GIRARDI NEEDS TO BE GRITTIER

Reflecting on this year's post season gives me the opportunity to see flaws in our team including our dugout management.  My reflection yields one main thought: Joe Girardi needs to be grittier.  Now, when I brought this idea up to my Met fan daughter, she said, "Like Terry Collins?"  I had to agree and added, "like him, Cubs manager Joe Maddon, Royals manager Ned Yost, and Astros manager A. J. Hinch."  They teach grit and it shows in their players who evoke situations that yield opportunities for their teams to dominate games over their opponents.

In an MLB post game interview back in 2014, Ned Yost described grit and persistence best when he talked about how his Royals team used their tremendous energy to battle back and his coaching staff exerted patience and understanding for his young players who were just fighting to win.  "We are doing things differently; we are defending a little bit earlier, we are pinch hitting more in certain situations because we are trying to win baseball games. The scrutiny is the scrutiny.  I've come to find out that I can put a player in the ball game and if he gets a base hit or gets a big out, no one is going to say anything.  But if I put in that same player and he strikes out or gives up a hit, then it's all the second guessing that comes down on you. I've learned that it is neither right or wrong most of the time.  You made the right decision; it either works out or it doesn't work out.  The one thing that has gotten us to this point is the patience we have had with these young guys."  

Am I saying that Joe Girardi doesn't have patience?  Perhaps.  He is just so tight and old school that he seemingly appears outdated for a game that seems to be more about chances and opportunities than playing the odds of lefty vs. righty.  Guys need to be gritty.  They need to be persistent in their quest for the chance to play in the Fall Classic.  Like former New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said to his guys, "One week at a time, one game at a time, one win at a time."  Girardi needs to think more like that and take some chances.

"We've been behind a lot of times. We've battled back. We totally expect that out of the Cardinals. A lot of their better record against us was early in the season, their ability to battle back against us in the latter part of a game. So none of that surprises -- you can take nothing for granted. You don't pack up the bats with the last out ever, and I love it for that," said Joe Maddon after moving on to play the Cards in their match up last October.  I feel like the other Joe has forgotten how to battle or perhaps he needs a more energetic team to battle with?

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said this after learning that they would play our Yankees in a Wild Card game this October.  "We have such a young team, a talented team. This could have gone many different directions this year. A. J. (Hinch) kept the guys focused and they had so much desire inside of them to win. As we started accumulating those wins in April, it started to become a reality for us that we have a chance to make the postseason, and through the ups and downs of a long season they battled through and made it today. I couldn't be happier for them. You know what? They're not done."

Bottom line, Girardi needs to be grittier.  He needs to evoke this persistence in his team.  Some will say we need more youth to finish the deal.  I say sure, but without a teacher and a leader who can help young guys develop into good men, we can't win; we won't win.  Girardi, find some grit and bring it with you to Tampa in February.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof

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HOW IMPORTANT IS TEAM LEADERSHIP?

My brother, a die hard Yankee fan, made a statement last weekend that stuck with me.  He said, "If the Mets lose this series, and I have pledged to root for them despite being a Yankee fan, I will never root for them again, ever."  I sort of laughed, but he's right.  I always root for the team who I feel hasn't had the chance to get to the Series in a number of years.  So, I rooted for the Cubs and then I rooted for the Dodgers and then I rooted for the Mets.  In the American League, I rooted for Houston and then I rooted for the Royals.  But when it came down to the Mets vs. the Royals, I got my New York On and just bit the bullet.  I rooted for the Mets.

I figured it would be a good Series not just because of the hype, the hitting, the Daniel Murphy Show, the pitching, the Noah Syndergaard Show or even the stick-to-it-ness that each team had all post season.  No, not just for all of that, but something more.  It was the team leadership I saw in the eyes and actions of Terry Collins and Ned Yost and how important this is to the rise and fall of teams throughout the baseball long season.

As I watched Game 5, I shook my head in disbelief as I saw what has become common place in classrooms and living rooms across this country.  I saw pouting and lip service from a player to a manager and pitching coach.  I saw Matt Harvey whine to his team leadership when they told him he was done for the evening after throwing over a hundred pitches.  "cameras caught Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen appearing to tell Harvey his night was over.  Harvey's response? "No way." After repeating it again, he headed over to manager Terry Collins and said it again. "No way."

Though Harvey gave up a run before he was pulled by Collins and the Mets had another disastrous late-inning collapse, the moment will sit well with die-hards who questioned the starter and the controversy stirred up by all that talk about his innings limit," reported NJ.com the morning after the Mets' lost the game ending series.  I don't blame Harvey.  He is a certified prima donna.  No, I blame Mets team leadership for not sticking with their gut and their experience in the game.  The pitcher was done; it doesn't matter if he is multi-million dollar Scott Boras pitcher Matt Harvey or if he is a minor league newbie. Done is done. 

