I Am Legend video I have a friend who constantly texts me during Yankees games, frequently to rip on Joe Girardi. For much of April, he would text me after every bullpen move Joe made, criticizing it as the team faltered on the mound. It quieted down for a month, and then picked up again this weekend. Obviously, the texts have been closely tracking bullpen performance rather than decision making. Managers take a lot of blame when a difficult decision does not work out, regardless of whether the move was the right one. For that reason, it makes more sense to look at the bigger picture and overall usage of players to determine how the manager is doing. I would argue that Girardi’s use of his bullpen and bench has been very good, to the point that no one is overworked and many players are maximizing their abilities.
In regard to the bullpen, Joe has been very careful not to overwork any pitchers. No Yankee reliever has pitched more than 40 innings out of the pen thus far. Compare that to Joe Torre’s Dodgers, where Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario are both over 48 IP, despite being on a team that has run away with their division. He has used Phil Coke and Phil Hughes well, keeping them fresh and getting them enough work without overusing them. He has been careful not to overexpose Coke for much of the year, and has done a good job managing Alfredo Aceves’ workload as well.
Outside of the A-Rod snafu, his usage of his bench has been exemplary as well. He has used Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera perfectly, limiting the exposure for both of them and letting them play primarily in roles that they are comfortable with. As a result, Melky is having his best year and Gardner is exceeding expectations. He has also given Johnny Damon sufficient rest to put forth a very good year, and has used Nick Swisher efficiently as well, helping to bring back the Swisher who was a rising star with the A’s. In the infield, his deft touch with Ramiro Pena and Frankie Cervelli put both players in a position to succeed, and he has done a solid job of sticking to a plan for resting Jorge Posada.
I do not want to overstate the impact of a manager. These players have done well based on their talents. However, there is something to be said about a manager putting his players in the best position to succeed, by refraining from overuse and avoiding asking players to do things that are outside of their skill set. In that regard, Girardi has done an credible job thus far.
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6 Responses to Girardi's Management of Assets
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TIQ IQ
You know, I often fail to give Girardi enough credit for a lot of things. This post was an eye-opener for me in that regard. A lot can be said about Swisher’s poor 2008 and a big part of the problem was the relationship he had with Ozzie Guillen. Girardi has coaxed a good season out of him, thus far.
I’m an unabashed fan of Girardi. The fact that he’s always considering keeping his pitchers strong and healthy is one of the reasons why he’s been so good with the bullpen. Torre took the “Joba Rules” as a personal affront to his ego, Girardi has used Hughes carefully without needing to be told to do so. He limited Aceves to 65 pitches to avoid a dead arm period, even though Ace thought he could have gone longer. He’s very good at anticipating problems a week or month in advance and doing what he can to avoid them. That’s good management.
Most managers don’t work that hard (Torre especially) and then wonder why their relievers arms are falling off in August and September.
That’s an excellent point. He has really done a good job with that. For his sake, the Yankees should announce Hughes rules so that the media and fans will get off his back when he pulls Phil after one inning.
Girardi is no genius but you don’t have to be.Right now I’d make him average.Better then some but much worse than the Scosisa types.
Quite a few games this season he sat on his hands in Torre-esque style and waited for double plays to kill his rallies.he hasn’t made anywhere near enough use of Gardner’s speed either.
He appears not to be putting Melancon in the best situations to succeed and build up his confidence either.
I do like his overall handling of the pitching staff better than Torre’s.
I also am and have been, an unabashed fan of Girardi. He gives the credit rather then taking it, when we win…takes the blame when things go wrong. Manages the guys as well as can be done and better then some others.
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