It’s May, the Yanks have dipped a game below .500, have slipped 3.5 games behind Boston, and crotchety mainstream sportswriters’ thoughts turn to firing managers. Is it time for Joe to go? Is it his fault that the Yanks are slightly underperforming to this point? Let’s face facts: the Yankees are only slightly underachieving thus far. With no A-Rod, no Nady, and a beastly Wang early on, you probably only expect to be maybe 15-12 instead of 13-14. That’s only two games difference. As galling as it is to lose all those early games to the Red Sox, the Yanks are not in awful shape at this point. Even so, let’s look at the main problems with this team to this point to see if Girardi is actually the underlying issue:
- A-Rod injury & late diagnoses. A-Rod’s injury happened LAST season, yet the Yankees brass and medical staff inexplicably waited until this Spring to have him fix it. A-Rod is the most expensive property in the sport, the Yankees have more money than anyone else and local access to the best doctors in the world, yet this happens – completely asinine. FAULT: Cashman for not working well with his medical staff or not hiring the best doctors.
- Wang injury: Repeat much of what was said for #1, but also add pitching coach, Dave Eiland, into the mix. Eiland should be closely monitoring Wang coming off the injury to see if he’s actually ready to pitch. That it took three of the worst consecutive pitching outings in baseball history to figure out there was something wrong is an absolute travesty. FAULT: Eiland and Cashman
- Bruney and Nady injuries: No fault – freak injuries. If you have the pathological need to assign blame – it’s on Cash for trading for Nady with his history of nagging injuries. FAULT: no fault
- The Bullpen: The Yankee relievers seem to be passing the goat horns around at random, with one guy always allowing the game to be blown wide open (in a bad way). There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why they’ve been so bad, and it’s never the same guy twice in a row. The Yanks are 12th out of the 14 A.L. teams in bullpen ERA – unacceptable, especially because there are some very good arms out there. FAULT: Joe has to take the heat for this one. Though he was superb at handling his pen last year, whatever he’s doing this season isn’t working. Though pens are difficult to manage, and there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to what’s currently going on, ultimately it falls on the manager to figure out who is going to be successful in each situation.
- Scoring in bunches. The Pinstripers will blow out a team with 10 runs one night while going softly into that good night the next. It’s a pattern that has dogged them for several years, now. FAULT: tough to say. Maybe Cash picks up too many boom or bust type guys, or he’s allowed the team to age and there’s not enough athleticism and little ball type players. The length of the lineup has surely taken a hit without A-Rod and that might have a lot to do with it. A Melky (despite his hot streak), Molina, Pena bottom of the order doesn’t scare anyone. A longer lineup should alleviate some of the inconsistency.
Conclusion: Den of Lions release I just don’t see much specific fault with Girardi, here. He rallied the team the other night with a fiery argument and has pushed the right buttons with Melky and Swisher. Ultimately, though, it all falls on his shoulders. If this team wins less than 90 games this year, he has to go, but I don’t see any reason that his job should be threatened in May.
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19 Responses to Fire Girardi?
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TIQ IQ
Not a lot to argue about except number 4.
Joe can only call on a player based on his last outing, it’s up to the player to do the job expected of him. As you stated; It is a different guy every time! Melancon was going good, Joe brought him into the game and Pow…he gives it up. Mo comes in to save a game and pow…he gives it up. It goes on and on…bad luck, pitch selection or just very good execution by the hitters…maybe a bit of all the above.
I don’t see Fault being given to anyone other then the pitchers themselves.
Have to disagree. I think one of the biggest responsibilities for a manager is handling his bullpen. Tony LaRussa has made a living out of knowing exactly when and how to use his guys out there. A top manager has a feel for knowing when a guy has it and when he doesn’t.
I think Joe has done a fine job with the bullpen. I have quibbled with his choice or use of a reliever 3 or 4 times all season, which is insanely low considering how many changes they have made. He just isnt getting th necessary performances.
From someone who lived through 1978, not to mention a lot of early season disasters followed by late season, division winning surges this is nothing.
I do think Cashman could and should have done a better job with the bench, but that could be said about a lot of years.
Joe seems to use six relievers every night. One of them is bound to be flat and get clobbered. Can we get a three-inning guy somewhere?
And a long man can lose it coming out of the bullpen or between innings.
You’ve provided a very simple answer. Joe Girardi graduated Northwestern with a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering. If it was really THAT simple, don’t you think he would have done it already? Do you think he likes losing games?