I also blame Mets team leadership for leaving in Yoenis Cespedes in after he was injured "Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes fouled a ball off his left knee in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 5 against Kansas City Royals' starter Edinson Volquez Sunday night, dropping to the ground for over a minute as he shook off the pain.  "Oh mercy" - Harold Reynolds commentates as Yoenis collapses into a heap," reports NJ.com.  He then flied out to the shortstop  with the bases loaded.  Collins, it's the World Series.   Cespedes is hurt and frankly has not provided much to help the team in the Series. Take him out!  Another bad decision, which lead to the Mets' unraveling and loss of the World Series.

On the flip side, you have the gritty management of Ned Yost, who enabled his players to play fearlessly, taking risks around every turn.  That's why Eric Hosmer sprinted for home to tie the game in the ninth inning forcing Lucas Duda to rush and make a bad throw to the plate.  If I were Collins, I would have anticipated this and walked the next batter to set up the double play or as David Wright, I would have just held onto the ball. As a team leader, Wright should have known better. KC history this season and last says he's running.

How important is team leadership to the outcome of a game, a World Series?  It's everything.  From player leadership to dugout leadership to front office leadership, they are all valuable and they are all equally important.  The Mets lost because, frankly, their leadership did not step up when it was needed.  Next season, beside finding some great pitchers, we better be looking for leadership who can carry us through and handle the prima donnas, the press and the day to day drama both on and off the field.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof





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HERE WE GO. METS LOSE & SALVADOR PEREZ IS CHEATING NOW

I watched last night's World Series, Game 1.  The Mets and the Royals are 2 great teams.  It was a truly great Game 1, with a crushing loss to the Mets in the 14th on a Royals walk-off.  Hey, that's baseball. But here's the good news for Mets fans, and I said this when I went to bed...

"deGrom goes Game 2. It's gonna be a see-saw all Series."

My statement wasn't unusual.  It's pretty accurate seeing what I saw in Game 1.  Plus, deGrom's freaking great, better than that chubby Harvey guy. 

I woke up this morning with Mets beat writers all up in arms because Salvador Perez, the Royals catcher is apparently a cheater now, and I guess when the Mets lose, New York's supposed to get into a tizzy and blame someone.  Just stop... PLEASE!

Last night Salvador Perez "appeared" to have something on his shin guard.  It could have been dirt, which, if you look at the picture above, it clearly is. It could have been a foreign substance.  Here's what it wasn't...ILLEGAL. You know what's illegal? When you scuff a baseball in the open like Joe Niekro did back in the day. 

Does anyone remember Gaylord Perry? He doctored better than anyone... AND WE ALL KNEW ABOUT IT. He's also in the Hall of Fame.

You know what's illegal? Having a goop of pine tar the size of a small car on your neck like Michael Pineda did and then act like Jeter put it there.   When pitchers doctor the ball, it's illegal.

You know what isn't? When a catcher is rolling around in the dirt for 9 innings, or in last night's game... 14, and getting filthy and trying to get his pitchers to do their best.  And you know what? Sometimes in the transfer or the game itself, there may be something on the catcher's shinguard. This isn't Watergate ladies and gentlemen.

Zach Braziller of the New York Post, a Mets beat writer and clearly siding with the Mets, writes:

"A mini-controversy appears to be brewing after Fox cameras caught Royals catcher Salvador Perez with some kind of brown substance on his shinguards.

Perez didn’t speak to reporters after the game and manager Ned Yost correctly pointed out that there is nothing wrong with the catcher — or any position player — having the substance, believed to be pine tar, there.

'It’s not illegal,' Yost said. 'I don’t know what it was. It was brown. It’s not illegal for a catcher to have it on his shinguard. It’s illegal for a pitcher.'”

Ned Yost ladies and gentlemen, a former catcher himself. Trust me, he knows a few things about catching and he is definitely not a bullshit artist. He tells it to you straight.

Let me be crystal clear on this; The New York Mets were in that game hard all night last night.  They were, and ARE fighters, but so are the Royals, and the Royals won. That's it.  There is NO controversy. There's no nothing except for the Mets being in a 0-1 hole, and trust me... this World Series might be the most action packed ever. It will go back and forth. The Mets are still in it.

Everyone in New York that's a Mets fan needs to freaking relax.  Trust your team. Stop looking to blame someone.  The Mets are good... so are the Royals.

 Here's a bigger question... anyone concerned about where that small portion of Perez's thumb went? It's alarming to me.


 

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THE GIRARDI DEBATE IS WHITE HOT

I appreciate the BYB readers a lot.  I know about 85% of you understand my struggle with this website and my team the past 24 hours. Since last night's loss, it's been a crazy day. Look, we try to bring you all views here, and it isn't easy, especially when passion for pinstripes run deep.  My friend said it to me today. He said,  "When it comes to Yankee fans, we're spoiled brats and we get vicious defending our team or player."  He's right.

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:

 Steve wrote:

"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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