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Girardi Seems to Have Learned from 2008

By Gary Armida

Perhaps no other manager entered last season with more pressure than Joe Girardi. In his first year at the helm of the New York Yankees, Girardi was faced with the daunting task of replacing the beloved icon, Joe Torre who had led the Yankees to four World Series titles and 12 consecutive playoff appearances. The task of replacing the iconic Torre seemingly swallowed up Girardi who was the 2006 Manager of the Year in his only season as a Major League skipper. Girardi received criticism from almost every media outlet, including this one. He seemed to operate as a contrarian. If common baseball sense dictated a bunt, Girardi would hit away, while often bunting in non-bunt situations. He played 100’s of different lineups during the season, inexplicably resting his regulars early in the season leading to a deficit that the Yankees could not make up as the season went along. He lied to the media; he had silly rules like the banning of ice cream in the clubhouse (which prompted the much publicized trip to the Fenway concession stand by Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera during a September rain delay). The failure of making the playoffs last season should not only be blamed on Girardi as he was given a poorly conceived team with very little depth to account for injuries. Sure, Girardi exacerbated a poor team with poor decisions and even worse clubhouse management, but the 89 wins were probably even a couple more than the Yankees deserved considering the losses of Chien Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, and Hideki Matsui for the majority of the season. Let’s not forget the two-fifths of the opening day rotation (Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy) went winless. Turn the page to 2009 and the Yankees are reloaded with perhaps the best rotation in the game, the best first baseman outside of Albert Pujols, and some depth to account for injuries. Even more important for the Yankees, Girardi seems more comfortable this Spring Training than at any point last season. He has the look of a man who seems poised to become the manager the Yankees envisioned when they hired him.

Admitting Fault

The first step towards evolving as a manager was for Girardi to acknowledge his failures from 2008, something he did not do during the season except when caught in a lie with the media. Girardi, to his credit, has been extraordinarily forthcoming this spring about the pressure he felt replacing Torre. He acknowledged that it was difficult to permeate the Torre clubhouse and that he did not know or relate to his team as well as he could have. He certainly didn’t handle the veteran clubhouse well with drastically changing rules with little or no explanation.

Additionally, he seemingly ignored any idea of team chemistry as the Yankees, for the first time in many seasons, seemed to be in the mode of “25 players, 25 different taxi cabs”. Girardi cannot take the entire blame here as the past few teams have progressively lost the unity that marked the late 90’s teams. The blame has to be put squarely on Brian Cashman more than Girardi. But, the point is that Girardi did little to help the situation. On the field, the continuity of the lineup was ignored as Girardi rotated players and lineup composition far too many times. While one could blame injuries to Posada and Matsui for this, there were far too many April and May games where Wilson Betemit, Justin Christianson, and Morgan Ensberg played for no reason other than resting a starter. With the lineup in flux for most of the season and a team that couldn’t play Girardi’s desired style of baseball, Girardi over-managed the lineup to the detriment of the team. To his credit, he has acknowledged his mishandling of the lineup and seems to have already corrected this mistake.

Wise Decisions

 Joe Girardi came with the reputation as a manager who would be aggressive and push the Yankees. To many, the Yankees seemed to lack those qualities at the end of the Joe Torre era. But, Girardi didn’t make an impact during his first year other than cultivating a highly effective bullpen that was used for 543.1 innings in 2008 (6^th most in the Majors). However, the theme of change finally seems to be a reality.

First, Joe Girardi made the much publicized decision to hold a billiards tournament early in Spring Training rather than practice. The media scrutinized the move and it made for the quick, albeit not funny, joke by talk radio hosts. The tournament may not have a lasting impact with team chemistry, but it did mark a change in Girardi. Girardi showed flexibility and that he cares about his players off of the field. While too much was made of the tournament idea, it did show his players that Girardi has changed and 2009 is not going to be the same.

