With the Yankees headed for the postseason, Tim Smith (Daily News) wonders if the organization will consider a contract extension for Yankee skipper, Joe Girardi. Girardi is currently in the second year of a 3-year deal. If the Yankees do not offer him an extension by the end of next season, then he will, indeed, be a free agent. When asked about an extension, Brian Cashman didn’t necessarily rule out coming to an agreement over the winter.
“I can’t tell you we have a policy either way,” Cashman said. “We’ll talk about that at the proper time. Right now, our eye is on getting to the postseason and winning the American League East.”
Smith also questioned Girardi about his contract situation, and was met with, “”I’ve never really worried too much about contracts, because I believe the man upstairs is in charge.” By the “man upstairs,” I’m not sure if he’s referring to God or to Hal Steinbrenner—the two are often conflated—however, whatever the case may be, Girardi’s contract will soon become a significant issue for the Yankees after the season is fully over.
The extension could be granted based on performance—such is the case in New York—and if Girardi and his boys win the World Series, I could see the Yankees tendering him a new contract. Then again, if he fails to reach the World Series after failing to reach the postseason in the first year of his contract, I do think that the Yankees will allow him to become a free agent in 2010, no matter what the team does next season.
What do you think? Should Girardi be granted an extension if the Yankees win the World Series this year? Should he be cast aside if they don’t win it all? In my opinion, I’d like to see the Yankees let Girardi go once his contract has expired. He has done a good job managing the bullpen and his rotation, yet his lineup decisions are often heavy handed and his in-game decisions boggle the mind, at times (I guess that’s the case with all managers, though). Of course, such a decision would also be dependent upon who else is available.
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23 Responses to Should Girardi be granted an extension?
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“I’d like to see the Yankees let Girardi go once his contract has expired. He has done a good job managing the bullpen and his rotation, yet his lineup decisions are often heavy handed and his in-game decisions boggle the mind, at times (I guess that’s the case with all managers, though).”
I have to strongly disagree. Just because we disagree with a decision does not mean it is wrong- sometimes there is more than one right decision. I have rarely noticed indefensible decisions. For example, the other night with Abreu and Aceves. People were going nuts, but wanting to see Aceves get out of his own jam coupled with the fact that Mrte was significantly more likely to walk a hitter with the bases loaded made that a perfectly defensible decision.
I think one issue is that fans view each game on a micro level, while the manager always needs to cognizant of the macro level. Honestly, I think his management of the lineup has been brilliant, and it was something that he did not do very well last season. Growth from a young manager is exactly what you want to see. He has been fairly careful with his pitchers, with the end result being that the Yankees have had one significant pitching injury all season. He has done a nice job keeping guys like Damon and Matsui fresh, and outside of that early season snafu, done a nice job with A-Rod as well. He has coaxed good seasons from his CF platoon, and has really relaxed in the clubhouse. I really do not think we should search for a new manager when we have one who manages his roster and bullpen well, just because we think he occasionally sticks with a pitcher too long or bunts a little too often. He has done a very good job, and I would extend him.
There are several factors which have made me question Girardi’s managing ability:
1. Choosing Nady over Swisher at the beginning of the season – Based on track records, Nick Swisher was the most viable candidate for RF. Nady had a career year last season and Girardi went with one career year rather than a fairly consistent history. Of course, everything worked out and Nady was probably on a short leash with Nick available, however, picking Nady over Swisher always seemed like the wrong decision given Swisher’s defense and Nady’s defense, their ability to get on base, etc. It just never made much sense when you compared both players.
2. Joba Chamberlain – While Joba deserves a tremendous amount of the blame for his inconsistent year, I think you have to look at Girardi, too. The Joba Rules have essentially been a failure and now the Yankees find themselves in an awkward position, as they are forced to choose between Gaudin and Joba for the first postseason series. A better plan should have been constructed and Girardi should have been active in creating that plan.