So how does your attitude change the FACT that Joe uses six guys every night and one of them gets clobbered? No, Ahole, I don’t think he likes losing.
Oh, btw, the bullpen looks like a bunch of Industrial Engineers, Joe’s education is serving him well.
It seems like Joe has so quickly lost trust in Melanson & Robertson before they had a chance to pitch and get into a rhythm. He has used them so erratically it is not fair to judge them based on how he has used them. They have the talent and they need to feel the manager has confidence in them. He has given the others so much more rope to hang themselves. I think these to are this years future for the Yankees.
I do think they will be part of the solution to now a woeful bullpen. And it is still really early and as the starters get into their groove this ought to have a domino effect.
Its not so much lost trust as it is open auditions. Anyone who wants more work will get it if they pitch well.
Don’t forget, trust is something you EARN. Nobody in the bullpen has earned that to this point.
Anyone who wants to argue that Girardi will be fired must first explain why Brian Cashman will fire him. Cashman runs the Baseball Ops, Hal runs the business side and Hank . . . . . who the fuck knows what Hank does, if anything.
Cashman hired Girardi for a reason, there isn’t any of the organizational momentum to remove him like there was with Torre. Cashman isn’t in any trouble himself, so he wont do it to save his own job.
Sorry, it just doesn’t add up.
I’ll buy that reasoning.
I just think there have been so many missing players (2008/09), we haven’t seen the whole team together yet.
how bout fire dave eiland and get rid of cashman
Because neither one of them is on the 40 man, they can only put the best guys they have, out there…they can’t play for them too. The bench is weak…so it is with other teams.
There are some of the best players in the game on this team…is it Cashs or Joes fault they are underachieving, again?
The year has just begun, lets wait a few weeks for the others to come back.
A line-up of Jeter, Johnny, Tex, A-Rod, Matsui, Posada, Swish, Cano, Melky looks very good to me.
i have been saying this for years and will say it again. if they were smart they would go after david cone or mussina as a pitching coach. and please go out and try to get paul oneil is a hitting /bench coach. what does everyone think about that
ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY…LOSE FIVE TO THE SOX BY MAY 10TH. I SAT THROUGH TWO NIGHTS OF RAIN THIS WEEK WATCHING A HAPPLESS GIRARDI FAIL WITH LEADERSHIP AND PEP. WHEN THEY PASSED OVER A MATTINGLY TO GET TO A GIRARDI…YOU KNOW IT WAS FLAWED FROM THE START.
TUESDAY NIGHT…FANS IN THE BRONX YELLING..”JOE…JOE.”…..They weren’t yelling for Joe G. HOW MANY GAMES HAVE YOU GUYS SET THROUGH AFTER PAYING FOR THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR SEATS. MARTIN WAS
HIRED AND FIRED FIVE TIMES FOR LESS THAT THIS YEAR HAS STARTED.
BRING BACK THE SENILE OLD MAN….AT LEAST HE WON.
Ralph B
No reason to shout. That’s the kind of leadership that destroys teams. I’m pretty sure the Yankees won more games that any team in the 80′s a surprise when I heard that. Maybe the constant changes of leadership had something to do with them not winning anything.
fire joe now his decisions are terrible last night down 2-0 in ninth he lets any comback slip away with his choice of pitchers. tonight we could have have had texeria bunted to have runners at second and third one out and rodriquez and cano up He then let burnett go to long and then let the game get out of hand with his dumb choice of pitchers in the 9th monday night he pitched Boone Logan against Josh Hamilton and he doubled tonight he pulled a pitcher to put boone logan in against josh hamilton and he homered. Hire Don Mattingly get rid of cashman and girardi Better sign Josh Hamilton and Cliff Lee this off season
1. Even when struggling Tex is one of our best 3 hitters and at no point should he ever bunt.
2. Logan is the only lefty in the pen and his only job in this series is to get out Hamilton if he doesn’t do it that’s on his execution not the manager.
3. Joe doesn’t need to be fired because he is basically a free agent at the end of the year which as a “Yankee fan” you should know.
4.Josh Hamilton isn’t a free agent for like 2 or 3 more years.
5. I’d rather have Joe G over just about anyone else available and while I wouldn’t mind Tony Pena being given the job if Joe left I’m not about to userp a World Series winning manager for his bench coach a year removed from his WS win.