Last week, Girardi announced that he was toying with the idea of moving Derek Jeter, the long-time number two hitter, to the leadoff spot in the batting order and having Johnny Damon, a career leadoff hitter, bat second. At first, the move was blasted on the New York talk radio airwaves. Unlike last season, Girardi didn’t get defensive; he simply stated that he liked what he saw with this arrangement. The move is significant for two reasons. For one, Girardi is moving a Yankees’ icon in Jeter out of his normal batting order position (he led off before because of injury or lack of options). It’s a move he wouldn’t have made last season or a move he would’ve handled incorrectly last season. Secondly, if he chooses to stick with this alignment (it looks like he will), this change is for the betterment of the Yankees.

Over the past three seasons, Johnny Damon has posted OBP’s of .359, .351, and .375 and has a lifetime batting line of .289/.354/.435. Comparatively, Derek Jeter has posted OBP’s of .417/.388/.363 with a lifetime line of .316/.387/.458. Jeter is the player who has the better on base skills while Damon, at this point in his career, is the better power hitter. As Derek Jeter evolves into more of a singles hitter, Damon can still hit for a bit more power. Having a runner on in front of Damon affords him the opportunity to hit with runners on base more often. Jeter, meanwhile, does not have to alter his game as he already gets on base at an above average rate. The most important aspect to this move is how it helps Brett Gardner, the projected ninth hitter in the Yankees’ order. If Damon had stayed in the leadoff spot, the Yankees would’ve had left-handed hitters in the ninth and first spot. Late in the game, opposing managers would have automatically brought in a left-handed pitcher to face Gardner and Damon. The southpaw won’t be wasted on a singles hitter like Gardner, but if Damon is behind him, an opposing manager can get two outs out of a left-handed reliever. By splitting up Gardner and Damon, Gardner will not face many left-handed specialists. For a rookie with a lack of power, this is quite an advantage. Additionally, considering that 1,760 of Jeter’s 2,535 hits have been hit to the right side of the field (from centerfield over), he is a good complement to the speedy Gardner as a single to right field can allow Gardner to go from first to third on most occasions. Finally, the move to the leadoff position does help quell Jeter’s propensity for hitting into double plays as he grounded into twin killings 18 percent of the time when presented with the situation (the league average is 11 percent). While the number doesn’t figure to reduce drastically, it will be somewhat lessened.

Girardi’s other major decision was installing Gardner as the starting centerfielder. Melky Cabrera would’ve been the safe choice as he is already a known quality with little upside. Girardi could’ve played it safe, citing Cabrera’s better throwing arm as one reason for starting him. But, he has chosen to take a chance with the speedy Gardner. If Gardner can get on base somewhere between .335 and .350, he has a chance to steal 40 bases. This gives an element to the Yankees that they haven’t had since Chuck Knoblauch was on the team. However, Gardner is a significantly better stolen base threat which will allow Girardi opportunities for Jeter to hit and run (thus where the opposite field hitting comes into play), setting up RBI opportunities for Damon and Mark Teixeira. The decision to go with speed will help the Yankees be less dependent on the homerun ball and be more of the team Girardi wants them to be. Quite frankly, this move makes them a better, more complete offense.

Closing Thought

FCP’s own, Billy Campione does caution optimism about Girardi by saying, “the argument can be made that Girardi faces more pressure this season because the Yankees did spend over $400 million dollars on free agents.” This is quite true when one couples that fact with a playoff miss and Girardi seems to be on the hot seat. Although he has shown the ability to change in Spring Training it is important to remember that it is indeed only Spring Training. It is during difficult times when the true character of a person is displayed. It will only be during a losing streak or if the team stumbles out of the gate where one will see if Girardi has truly learned from 2008’s mistakes. The signs, thus far, are positive.

Girardi now has a team that is more suited to his style. He four outfielders who can be rotated and benched if they do not perform (perhaps Johnny Damon is the only one not in this category). He has some speed with Brett Gardner and he has a deep rotation that will allow him to use his bullpen more effectively and more efficiently. Most importantly, he has a core group of players who finally experienced what it is like to be playing golf in October. With a hungrier team that better fits his desired style of managing, Joe Girardi could be on his way to making good on his promise as a manager. He has already done more positive this spring than he did all of 2008. Hopefully, this continues into the regular season and beyond.

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