People are praising Girardi because his team has the best record in the major leagues, but is he really as good as people make him out to be?
The only real decision Girardi has had to make this year is deciding on what pitchers he needs to bring into the game to bridge the gap between the starter and Hughes/Rivera. This team is built to win it all in every area. They have the deepest lineup in the majors, along with a top of the line rotation, and a great back end of the bullpen. The Yankees went out and spent $423 million this off-season on three all-star caliber players, so shouldn’t they being playing this well? It’s expected.
This team has 7 players on the team with 20 home runs or more. That’s unbelievable. Jeter could set a new record with 8 players, but he only stands at 17HR’s with 16 more games to play. They also have 4 starters who have made 28+ starts or more.
Are you guys telling me that you couldn’t manage this team? Any person who is knowledgeable of the game can thrive with this ball club. I like Girardi, but don’t make him out to be something he is not.This team’s success can be attributed a lot more to the talent of the players then it is to Girardi.
I like Girardi, but he isn’t all that great. There were many decisions that he had to make with the game on the line this season and it wound up costing the team the game. The fans have heavily debated some of the moves he has made.
I gave him props for doing what he did in Florida, but Joe has everything he can possibly need to succeed this year. Mr. Torre didn’t even get the players he is getting. Teixeira, Sabathia, Burnett…are you serious? The Yankees broke the bank and now they expect to win it all. Joe can just give the ball to the starting pitcher and just expect to win when they take the field day-in and day-out. That’s what makes him a “Push-Button” manager.
Girardi better get it done this year…
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M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
I know you follow this team like few others do, so i’m surprised to hear this coming from you.
You are ignoring the way he dealt with the steroids issue, how he kept the Burnett-Posada thing relatively quite and it now seems like it’s behind them. He’s done a great job resting everyone and spreading it out so that they aren’t putting out a less-than-stellar lineup one or two days a week. He had the guts to switch Jeter and Damon’s spot in the lineup. He took a bullpen that was the worst in baseball early on and mixed and matched pieces until he found a strong fit. He hasn’t burned any pitchers out. He realized that his tough attitude that he had last year with his players and the media wasn’t working and actually changed himself in a major way and it seems to be making everyone play relaxed and comfortably.
And what about stuff like Monday night against the Angels? His style of aggressive base running and guts to use a pinch runner, paid off. They won’t always, but I like the way he takes chances like that.
You read about and watch this team everyday and you missed all of that and more?
When people say he handled the steroid issue well..what exactly did he do? He allowed A-Rod to address the team and give a public apology? Wasn’t hee supposed to do that? The Burnett-Posada “Controversy” was blown way out of proportion. Burnett might have been crossed up a few times, but the reason why he is pitching so poorly has nothing to do with Posada. He would have done the same with any other catcher. He can either be dominant or horrible.
There is no reason why the lineup should be less than stellar…when you have healthy players there are no problems. As I said, this team is built to win. I guess I can give him props for the Jeter/Damon switch. I like that.
As for the bullpen..Mariano is still the key. It’s not like he came up with the idea of him being the closer. Hughes was put in the bullpen by Cash and Aceves has played a key role in the bullpen’s success as well. The Yankees set all these rules down, (e.g. Joba) so it’s actually hard to burn a pitcher out. Sabathia and Pettitte are work horses..they will always give him innings.
Hey..I’m not saying he isn’t aggressive, not a nice guy, or that he didn’t change his attitude. What I’m basically saying is that he was given a team that should win, and that all of this is expected. The Yankees have the highest payroll in baseball, and that means that they should be #1. They spent $423 million dollars this off-season. Don’t you think they should be World Series bound?
Zell
Girardi is a brawlaaaa
In my opinion you have somehow missed Joe’s greatest asset which is his handling/development of the bullpen. Except for Mariano, he has allowed the development and given confidence to all these pitchers in their new roles. Unlike Torre he has not burned out all these young arms.
He continues to throw out Melancon when he has no control at all. The guy walks the ballpark every time. The bullpen isn’t extremely strong besides Hughes and Rivera. Aceves is pretty good, but nothing stands out at me. Marte is back to his old ways…
Giving confidence to these young bullpen arms doesn’t make him a good manager. The reason why all these young arms came up was because everyone else failed. Veras, Bruney, Edwar…etc.
Zell