Another Crazy Day In Yankeeland
Say this for the Yankees, they might not be playing, but they are certainly making news. Fresh off the A-Rod debacle, the Yankees have apparently offered the managerial job to Joe Girardi.
These are not George's Yankees anymore, George would have given the job to Mattingly in a second. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it is a notable one.
And, what can we expect from Girardi? We know he will work hard, but his usage of young pitchers makes me pause. Let's look at the 2006 Marlins staff.
Dontrelle Willis was the ace. He was 25 and his first six starts of the year by pitch count were: 107, 111, 113, 106, 92, 120. Of his 34 starts, only five were less than 100 pitches and at one point he made seven-straight starts of more than 115 pitches. To be fair to Girardi, he never let him go past 125 pitches, but it was a lot.
And it wasn't just Willis. Jason Johnson didn't become a starter until May and once he was he got used. He was 41st overall in baseball at an average of 99.297, just ahead of Andy Pettite. Anibal Sanchez wasn't far behind (48th/98.8235) just ahead of Randy Johnson.
None of this means it isn't correctable. Just as the "Joba Rules" were put in place this year, Cashman can come up with some Kennedy and Phil rules to protect them. I hope he does and if so, I think this will be a pretty good choice. Joe Torre always talked about how great a manager Girardi would be and in his one year of work, he was very, very good.
The sad part of all of this is Don Mattingly. What happens with him now? I am afraid he might take this rejection personally. He clearly wanted the job and he didn't get it. Reports say he has turned down an offer to coach and I would expect him to show up as a coach in LA if Joe Torre really does head there to manage. But, the big question is next season when they close Yankee Stadium, will Mattingly choose to be a part of that? It would be awful if he didn't and I hope the Yankees do everything they can to make sure he is there.
I was originally going with an A-Rod post today, but that will wait for tomorrow. If you haven't read it, check out Buster Olney's take on ESPN or Mike Vaccaro's in the Post. Better yet, take a listen to Peter Gammons on ESPN Radio. (I can't link to it and you need to be an insider to get it, but it is worth a little digging to find.) I can't recall ever hearing Gammons come down on a player like that. Cynics will say it's his Red Sox bias showing through, but I think he is genuinely upset.
Comments
Peter, Giardi certainly can be reeled in from a pitch count standpoint.
Your thoughts on Giardi's firey approach. Let's not forget why he got canned in Florida. Is that going to be an issue with the brothers Steinbrenner? I mean this could be Billy Martin vs. George all over again, just a different cast.
I think Don is a goner. He was 2nd choice (or lower) and he won't want to stick around with that hanging over his head.
Lastly, liberation from ARod will make your viewing pleasure that much greater next season. It will make for less of a circus atmosphere, but will allow for more baseball talk, not drama talk. Enjoy it.
Posted by: Andy | October 29, 2007 03:10 PM |
Girardi will be in an entirely different situation in New York and will likely change his approach with pitchers. He'll baby them more than he did in Florida.
I suppose the Yankees felt that Mattingly would be too much like Torre in his approach and that they had to shake things up a bit with Girardi. Maybe this is also a sign that they are moving away from the veterans. That means Abreu and Pettite may be gone. Hopefully, Rivera and Posada stay.
All of this is a mistake. They should sign all of their vets and make another run with a younger staff of Wang-Pettite-Hughes-Kennedy-Mussina. And Joba is in the bullpen where he belongs. Move Damon or Matsui to first base. The team is quite good even without A-Rod and tearing it apart won't help.
Posted by: Corey | October 29, 2007 03:49 PM |
Andy
I think Girardi'a approach will be a good one. I am not sure how closely Hank (and I think it mostly is Hank) mirrors his Dad, but he picked Girardi. We won't know until we see them in a tough spot and see what happens.
I think the Florida thing was a mess from the start and Girardi got in a fight with the owner because the owner was dressing down the umpire from behind the dugout. Loria is a clown, we just need to see what Hank Steinbrenner is.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
October 29, 2007 04:01 PM
|
Peter - Alex is probably the most talented player in the history of the game - or certainly in the top 5 or so, but talent doesn't insure appropriate behavior or good timing. Think Ty Cobb or Barry Bonds.
It's funny, OK, I'll change that word to ironic that Boras just stuck it to the Tampa Group as vigorously as the Tampa Group just finished sticking it to Joe Torre. Goes around comes around?
Arrogant, self-centered, crass - pick a word, any word. Make one up of your own. I'll stick with ugly as my word to describe the last few weeks with our team.
Girardi? I think he's a good man to take us forward. He's experienced, he's smooth with his soon-to-be former colleagues in the media. Perhaps he's willing to listen to his pitching coach about pitch counts? I also think that Girardi will make it easier foe people like Mo or Jorge or Andy to consider coming back.
I wonder which team will be silly enough to sign Alex through 2017 or so. Going to be quite the soap opera for a while.
And Andy? You're right, life without Alex will certainly make for "greater viewing pleasure". Congrats to the Sox - see you next October.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
October 29, 2007 04:05 PM
|
Corey
I don't think they are tearing things apart now. I heard (no confirmation) that they have already picked up Abreu's option and I think Posada will need a U-Haul for all the cash they are going to get.
And I really hope they move Matsui to first. At least try it, the guy is getting worse in the outfield by the minute.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
October 29, 2007 04:05 PM
|
Peter, Matsui at first would give you this (with age as of July 1 2008):
c - Posada (36)
1b - Matsui (34)
2b - Cano (25)
3b - ???
ss - Jeter (34)
lf - Damon (34)
cf - Cabrera (23)
rf - Abreu (34)
dh - Giambi (37) and company
You have 2 young guys that you can build around, especially Cano, but there is going to be a ton of turn over in 2 years or so. Should be interesting.
Matsui at 1st makes a ton of sense if he can handle it.
Posted by: Andy | October 29, 2007 04:20 PM |
Andy
You hit the key issue, young position players. There are some on the way up, but the Yankees need to find some more and soon.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
|
October 29, 2007 04:51 PM
|
Right, I hear a ton about the pitching, but not so much about guys that can fill in the line-up. It is going to be so tempting to package some players to get Johan, but ike we discussed earlier, they are probably going to stand pat and go with the kids.
Posted by: Andy | October 29, 2007 04:55 PM |