The Yankees fired Joe Girardi today. Couch it in nicer language if you will, but the fact remains, Joe is out and not of his own choosing.
In the next few days, I’m sure stories will be leaked about friction between him and the front office. Unsympathetic media figures who Girardi failed to charm with his ‘all business’ attitude will cite his sometimes dour presence as a partial reason.
Whatever it was, I think the Yankees are making a big mistake. It’s pretty amazing that Girardi made the playoffs with a team no one expected to go anywhere. Under his tutelage, they won 91 games. He was given some unproven young players who turned well, but injuries took their toll, especially at first base. After Pineda went down, his rotation consisted of a green 23 year old ace, a 37 year old pitching on guts, and a high priced enigma who was either terrific or awful. Despite that, he cobbled together a season where the team wasn’t eliminated in the division until the final weekend of the regular season, and beat a highly favored Indians team in the postseason.
The players respected him, played hard and even when he blundered in Game two of the ALDS, they had his back.
Girardi’s closing email was class all the way. Dusty Baker won his division handily and got similar treatment. If Joe still wants to manage, you can bet the Nats will come knocking. Mets fans will see him frequently in that case and if Callaway doesn’t succeed, they’ll wonder why they didn’t wait for Joe.