3. Lineup decisions – Girardi still makes strange lineup decisions, such as sitting Hideki Matsui against lefties when he has killed them all season. It’s similar to when he sat Johnny Damon last season in the middle of a hitting streak so that Justin Christian could face a lefty, instead. Sometimes, seeing a lefty and going with a righty or seeing a righty and going with a lefty isn’t always the best idea. There’s a grey area in between that needs to be taken into account.
4. Cody Ransom – That Cody Ransom played in 79 games is absurd. He had 15 hits! Why did Girardi stay with him when he had absolutely no defensive or offensive value? It made no sense at all.
5. Phil Hughes in the bullpen – I understand that Phil Hughes has been a phenom as a reliever. He has obviously been successful there. However, in my opinion, Girardi should have been able to figure out an 8th inning setup man without having to convert one of our best options for the starting rotation. The reason we’re seeing so much Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, etc., is because of the Hughes decision. It may also influence his role next season and he hasn’t built up a lot of innings this year. Just as Joba helped when he was made a reliever in 2007, in the end, it wasn’t the best decision for his development. Rather, it was the best move for the team at that time.
6. In-game decisions – I thought the Bobby Abreu/Alfredo Aceves move was clearly the wrong decision. Aceves had nothing left after being held out of games for more than a week. That he was out of games for over a week is a bad decision in itself.
These are some of the more general areas where I think Girardi has made some significant mistakes. Some of these issues—Nady and Swisher, for example—have resolved themselves, however, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be taken into account when deciding upon Girardi’s future with the team. If anything, I think the Yankees should at least wait until the end of 2010, let his contract expire, and then resign him if they want him back, rather than extend him this winter.
1. Nady was coming off a great year, Swisher his worst, and Girardi said both would see significant time. Girardi has shown a willingness to incorporate players who perform well, and Swisher would have been no exception.
2. There is no way you can put the Joba rules on Girardi. Firstly, I dont think they have been such a failure- the Yankees made it pretty clear this was how he would be handled, and you had no issue with them until he started performing poorly. Also, most of that is on Cash.
3. He needs to rest Matsui, so he plans it for days against lefties. Matsui for his career hits righties better. He isn’t sitting him because of the lefty, he is resting him and using the days against lefties to do that. Makes sense to me.
4. No argument here.
5. This was an organizational decision. I also think it has turned out very well- he has been more valuable as a reliver than he would have been as a starter. Now, we will see what happens next year, but I don’t have a huge issue with it, and it certainly is more on the GM than the manager.
6. This is the least important part of his job, and I think for the most part he has done a good job. You thought the Abreu move was wrong, but hey, I thought it was right. These things are generally debatable, and are certainly not fireable offenses.
The team is 40 games over .500, no one has been abused or overused, and I think he has gotten the most out of most of his pieces. He is a good, young manager who has shown a willingness to learn. I would hold onto him.
1. For all we know, Nady may have played nearly everyday with Swisher serving as an alternate option from time to time. Swisher didn’t perform well last year with sporadic playing time, so I don’t think we would have seen an effective Nick Swisher under Girardi’s plan (at least not as effective as he has been in ’09).
2. I have no issue with effective, strict Joba rules. The Yankees changed the rules as they went along, though. That can’t happen and it’s unfair to Joba. One moment, Girardi was saying that Joba would get extra rest in between starts. The next, he was saying Joba would pitch on regular rest and that they would build up his innings. It was a strange plan and, I’m assuming it’s one that Girardi certainly had a lot of influence on.
3. I can understand resting Matsui. He needs it, but do you rest him in a big game against the Angels? I don’t think you do. Not with an off-day approaching. Not when Matsui had an off-day just 3 days earlier. It seems excessive.
4. Ha. Cody Ransom.
5. I think Hughes has been more valuable as a reliever than he would have been as a starter, but this is still detrimental, I think, for his development. The organization allowed this to occur because Girardi didn’t find a suitable 8th inning guy. Then he showed no desire to remove Hughes from the role. Hughes probably could have given us better starts than Sergio Mitre.
