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After last night’s game in which Joe Girardi made a handful of moves that are being questioned around the Yankee blogosphere, I wanted to gauge how Yankees fans feel about Joe’s job performance this season. I’m looking for everybody to chime in with a letter grade, strengths and weaknesses, and a brief explanation. I will follow up with another post sifting through the responses and giving my own opinion this afternoon.
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24 Responses to Chime In On Joe Girardi's Job Performance
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Damn, lost my original comment. Going to have to be briefer now:
Overall: B+
Strengths: ‘Pen management
Weaknesses: Inserting pinch-runners, bunting, trying small-ball tactics with one of the better home-run hitting teams in the league
Despite any periodic complaints I may have, I am pleased with the overall job Joe’s done. The man brought the fanbase a championship in his second season at the helm; we can only complain so much.
That being said, a lot of his tactical moves on offense are head-scratching to say the least and more often than not seem to backfire. If you’re going to insert a pinch-runner, have him steal. If you’re going to give away outs by calling for a bunt, you may as well keep the slower-footed baserunner in there; he’s still still going to make it to 2B on a sacrifice. But more importantly, don’t give away outs via the bunt.
The Yankees have been built on patience and power for more than a decade; they get men on base and — this past week notwithstanding — are generally pretty good at bringing them home without having to rely on small-ball tactics.
This is pretty much exactly what I would say; thanks Larry.
Frankly, I can’t think of someone else I’d want managing this team (non Earl Weaver division)–maybe Joe Maddon?
tom kelly, give him 5mil per
Agree with that completely. Perfectly said.
I agree with this for the most part, particularly the pinch runner thing. I think the bunting thing is a bit overstated. Only 3 teams in the AL have bunted less (and Baltimore has much fewer baserunners with which to bunt), and as MGL has said a few times, from a strategy POV, it makes sense to bunt every so often to keep the defense off balance. He does it too much, but I dont see it as a big issue, as I know some others might.
Honestly I give him a B- at this point he has done a good job of keeping the team afloat through some key injuries and slumps. Though I don’t agree on some of his moves with the bullpen or why he bats Jeter at the top of the lineup still. He has done a pretty decent job over all so far sometimes his moves work sometimes they don’t but as I saw earlier on Twitter had Joe used anyone else in the 9th last night over Mariano and they blew it people would complain that he should have used him . I hope the team starts playing better soon and we can reach the ultimate goal of 28.
I largely agree, but I’d argue that Jeter’s position in the lineup is a decision that will be made well above Joe.
I don’t know any manager who will not make sometimes questionable bullpen moves (from a fan’s perspective), and I imagine a lot of that can come down to scouting reports and who seemed to be throwing well that day, stuff we don’t have access to.
In the end we have to remember this is just his fourth year as a manager, and he has a MOTY and WS on his resume. I’ve seen other supposedly superior manages make bigger (seemingly) bonehead moves in much smaller sample sizes.
IMO the modern manager has three major jobs – keep his team focused on their jobs, manage the bullpen, and handle the media. He does all three very well.
Grade: B
My deeply statistical and in-depth analysis says….
We’re still in first place – or, god forbid, we might be in second! – so he’s doing pretty well, as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t understand the one-inning (or one-batter) limit on set-up pitchers. CHoP is gone. These guys use their arms warming up, then come in for a 9-12-pitch inning (if they’re “on”) and then they’re gone, for the next guy to come in (after warming up) and throw 9-12 pitches. Thus we can get up to 7-9 nine pitchers in a game. The next night it’s the same one-inning-and-out for the same pitchers. Isn’t this much more tiring for the pitchers involved? Is it easier to go one inning (after full warmup) every day than warmup +two innings (20-24 pitches if the pitcher’s on) every other day?
The Yanks won the World Series DESPITE Joe Girardi. Remember those howlingly bad bullpen decisions in the playoffs last year?
The man can’t go to the bathroom without checking his Big Black Book.
Strongly disagree with this. Go back and watch the games. I did. I found two “bad” decisions throughout the playoffs.
i’d say a B. we all know his strong suit is keeping the guys in the pen fresh. his moves in the last week or so have seemed stranger than normal. if he kept his in game management simpler he’d be better. The more toys he has to play with, the more “dangerous” he can be.–but there is no one else i’d want managing the yankees. and I was laying in bed after last night’s fiasco thinking about that very point. Can you imagine what a disaster a guy like showalter would be with all these veterans? Girardi stuck with tex batting 3rd perhaps longer than he should have…and one could definitely say the same about jeter, but the backlash of batting him 8th…well we know how that’d go…hopefully next year…
If a grade C is an absolute average manager, I’d rate Girardi a solid B: above average, but not in the elite category yet.
Strengths: bullpen management, Posada management (keeping a 38-year old catcher healthy), in-game matchups.
Weaknesses: gettig Jeter & A-Rod days off, pinch running, non-CC starters management.
I think Girardi’s done a fine job this year. I’m actually more critical of Cashman: not finding an adequate left side infielder to spell Jeter & A-Rod, poor depth in starting pitchers (how can this best-record team have 2 starters below .500?).
