Let me be clear. I do not dislike Joe Girardi at all. I like him. But in the history of sports, when teams don't gel and players appear lost, the manager or head coach is fired. It's not always right, but it happens. Why does it happen? Leadership lacks. I'm not saying Joe Girardi is a bad leader, I'm saying he may be a stale leader and when I wrote NO LEADERSHIP MEANS THE END, it was driven by my passion and observation. I wrote that post immediately after the loss. I didn't think about it, and it was crafted that way on purpose. If I waited too long after the game, my anger would have disappeared. You want us to be real here at BYB, correct? Well, I was, on purpose. Many of you got it... a few of you didn't. I don't fault the ones who missed the passion, because they had their own. I love when fan's have different takes. So I wanted to share a few. I corrected grammar where needed but did not change any of the content written. It needed to be authentic for the writer's sake as well as for the readers. Check these out:
"Right on with this one Robert! I like Joe Girardi, but it's time to shake all the dead apples off the tree. Even without a World Series, the Captain deserve a better end to his career, but fitting that he tries to ignite the spark that's been dying out for months..."
Anonymous5556 wrote:
"Leadership? Don Mattingly, Ned Yost, Brad Ausmus are in playoff races and all three are horrible. (Yes, Mattingly is a bad manager). You're mad at Girardi, for what? Getting mad at something every manager in the sport would get mad at? Oh wait, it's because his team sucks. This team was flawed from the beginning with no depth and having a bunch of injury prone guys. You want to blame somebody, blame Cashman, Levine, Hank and Hal. You want to fire the guy who has kept this team in the race when they have overachieved... Girardi is a great manager. Ask anybody outside of the Yankee scope and they say the same thing."
Shelley wrote:
"It's his job to make sure his staff lives up to its potential which this one certainly has NOT DONE. If they were even hitting up to their averages of last year, the division might have been ours. I was on Kevin Long months ago, demanding answers as to what is going on with my players! He's the hitting coach and it's up to him to get them doing just that. Yes, players have slumps. But this ENTIRE SEASON has been a FAIL, not a slump. And if Long doesn't have answers, I'd go to the individual players. Sit down with each one and see what the issues are. Hire a sports psychologist if it's a mental issue, which I suspect it's become now. Remember what Yogi said about that.
And in the meantime, until the players get their act together, it's up to me to compensate. Jump start a non-productive offense by being creative. How about when we finally reach base.... we steal? How about the old hit and run, bunt, small ball. Anyone remember the squeeze play? No, our guys get on base and stand there like statues, never moving, never challenging. THAT is Joe's job too.
And I totally agree with the piece. Yeah, Joe is cool and calm in the dugout. Too much so. I'd be taking names, calling people out. Maybe not in public, but for sure somewhere. I don't care about their superstar statuses. Because we look like anything but this season."
Anthony wrote:
"The article is right on the money. I've voiced my opinions quite a few times already, so no need to repeat. We need leadership & motivation."
Travis wrote:
"...When I look at the Yankees teams of the last 2 years, I see broken teams with injuries all around, aging stars who can no longer hit their weight, journeyman players and nervous rookies filling gaps, and a couple bright gems like Betances and Gardner.
And in the midst of that broken team, I see a manager that has somehow kept this team above .500, in the playoff hunt as late as today, September 17th. A manager who has juggled a retirement tour of a Legend (two seasons in a row, mind you), resting his aging stars, properly managing the bullpen (Fans who miss the Torre years must not remember the Torre years clearly.)
I see a manager who has done a remarkable job with the players he was given, players who either lack the drive or have lost the talent..."
Jeannie wrote:
"Girardi and his entire staff needs to go. Major shake up. Long hasn't done the job. Players who are .270 hitters, come to the Yanks and become .240 hitters. At what point do you say that there's a problem?"
All these comments are very good, and very interesting. Why did I do this exercise? Variety. It just goes to show that this debate is white hot. You either want Joe Girardi and the staff back or you don't. There is no in between. But one thing you need to hear from me, 24 hours later is this...
Again, I do not dislike Joe Girardi in the least. I appreciate him as manager. I like what he has done for the New York Yankees. But when things go south, you need to stop with the norm and change direction. Baseball is not only a game, it's a business. The team is there to win. The team's not winning. Sure, blame the players, that makes sense, I get it. But you have to look at management too.
I leave you with this... it's the dictionary definition of the word Manager. I think you'll find it interesting:
a person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or similar organization.
There is no control ladies and gentlemen... there's just more of the same, from the players, to the hitting coach, to the ownership... and to Joe Girardi.
Joe also happens to be the manager of the New York Yankees.
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