6. It really is subjective, for the most part. I don’t think he should be fired, instead, they should let his contract run its course and look at all of their options. If there’s nothing better out there, then bring him back. But I don’t think he warrants an extension at this point in time.
I’m interested to see how he does next year.
1. Girardi never said that Nady playing every day was his plan. He very clearly said both would see significant time, which is why I didn’t get worked up at the time. If Nady had played every day, it would have been because he was playing well.
2. They changed the plan once because he didnt react well. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
3. The Angels game was not a big game. If it was, he would have played. Also, he had played 7 straight and needed a day, especially with Boston coming up. It made perfect sense.
5. Girardi found an 8th inning guy, Bruney, and he got hurt. Yesterday’s game showed us the options without Hughes- it isn’t so simple to just find somebody.
As with everything in life rewards should be earned. Girardi was given quite a bit to play with this offseason. I would say 1st round loss he is fired. 2nd round maybe and pennant or world series bring him back. He has done a great job with bullpen I will say that but in the end you have to earn your extensions. Something Joe Torre should have remebered when he quit.
Really? If every first round exit gets a manager fired, the Yankees will run through a thousand managers. He needs to be judged on the body of the whole season, not just those 5 games in October.
I like Girardi as the manager and there is no way he should be let go… Yet… HE is a great players manager and he has a way about him that the players love, he is also really good at making sure everyone plays, everyone so I think the argument that Swisher wouldn’t have played had Nady not been injured is BS, Even Hinske plays regular time and he isn’t as good as anyone in the outfield for us.
I couldn’t disagree with you more on this Chris, but that’s all right. In fact I think Girardi gets an extension at the end of the year, regardless of how the postseason goes. He and Cashman seem to work well together and Girardi has done a nice job IMO.
All good, O’Neill. I remember the first blog post I wrote was about how the Yankees should sign Joe Girardi to manage. Now, I’m writing about letting him go and looking elsewhere for a manager. Yankee fans—we are truly strange creatures.
Yep as you said its all good. I don’t agree with you but at least you bothered to list examples of why you felt that way and how you came to that conclusion. Plus it allowed me to read that enjoyable debate you had with Moshe above, lol.
Curious tho, who do you like to replace Girardi? I know its still 2 yrs away but I can’t think of any hot young manager I’d want more. Managers are tough to predict. I was intrigued by Trey Hillman two years ago and he’s been a disaster in KC.
I was also very intrigued by Trey Hillman and he has failed in KC, although I think their GM has to be held accountable, too (I have soured on Hillman, though). I wouldn’t mind seeing Tony Pena get a shot, actually. Beyond that, I’m not really sure. I think there are a lot of options out there, unturned stones if you will, that have yet to be explored.
I think you’re way off base, Chris. I think Joe G has been excellent in his handling and development of the bullpen, in the fact that the locker room is relaxed and the players all seem to get along. Some of that is due to Burnett, CC, Swisher, but it’s also the manager’s role to set the tone.
And unlike Torre, I don’t think he plays favorites.
Now, I agree with you about him initially choosing Nady over Swish and playing Ransom too much, but in the latter case, what choice did he have? Blame Cash for that.
No, he isn’t perfect. But honestly, what skipper would you rather have? Maybe LaRussa, but he’s a very old man, for one thing. I like the idea of having a young, hungry manager — one who’s made missteps but overall handled himself and his club very well in NY — and creating a stable environment by letting him manage the team for many, many years to come. At some point, it’ll be time to call it quits, but not yet.
Hey Samson, thanks for the input. Hmm, I don’t think I’d want LaRussa. That’s the thing, I’m not really sure who would serve as a replacement if he were let go.
To Girardi’s credit, he has evolved this year, changing his personality a bit so that it’s more conducive for a veteran team, and he has done a good job with the pitching. And, as you said before, maybe Cashman is to blame for some of the poor decisions made early on Girardi. However, if it goes both ways, maybe Cashman is the one that should be credited for the pitching success we’ve seen this season. I don’t know, sometimes it’s hard to discern what the manager has done and what the GM has done.
