SHOULD GIRARDI BE MANAGER OF THE YEAR?

I'm not posing that question, my man Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record is asking it in his blog on Pinstripe Posts.  You need to check that out.

If you don't read Caldera, you are doing yourself a dis-service. Be sure to check him out at the Bergen Record or at his blog. Anyway, Pete put out a piece the other day and I wanted to take a sample of it. It makes an argument for Joe Girardi:

"They are contenders for a wild-card berth and for a division title. And who, other than the manager, thought this was even remotely possible on Aug. 1, when Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran were all ex-Yankees? 

Then came the Alex Rodriguez drama and the season-ending elbow injuries to starters Nathan Eovaldi and Chad Green. 

And yet, the Yankees - with 20 games to go, 17 against divisional foes - are in a pennant race.

And that has vaulted Girardi into consideration for the AL's Manager of the Year award...

This year, he's incorporated the youthful mix of rookies into the Yankee Universe, while expertly managing a bullpen of retreads, rookies and no-names - getiting just as much out of that suspect group as he had with the "No Runs DMC" trio.

And did we mention the spotty starting rotation after Masahiro Tanaka? 

So, Girardi at least deserves a Top-3 finish thus far in the AL Manager of the Year chase, and has every chance to win it outright as long as the Yankees remain a viable contender - or even for getting them this far, considering how they started."

Dammit, Caldera does it again, and I'm being serious here.  Girardi has a big shot for Manager of the Year. I think a lot has to do with what now happens down the stretch, but looking back on all he's balanced this season, the shipping out of quality veterans, the injection of the youth movement, dealing with a bullpen of guys that I didn't even know about 1 month ago... it's a tough duty, and he's doing it.  Girardi should absolutely be considered, whether you like him or not.

Good nugget as always Caldera! Hey Pete,  I will get to the Carnegie Club at some point soon to watch you croon! I owe you one!