AND THE WINNER IS...

The clean up is under way in Boston. “Wicked” heavy accents chanting “LET’S GO RED SOX!” and the sound of the Dropkick Murphys had dissipated.  The 2013 campaign is over and much to the dismay of Yankee fans; their rivals up in Bean town will hoist a World Championship banner from the third time in a decade. 

I tip my cap to the Boston Red Sox. They played solid, team baseball all year and showed up big when it mattered most. Sure, it’s always tough to give credit to the Sox…their fans certainly aren’t as polite when it comes to Yankee victories, and if you are holding your breath that they’ll be more “gracious” now that they have reversed their imaginary curse…don’t. That’s just who they are…but enough about them. 

 Award Season is upon us! No, not the endless back patting that happens in Hollywood in February and March. I’m referring to real awards, like the CY Young, MVP and Manager of the Year. Recently, the finalists for the American League’s best skipper were announced. The powers that be, in all their “wisdom”, have selected Oakland’s Bob Melvin, Cleveland’s Terry Francona and Boston’s John Farrell. The one name that seems to be missing is JOE GIRARDI!! To quote the great Johnny McEnroe, “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” Look, you can call me a homer. You can say that I am towing the company line. You can say I am simply angry that I had to watch the Sox win another title in a year when the Yanks finished 4^th. Knock yourself out if that’s what you need to do. It doesn’t change the fact that Girardi absolutely deserves to be in the running for this award. 

Now, I won’t say that the other managers aren’t deserving of praise. Melvin continues to take a small market club and get every bit of talent out of each of his players. They make the Angels look like chumps (which I am all good with) and no one can take the A’s lightly under his watch.  They are the real deal and he deserves a lot of credit. 

Tito Francona is just a likable guy. He always has been. Even when he was at the helm in Boston, you couldn’t help but to respect him. He knows the game, was a worthy adversary and handled the rivalry with class. I think we all rooted for him when the beer drinking, chicken eating, trouble makers pushed the World Champion manager to walk away from the feud at Fenway. This year he did help make the Tribe much better. Guys want to play for Tito. I have no issue with him being considered for MOTY. 

John Farrell is a solid manager, but what adversity did he face this year? It was a love fest when he arrived. He’s an Irishman in Boston, Massachusetts and the skipper that took over for the absolute void that is Bobby Valentine. Farrell needed to not get in the way and echo the heart of that team, Dustin Pedroia. Many picked the Sox to be towards the middle or bottom of the AL East. So expectations were low to boot. Yes, he did a good job and the new guys, young guys and veterans play to form, but was he so outstanding? I don’t see it that way. And this is not an anti-Sox rant. Again, Boston was the best team in the league this year. Papi, Pedy, Shane, Lestah, Nap and Jawny Gomes were outstanding, kid (written so Bostonians can understand me). But was their manager? He was just good. Not great. Just good. 

I wrote about GI Joe Girardi earlier in the season, read GI JOE & HIS BRONX BRIGADE here. I applauded they way he handle “The Beaning of Alex Rodriquez by the Coward Ryan Dempster.” Joe is the manager of the New York Yankees. Yes, it’s cliché to say, but it is a tougher job to manage and play in The Big Apple than anywhere else. It is, be honest. The coaches and players here get it from all angles. The fans, the press and even there own front offices constantly hound them and second-guess everything they do.  You have to have a very thick skin and be focused on your job and your job alone to survive here. 

This year the Yankees training room was M.A.S.H. unit. They lost key player after key player…and then they lost them again. Joe took a patchwork quilt of aging players from the Island of Misfit Toys to war every day. That fact coupled with the sub par year that CC Sabathia had and the ARod circus made Girardi’s job much more difficult than any of the other candidates…and did Joe complain? Did he run down his replacement squad of “Not Ready for Primetime” rookies? No. He MANAGED with what he had! And the Yankees were in the mix right up until the last couple weeks of the season. That is a Manager of the Year. He didn’t have his Captain. He had more distractions than a kid with ADD at a Sharper Image store! 

Girardi even handled the press better than he has before…and Joe is not a fan of the press. He wears his disdain on his chiseled faced. He answers the doom and gloom questions with a frank answer and an uncomfortable, geeky chuckle. But he always faces the music, shouldering the blame and deflecting the credit. 

So in a way, if John Farrell is named Manager of the Year for 2013,the Hollywood awards 
and Manager of the Year will be very similar. The real winner would not even be nominated and an “industry darling” with take home a meaningless statue and hollow win. Basically if Farrell takes home MOTY over Girardi or Tito or Melvin, it will be like when “Chicago” won for Best Picture…it wasn’t. 

 

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."

The Bleeding Yankee Blue store is opened! CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING! Also, follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.