Joe Girardi should be tarred and feathered
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 8:58 am by SJK
Memo to Joe Girardi. Your stupidity cost the Yankees homefield advantage in the World Series, should they make it there.
Before the game, we invoked Rocky II to explain to Girardi that the All-Star Game has real consequences, and thus, shouldn't be managed like a charity game. Being Italian, we thought it would be the best way to get to him.
It didn't work.
Here's Tom Verducci this morning:
Here's what happened Tuesday night: down to his final three outs with the World Series schedule on the line, AL manager Joe Girardi of the Yankees left the battleship U.S.S. David Ortiz in the game to run the bases and John (.239 lifetime) Buck to hit while leaving Alex (all-time active home run leader) Rodriguez on the bench. Of course, such thinking blew up on him and the World Series will begin in an NL city.
You cannot take the game seriously when it is played this way. Ortiz, leading off, singled in the ninth with the AL trailing, 3-1. He should have been removed for a pinch-runner immediately. Girardi, however, had run through so many players just so his players could say, "Look, Mom, I got in the game!" that he had only one position player left on his bench: Rodriguez.
So what happened? After Adrian Beltre struck out, Buck dropped a bloop into rightfield. Ortiz, thinking the ball might be caught, got a late start toward second, where he was thrown out by rightfielder Marlon Byrd. Think about that: World Series homefield on the line and your penultimate out is a 9-6 putout with Ortiz running, Buck batting and Rodriguez on the bench. Ian Kinsler then flied out to end the game.
It's pretty amazing that when you're down by 2 runs in the ninth, you don't use a guy who's hit about 600 home runs, or doesn't need a tugboat to get around the bases.
Not using Arod was so messed up, American League players after the game questioned why Girardi selected Rodriguez in the first place if he wasn't going to use him.
Even Alex himself said he was ready to play:
"I sat there for about three hours, but I was loose and I was ready to go in the eighth and ninth," Rodriguez said. "We had a couple of situations where I could have gone in, but it was up to him on which situation to put me in."
As soon as the game ended, the camera flashed to Arod. He was talking to Robinson Cano and appeared very fired up, very animated. If he felt the way all of us did, he was likely utterly baffled by Girardi's decision-making.
Tags: all-star game, girardi
Sensitive RAB guy is becoming one of my favorite posters. Really tired of RAB loyalists finding any excuse possible to shit on nomaas. Enjoy all the yankees sites.
1. Pitching Hughes was the right PR move, but about as far from the right baseball move as you can get (as has been said).
2. I like Girardi, really I do, but I feel like he’s only watching the same game as the rest of us 50% of the time. This is probably still a significant improvement over the way most fans feel about their managers.
3. Adrian Beltre and Papi were dogging it because they know they’re not playing for home field advantage. Oh, wait, nope, one’s just slower than “Posada with Joe West on his back” (outstanding, Turn2) and that at-bat was the beginning of the other regressing to his norm faster than a skydiver without a parachute.
“Posada with Joe West on his back”
That was excellent.
By the way, Cashman said Arod was healthy and was available to play in the AS Game.
Further proof that Girardi is an idiot.
Did you call Girardi a tard? Oh tarred. Nevermind.
Miguel: How about determining homefield advantage based on which league wins more games in interleague play?
Just more Girardi idiocy. The guy has been an awful manager since day 1.
“Girardi, however, had run through so many players just so his players could say, “Look, Mom, I got in the game!” that he had only one position player left on his bench: Rodriguez.”
(playing devils advocate)
in girardi’s defense, this is kind of what you are supposed to do when you manage the all star game. it is not good for the league or fans when multiple fanbases don’t get to see any of their players take the field, especially if they have players on the team who sit on the bench the whole game. i am well, well aware of his penchant for pulling crap like this with pitchers in real games and running out of usable pitching options in the 9th inning, but there is pressure on the manager to play everyone. the fact that the AS game “counts” for something is the problem, one of the teams should not be punished by making an effort to play everyone. give home field to the WS team with the better record, or to the league which won overall interleague play.
as for arod and his health, i wouldn’t be surprised at all if cashman explicitly told girardi to refrain from using arod in order to give him the maximum amount of rest possible. it is one thing to say to the media “yes he is 100% ready to play in the game”, answers to questions like that are not entirely truthful. so even though alex might have said he was entirely ready to play, that doesnt mean girardi’s hands weren’t tied on the matter, so blaming him is kind of piling on and a little unfair.
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