I don’t think Girardi has done a terrible or even a bad job—if that was the case, Boston would be 6 games up instead—I just think he hasn’t really impressed given the tools at his disposal.
Which managers do impress you? In Boston, Francona’s bullpen decisions get ripped daily. In Atlanata, people think Cox has lost his touch, and many people hate LaRussa’s overmanagement. He has done a good job on the broad level, and you can nitpick on the micro-level with every manager.
I think Francona is a great manager. When you consider that he had Nick Green and now Alex Gonzalez as regular players, he’s done a great job (especially with a declining David Ortiz, too). I’ve always been impressed with him. Cox, LaRussa—I don’t find them very appealing or think that they’re good managers. I think he has done a good job on a broad level, but I also think some of his mistakes are significant enough to make me wonder about giving him an extension prior to contract expiring.
And my point is that if you watched Francona daily, you would have those some issues. I know, I live here and torture myself with WEEI. His bullpen usage gets destroyed by fans regularly, his lineup construction is often ripped, as well as his loyalty to “his guys.”
Sounds like that’s become more prevalent now. When I was in MA from 04-07, Francona was seen as infallible. It’s true that every manager receives his fair share of criticism, and I’m sure I would criticize Terry if he were the Yankees’ manager. But hey, Joe is that guy right now and I’m letting him have it, ha. :)
That is the truth but Girardi is a fine manager and the players love him and play hard for him, couple that with the fact that he does use the bull pen very well and manages to work all his bench players into the mix he should stay!
you must have been in a different Boston then I knew of in 04-07. Even after their ’04 world series most Boston fans thought Francona and the Sox just got lucky.
In ’07 the sox fanbase regularly referred to francona as a boob who did not know what he was doing, they sarcastically referred to Theo as the “boy genius” and Josh Beckett’s name was “buckethead”. They were so afraid to face the Yankees in the ALCS I think they were happier when the Yanks lost to Detroit then when they won the series.
After they won the series everything changed: Theo and Francona could do no wrong and Beckett is worshipped. Like fans everywhere they are quite fickle and predictive.
If Girardi wins the series he will receive accolades just like Torre did after he won the series and Francona, etc.
5. Just as Joba helped when he was made a reliever in 2007, in the end, it wasn’t the best decision for his development. Rather, it was the best move for the team at that time.
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Disagree heartily, I think this was a great move for Phil. He learned that his stuff works in the Big Show and gained tremendous confidence. He now knows he can do the job in the AL East.
6. In-game decisions – I thought the Bobby Abreu/Alfredo Aceves move was clearly the wrong decision. Aceves had nothing left after being held out of games for more than a week. That he was out of games for over a week is a bad decision in itself.
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This was a game we didn’t need to have in the win column, he brought in the lefty to see how he would do and see if he can be depended on (I think). The same with IPK in the 9th.
Just my thoughts but, I also think Joe should get a new contract.
That’s a good point on Hughes, OR (about proving to himself that he can get outs up in the bigs). I wonder, though, if he’ll be effected by this year next season and the season after that. Teams are so guarded with their young pitchers, and Hughes will barely surpass 100 innings this year. He’ll likely be on a shortened leash next season and possibly in 2011, as well. It becomes a slippery slope in terms of pros and cons.
Putting Hughes in the pen was the right move, calling up Joba to go into the pen was a terrible move!
Chamberlain’s development was completely halted as a starter in 2007, Hughes is a completely different person and completely different set of scenarios. Hughes has been in the minors for a long time and chose the bull pen over going back, Joba should have never been called up because he wasn’t ready to be a starter and he hadn’t developed his mechanics or secondary pitches enough to be successful and because of that he has had to learn at the major league level on a win now team in the AL East ever since and it has really hurt him.