WHAT'S GIRARDI TRYING TO PULL?

Well I heard a gem of a story yesterday, and to tell you the truth, I was pretty amazed...and slightly annoyed at Joe Girardi as well. I have no reason to doubt it either.  It came from a reliable source... Michael Kay.

I was listening to Michael Kay yesterday.  I don't always get a chance to listen, but when I do, it's great stuff. I'm a big fan of Don LaGreca as well, and they always give it to you straight.  Well while i was listening yesterday, Kay was chatting about Jacoby Ellsbury and how the other night, he was scratched from the lineup because his back was stiff.  As we heard from Girardi, both Ellsbury and Chase Headley had some back stiffness and Joe thought he'd give them a rest.

According to Kay, and I'm paraphrasing, he said Joe said that there was "back stiffness" with Ellsbury after he tried to make a catch and slammed into the wall the night before.  OK... it happens.  I remember the play and I kind of remember seeing the tweet the day Ellsbury was scratched.  Fair enough.

Well, according to Kay, the next day, Meredith Marakovits got a call from someone that was associated with Ellsbury.  Kay wasn't sure if it was an agent or PR person or whatever, but that Ellsbury person asked Meredith if she did her report.  She said she already did and heard the news that Ellsbury was scratched.  The Ellsbury person asked, 'Well what did Joe say about it? Why did Joe say Jacoby was scratched?'  Meredith said, back stiffness.

Then the voice appeared to get defensive.  According to Kay, and this was very, very interesting, the Ellsbury person said that Jacoby was "100%" and there is no reason why Jacoby wouldn't want to play in some of the most important games of the season.

Kay said he found that story "fascinating". I agree.  He went on to talk about how Girardi is pretty over protective of his players and is obsessed with giving players "rests"... and one could speculate that he probably does it too much. I know I've always thought that, not to mention, when there are 'must win' games, he never appears to have the top players in the lineup...you know what I mean?

Now look, there is no reason why we should believe this stories false, and as Kay told it, I wondered if Meredith gave him permission to tell the story, or if he accidentally blabbed it. Look, I doubt he just spilled the beans with out talking to Meredith first, but more importantly, what the hell is going on with Girardi? Why would he just not chat with a player, someone like Ellsbury who has mad talent, especially down the stretch with must win games coming up? Why wouldn't you just check to make sure your player is healthy before making that call about back stiffness? Isn't that weird?

Anyway, I thought this nugget was amazing... and wanted to bring it to your attention.   From this point forward, when a player is sitting, I'm gonna wonder if Girardi is over thinking his team.

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