JUST STOP MAKING EXCUSES

Source: Sporting News

Saturday morning I took part in a radio show on @WDLC1077 with principal and author of the book The Principal: Surviving and Thriving.  The book is set to release sometime in early fall.  The theme of the interview was #MakeItHappen and the host @AndrewMarotta21 and me talked about the multiple ways we and many others we know use our resources, our experiences and just grit and resilience to grow, learn from mistakes and make things happen.  Ironically, in contrast, the Yankees lead by Manager Joe Girardi continue to make excuses for their inconsistent offense, poor performance on the mound, particularly out of the bull pen and their cluster of losses against the Red Sox and other American League opponents.  As someone who prides herself on making things happen despite the obstacles or perhaps odds against, I set out to find out what our fans and readers think about individuals who make excuses.

Middle School teacher @snydesn2 said this with regards to leadership who uses excuses for not meeting goals they set for themselves and their team, "Be a person of Now not later. Procrastination leads to excuses. Excuses only breed more excuses. Proactivity helps avoid them, reactivity leads to them."

I believe that Joe Girardi feels he is supporting his pitchers who are failing to meet their performance expectations when he excuses them continuously during his post-game press conferences.  He did this with Tyler Clippard and now he is making excuses for Aroldis Chapman whose performance goal is very clear: "Save the Game!"  Nothing more obvious about that.  Even though Girardi has decided to use Chapman "at any point" and not necessarily as a closer in his remarks before the game on Saturday, Chapman has never owned up to his poor performance leading to an ERA close to 10 against the Red Sox this season.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty

"Mismanagement seldom recognizes itself and unfortunately too many times finds excuses for themselves in others. Saying you've failed and finding next steps forward is a path not many peeps choose....on their own," said avid BYB reader and Healthcare PR and Marketing Communications Innovator @dougstro.  He may be onto something.  Is the Yankee management even aware how many times they make excuses for their players or for their poor performance on the field?  Maybe Joe and even Brian Cashman are just so poised to script out their comments to the media and to fans before and after each game that they are completely oblivious to how ridiculous they sound and how mismanaged they truly are.

Yankee fan and principal of a NJ elementary school @jaybilly2 shared with me the quote above and added this insight. "There is always a reason for failure. We use these reasons for growth so we don't fail again. People who use excuses aren't looking for improvement, they're looking for sympathy.  You can lose but you become a loser when you make excuses."  The Yankees aren't just losing important games, they are losing their confidence, they are losing their fans' confidence and they are losing something else, which perhaps trumps the other two: credibility.  By defending the poor behavior and performance by Chapman, dismissing it almost entirely by saying, "he needs to work out the kinks," is just not owning that he is making mistakes and he isn't reflecting on the process of his work.  When Masahiro Tanaka struggled with his control earlier in the season, he said that he was reviewing video of the games, reflecting on his form and making adjustments.  Chapman has not even had the decency to acknowledge his problems and Girardi has allowed this to happen.  This is just unacceptable...he is building a reputation for having no sense of urgency to make the changes needed to be successful.  He appears not to care at all.

Source: Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

Finally, long time Yankee fan and restaurant manager @hammersiny provided this in depth reflection based on the Yankees' performance over the past couple of days against both the Mets and Boston. "The manager uses the pieces he has available.  Some of his decision-making is questionable because as fans we second guess the decision when the outcome isn't positive.  Excuses are just the result of some of these poor outcomes.  Like where was (David) Robertson on Friday night in the 7th inning? Resting?  Why can't we get a hit with bases loaded and the "meat" of the lineup is hitting?  Excuses...they gave us some exciting moments this year but they aren't winning because they lack consistency." These are observations of the games we lost that were very winnable, in fact, many times we lost in the late innings by giving away the lead and failing to get it back because of hushed bats.

Source: David Maxwell/Getty Images North America

The Yankees and in particular their skipper need to just stop making excuses and do something about these near wins and poor performances. Waiting until next week or until September to own the mistakes and do something positive with the "data" is just too late.  Ideally, the Yankees get the rest of their arsenal back and they make the decisions as far as who's playing and who's sitting and they do so using the evidence of those who are performing well and with the confidence that the players on the field are demonstrating the positive attitude we need to win.

--Suzie Pinstripe

BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @suzieprof