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Clueless Joe Redux

By Bill Campione

The New York Yankees have received a ton of negative press and fan reaction as they have followed up an eight game winning streak after the All Star break with a record of 7-13 (as of August 16). You can point to any number of reasons; age, poor hitting, or Hank Steinbrenner’s favorite excuse, injuries. The point is, their ills are deep rooted and won’t be corrected easily. But one aspect of their futility has stood out recently and that is the curious decision making of Joe Girardi. I am very aware that Joe Girardi is not the cause of the Yankees’ failures, nor do I think he is a bad manager. It does, however, need to be addressed when he continually makes the same poor decisions. I know his hands are tied with the injuries the team has to withstand ad the bench he has been given, but he’s just not making the best of the hand dealt to him.

 

Mistake #1: Not putting the best line up on the field every day.

Jason Giambi has routinely sat against left handed pitchers all season. Recently, Wilson Betemit and Richie Sexson have taken his spot in the lineup. Giambi has a .244 average and a .909 OPS vs. LHP, not far from his .262 and .916 against RHP. That is not nearly enough of a difference to take such a threat out of the lineup, especially when his replacements have far less talent than him. Giambi is not the hitter he used to be, but he gets on base at an almost .400 clip and has shown more pop than most of the Yankee hitters this year.

On August 11, Johnny Damon sat against the immortal LHP Glen Perkins of the Minnesota Twins. Damon is sporting a .291 average and a .790 OPS against lefties and was batting .371 with a .443 OBP in the 16 games leading up to his benching. Girardi started Justin Christian in his place, citing his success against lefties, which amounted to 23 ABs.

There is absolutely no reason to sit your main cogs because an inexperienced LHP is on the mound. There is also no reason to find ways to get Betemit, Christian, or Sexson more ABs when the team is struggling. This is especially ponderous in the case of Damon who is one of the few Yankees who have been hitting all year, and has shown any kind of guts, determination, and awareness during the recent stretch of poor play.

Mistake #2: Damaso Marte

On August 4, Girardi brought in Marte in the 8^th inning against the Texas Rangers. After a scare, Marte got out of the inning and the score remained tied at 5. Marte came out for the 9^th and walked three batters and recorded two outs. At no point did Girardi take out Marte, who then, on his 42^nd pitch of the evening, gave up a grand slam to Marlon Byrd.

Marte came in to the game in the 8^th inning against the Angels on August 10 and recorded three outs, preserving a 3-3 tie. He again pitched the 9^th and allowed two base runners. Mariano Rivera relieved him and allowed a bleeder through the infield for the Angels to win the game.

Each time Marte went a few batters too long and let the game get away. Marte is a valuable asset when used properly, but allowing him to throw the most pitches in a game since 2002 is not the proper way to use him.

Mistake #3: Late Game Substitution Patterns

The Yankees entered the 9^th inning tied against the Angels in the aforementioned  August 10 game with Sexson, Christian, and Jose Molina due up. Girardi substitutes Betemit for Sexson, leaving Giambi and his .400 OBP on the bench for a bit more. With little suspense, Betemit strikes out against Francisco Rdriguez. Girardi allows Christian to bat, who not surprisingly also K’s. Then, Girardi bats Giambi for Jose Molina. Ivan Rodriguez will take over at catcher and Betemit will play first in the bottom of the inning.

Try to follow this: These moves use five players in total and puts Betemit, a poor fielder by any measure, at first base for the 9^th. As mentioned before, the game ended on a slow roller through the right side that Robinson Cano didn’t dive for, and Betemit didn’t try for because he went back to first to receive Cano’s throw that never came.

You may ask, what should have happened? Giambi should have batted for Sexson because he gives you the best opportunity to hit it out, or at least work a walk to allow Christian to bunt runner. If he makes out, at least you have an experienced first baseman on the field. Giambi is no Mattingly, but his defense has been unfairly maligned for a long time. The knock on him is his arm, not his glove. He has saved Jeter numerous errors this year.

Not a believer in Giambi? Fine, I understand. Let’s look at Betemit’s fielding at first. He has started 29 career games there, 20 of which have come this year. Is he a defensive replacement for a guy who has started 1115 at first?

But I digress. Pudge should then bat for Molina and Betemit’s bat never sees the light of day. You save him for extra innings or pinch running duties, and you give a future Hall of Famer a chance to bat in a big spot.

Would this have worked any better than the three strike outs to end the game? Maybe not. But it does give the team the best chance to win by letting the players who can make a difference a chance to do just that.

Mistake #3: No Small Ball

On August 16, the Yankees were locked in a tie game with the Kansas City Royals. The impotent Yankee offense had produced only two runs as the game dragged into extra innings. In the 9^th inning, Johnny Damon came up with no outs and runners on first and second and Girardi elected to have Damon swing away. Many feel that giving up an out is waste, but with the Yankees’ inability to score, giving them the chance to have two men in scoring position with one out to win the game is an opportunity you cannot pass up. After the game Girardi explained, “That was something we tried (Friday) night and it didn’t work. Johnny just wasn’t comfortable doing it and that’s just that way it is.”

I am a big Damon guy (see above), but as a leadoff hitter with speed he has to be able to lay down a bunt, even if it is only in an emergency. I bemoan the lack of small ball, but if Damon isn’t expected to get a bunt down, who on this team can be counted on to do that?

Mistake #4: Not Penalizing Poor Play

It’s hard for me to accept that major league players are not giving their all. I cringe when people claim someone is dogging it. But Robinson Cano has played so poorly and so mindlessly so often that he needs to be taken to task for it. Now that the Yankees have a legit middle infielder on the roster with the addition of Cody Ransom, Cano can sit more frequently without subjecting children to the monster that it is Wilson Betemit.

 

Again, I am not blaming Girardi for the mess that is the New York Yankees. Much of the expectations for this team relied on aging veterens living up to their prior success. Giambi, Jeter, Abreu, and Pudge are all past their primes and showing declining skills. Losing A-Rod, Posada, Matsui, Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, Damon, and Giese for various periods throughout the year has really hurt. In the end, this team is lacking heart, talent, depth, and youth, but I still do not blame Brian Cashman. He has been hamstrung by long term contracts and a deteriorating farm system that only recently has seen improvement. The real test of Girardi’s (and Cashman’s) skills will come when this team is restocked in the offseason.

 

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