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I Want to Like Joe Girardi

AG/DC Apr 08 2008 08:58 AM

I'll start with why I don't like Girardi. He's a hothead who gets his teams into violent payback wars where he sends the scrubs in to do his damage. On the flip side, though, is not only the job he did in Florida, but his independent mindset, which he's already used to tell one meddling superior to shove it. And I look forward to him antagonizing Yankee management by occasionally acting like a human. Yesterday, Derek Jeter leaves the Yankee/(Devil) Ray game with a strained quad. In discussing when he'll be back, an MLB.com article tells me that Derek Jeter offered, ""My timetable is tomorrow." Then he followed with, "But I don't think that's going to work out. We'll see how it feels." So he gets to posture as a gamer without actually being a gamer. Nice. But here's where I got confused, and almost came to like the guy. The press corps takes this and scuttles over to Girardi, and he responds with, ""He will not play tomorrow," Girardi added, "no matter what he tells me." Nothing wrong with that, protecting his players, except he appeared to leave it at that, forgetting to lionize Jeter in the process, how he would play with one leg if asked, and that any victories without Jeter will have to be stolen. The article's next paragraph astounds me further, stating Girardi admitted that he has already entertained the idea of shifting Alex Rodriguez over from third to shortstop for the time being. Shocking. Now, I know we're not allowed to discuss Alex Rodriguez playing shortstop unless Derek Jeter has been dead for three weeks, because, Heaven forfend, the world possibly discovers that it makes the Yankees a better team. Now in his fifth year in the Bronx, Rodriguez has been permitted all of eight emergency innings, the Yankees using instead the likes of Miguel Cairo, Andy Phillips Mark Bellhorn, Russ Johnson (who was acquired for Rey Ordoñez while still under psychiatric observation, and released in short order) rather than confront the possiblitity of Rodriguez's superiority. So, I'm a little impressed as I read. Go, Girardi. Do what a sane person would do, and at least honestly entertain the possibility when directly asked. DON'T BE A YANKEE. But, it turns out, the writer (Anthony DiComo) was a big filthy tease, because the big acknowledgement that he got out of Girardi was really just another evasion. "There are a lot of different scenarios that we would talk about as a club and decide what we're going to do," Girardi said. "But right now, we're just keeping our fingers crossed, thinking it won't be too long." That's all he's got? Ugh! Yeah, there are a lot of scenarios. We're looking at bringing Tony Fernandez back... Maybe some Tony Womack action on the side. Anything but confront reality. You know, even putting Betemit over there is a little risky. He might, you know, be kind of good. And then, as I deal with my disappointment, I learn DiComo has had his ace up his sleeve all along, burying Girardi's de rigeur genuflection in the last paragraph. "Usually, you have to drag him out," Girardi said. "He's always been a tough kid, and he wants to be out there. No matter how his body feels, he wants to be out there. But with these conditions, you jeopardize really hurting yourself badly, and we don't want that because we can't afford to miss him for a long period of time." I don't like Joe Girardi.

metirish Apr 08 2008 09:09 AM

It really is amazing the tripe they talk up there, I watched some of the game last night and was watching when Jeter left the game, John Flaherty nearly fell out of the booth telling us how "Derek plays with so many knocks and bruises that this is probably an aggravation of one of those". It makes so much sense to move Rodriguez over to SS instead of playing the likes of William Betemit who is a first baseman from what I remember.

AG/DC Apr 08 2008 09:11 AM

Betemit came up as a shotstop and has mostly played elsewhere due to there being a better or more established shortstop with every team he's played for. In LA, he was part of a four-shortstop infield.

metirish Apr 08 2008 09:14 AM

Yeah you're right , I thought he was brought to the Bronx as a first baseman.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 08 2008 09:26 AM

I'm not sure Girardi is doing anthing dislikable here. The writers were begging him to say something that would stoke an Arod-Jeter controversy, so they could bury him for considering it in their columns afterward. John Harper's column today is just idiotic on the subject, you really shouldn;t read it.

metirish Apr 08 2008 09:30 AM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: John Harper's column today is just idiotic on the subject, you really shouldn;t read it. Of course I had to go look at it , the opening lines were enought to make me gag. ] It's important to note that Derek Jeter, famously protective of his private life as he is, would sooner publish a list of all the women he has dated than come out of a ballgame because of an injury.

AG/DC Apr 08 2008 09:33 AM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm not sure Girardi is doing anthing dislikable here. The writers were begging him to say something that would stoke an Arod-Jeter controversy, so they could bury him for considering it in their columns afterward. Agreed, my greater point is that I was trying to like him and didn't get there. John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: John Harper's column today is just idiotic on the subject, you really shouldn;t read it. You should write him and tell him.

Fman99 Apr 08 2008 09:40 AM

I refuse to like him. HE'S WEARING A FUCKING YANKEE UNIFORM. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 08 2008 09:42 AM

Yeah, I don't understand the effort to like the Yankee manager. What are you, Steve Rogers or something?

AG/DC Apr 08 2008 09:44 AM

Well, I guess I have no brain. My principle here is that an independent mind causes controlling environments like the Yankees to explode. Can you blame writers for wanting that story? Billy Martin was newspaper gold.

seawolf17 Apr 08 2008 10:22 AM

metirish wrote: Yeah you're right , I thought he was brought to the Bronx as a first baseman. He was, because they already have some guy who plays shortstop.