F as he sucks as a manager! I hope the Yankees are smart enough too toss this moron aside!
Why does everyone put teflon over Girardi? This is not the same manager that we thought we were hiring. He was creative and knew how to manufacture runs when he was with the Marlins. He would steal and use the hit and run a lot and force teams into mistakes. Of course some of that needed to be toned down with some of our players. Of course you are not going to run a guy like Posada unless you have Mackey Sasser behind the plate but he totally stopped running and doing hit and runs.
Why he insists on taking some of his best bats out a a close game late and then never lets the runner go is beyond reasoning. He also does not have a feel of when his pitchers need to be removed. There are two relief pitchers that we have that you know with the first batter if they have it or not, Joba and Robertson, and instead of making the move and saying the guy does not have it today, he waits till the game gets out of hand.
He also should be getting all over his catchers when they have guys letting up ropes and bombs on 0-2 pitches. Posada is clueless behind the plate and he needs to ride him constantly about pitch selection and location. Hughes alone has let us &, 0-2 home runs this year. There is no excuse for that.
Getting back to Girardi, if Arod did not have a God like post season last year this clown would have blown the playoffs and this year he will really be exposed because he has no idea how to win close games.
He made one move the other night that cost us at least the first two games of the series and the sad part is he is so stuborn and always thinks he is the smartest guy in the room that he would do it again.
Hughes needed to stay in for at least another inning after throwing 11 pitches the other night and Mariano did not need to come in for two innings in a tie game on the road. That hurt Mariano on Saturday night and he had nothing. In addition, what did Joba do to earn the 8th inning again the other night instead of Wood?
I loved the guy with the Marlins but I have hated him since he came here.
I would have loved to see us hire Showalter and we blew it so perhaps now we can get rid of Cashman, ( “I don’t think that Chapman is much better than Iguwa so we are not going to make an offer.”) and give the GM job to Kevin Towers who would do wonders with a payroll over $33M and give either Mattingly or Tony Pena a shot with this team.
I have had enough of both Girardi and Cashman and we are going to love the division by a game because of this weekend and losing home field advantage when CC dominates at home is going to kill us this year.
I agree whole heartedly …girardi was a totally different manager with florida..nobody wanted him to come to the yanks more than me,..he melts in the light of the big stage..you are so on point about MO and hughes the other night…it cost us big time and a ripple effect from then on into the rays series..nobody was available today..showalter made him look silly the other night.. So Fred A , on this opinion pool we are very much in the minority. for me it is crystal clear..I hope he jumps the way torre did..
Yeah, he melted so much in the lights of the big stage that he won a World Series.
in spite of him the yanks won…..arod cc matsui and mo..stepped up big..his first year was a disaster..and if you recall last year, he would have been gone if the yanks did not win it all. this week alone should tell you what his metal is..i had said i hope this guy does not panic once sept. starts…we needed to be 5 games going in, he would be a different guy..but it was close, so his brain locks up..showalter out managed him…he left his bench short and the pen…should have had a big call up sept. 1…he ran cano into the ground. he won’t give the kid two days off back to back..he likes #s look at his each month all drop offs.. look at the kids swing not fresh… we can keep going.no body is perfect and the greatest make bad moves at times..we are not in the club house to actually see whats going on..granted..hughes should have been in the pen a month ago, he was another worn out..vasquez should have never come back out once in the pen ,he did great job.
hey fred ,sasser must have been behind the plate..a posada steal attempt.. just amazing this girardi
I’ll give him an A for talent, a C for looks, and hope to God there is no bikini competition.
Honestly i didnt have time to read most of these post this morning but i just want to say tho i think girardi does make some absurd moves and decisions the yankees still hold the best record in baseball. a three game sweep by texas sucks yes but it also the first time this year yankees have been swept away from home. a combination of cj wilson, tommy hunter, and cliff lee will do that to you.
i still feel the biggest bust move was putting mo back in the second game. only because to my memory a day after mariano pitched 2 innings and tried to pitch the next day, not so good. unless were talking about the playoffs.
now do any of the girardi A team have an explanation why he sends posada on a steal attempt ? finally get a guy on with a walk ,maybe the kids is a little tired ,kearns is taken good hacks at his fastball, looks like maybe the pressure is building on price…no he steals with posada..incredible..surprise attack..nit wit..maybe he thiught posada was catching,
now in the eighth inning, posada leadoff guy on, what happened , no pinch runner ,first mistake ,we have two more catchers sitting around playing gin rummy , now bunt ? no of coarse not, we have twinkle toes posada on first.. double play..ahh granderson can’t get a hit off this guy..wait base hit.. stay tuned now it’s a guy walking around flexing a wounded knee..
Gaudin and mitre in extra’s ? what are the odds of winning with those two guys on the bump…david robertson ? or he is burnt out also/ this guy is brutal, mitre must have some real good photo’s of girardi from marlin days.. my sept. rating for this guy is straight D’s.. where is the other lefty we need in the pen..mitre…..i still don.t get it….mitre….. another night up…can’t even watch espn…