontents, was beloved and one of the great managers of all time. This was the manager that Joe Girardi had to replace.

To make matters more difficult for Girardi he had to beat out a beloved Yankee to become manager. Don Mattingly was also interviewed to become manager of the Yankees. Mattingly was the face of the Yankees in the 1980s and first part of the 1990s and was beloved by every Yankee fan who watched him play. So not only did Girardi have
to replace a legend, he had to beat out one as well.

Girardi did have a Yankee pedigree. He was a part of three World Series winners and hit a key triple in Game Six that clinched the 1996 World Series. So he was well liked by Yankee fans. But he was not beloved. So although he may very well turn out to be the best man for the job, he has a lot to prove to show he was worth both Torre and Mattingly.

As the entire world knows, he did not wow anybody in his first year. Not only did the Red Sox beat the Yankees, so did the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993. This was completely unacceptable to true Yankee fans, who understand
that the Yankees are not only the winningest franchise but where the World Series belongs. It is more than a sense of entitlement; it is our right as Yankee fans.

So you will see sentiments like those of my father, which you saw in the first post, that Joe Girardi is a terrible manager who must be fired. But these sentiments are premature. It is true that Girardi had a rough year and made some bizarre decisions. For example, he benched Johnny Damon for a game against the Blue Jays in
August when he was the best hitter on the team and the Yankees needed every win. Or the time he let Melky Cabrera make the last out against the Orioles with Derek Jeter was sitting on the bench.

But Girardi did a magnificent job with the bullpen, actually using everybody and making it effective with injuries and average arms. The injury bug also ravaged the Yankee rotation, destroying any hope of a championship when Wang pulled up lame in Houston. Also, you will hear
a lot of talk from reporters that he was not truthful with them. That is a bunch of nonsense. In the end, if the Yankees had won last year, nobody would have even mentioned Girardis attitude toward media.

Girardi does have a lot of work to do before he can ever be considered a success; most notably bringing home ten World Series wins. But he has the manpower and the intelligence to make the Yankees a winner. If the Yankees struggle for most of the year, like last year, then perhaps a new manager will be needed. But right now it Girardi can
still bring the Yankees back on top where they belong.

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