THOSE GIRARDI REPLACEMENT CANDIDATES

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Wow, that took no time at all! The Yankees season ended less than a week ago and already they have declared that Joe Girardi will no longer be the team manager, read GIRARDI'S TOAST.

Speculation has already begun as to whom shall be his replacement. There are many candidates out there, but as you and I know... this is not a job for just anybody. Along with the managing of a baseball team, when taking the job of being the New York Yankee manager you're also taking on the task of managing an entire fan base and city.

Photo: New York Post

So while there are many managers out there, the options really are limited.  So, in the immortal words of Men at Work, I can't help but wonder "Who can it be now?" Of all the possibilities out there, is there really one that could step in and do what Joe Girardi has done for the last 10 years?

As with any situation like this, there are a lot of names being thrown around as to who could be the next man up. It's hard to tell which ones actually may be in the running. Our leader here at BYB, Robert Casey, asked me to write a piece as to who might actually be the next Yankee manager.

With the youth movement in full effect, I really don't think it would be wise to shake things up too much. I believe the new manager will come from within the organization. Someone who knows the strengths and weaknesses of the kids already. 

The first candidate that I would think fits this mold is current bench coach, Rob Thomson. He has been in the organization since 1990 and knows how things work within its confines. Though he does have limited managerial experience, 75 games for the New York/Penn League Oneonta Yankees, this is a hire that could end up working out just fine.

Another in-house guy could be current manager of the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Railriders, Al Pedrique.

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Pedrique has managed and had success at every level within the organization. He has managed a lot of the kids currently on the big league roster and knows what they can and cannot do.

Photo: NJ.com

A third and final in-house candidate could be current third base coach Joe Espada. As with the previous names, Espada has been around the organization for a few years now. Though, much like Thomson he has little to no managerial experience, if you surround him with the right coaches, he could end up being decent. 

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A fourth option is Tony Pena.  He is loved by the players, has been around the game forever and could be the perfect fit with the New York Yankees.

Look, I have no idea what it takes to be a good manager, but my feeling is that you simply need to continue molding our youth, and I believe that if you keep it inside the family, it may be a smart start.

What do you think? Should we keep it in the family? Or should we go bigger?  Dusty Baker? Raul Ibanez? 

--Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @sevn4evr