Monday, June 9, 2014

ONE...EFFING...RUN!

Joe Girardi will be back in 2015.

No, I don't have an inside source, I just know from patterns. This isn't the Dodge City ownership that Yankee fans came to hate anywhere between 1973 and 1990. If the Yankees had hit a putrid 1-for-17 with RISP against the Royals and lost by ONE FREAKIN RUN, the entire Girardi/Cashman regime would be OVUH.

I took a nap yesterday since I had the overnight shift for my internship, so I missed most of the Yankee game. I did catch bases loaded, one out in the 2nd where I and everyone else just knew that they wouldn't score. What else is new? I woke up to my friend Justin's Facebook message; "1-for-17 RISP." I sighed, as I do most times these days and checked the score. I expected 8-1, 11-0, 10-2 Royals. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected 2-1. ONE...FREAKIN...RUN!

So why should Girardi go? It's not like the Yankees have had a few losing seasons in a row; they're only two out of the wild card in mid-June...blame that on an awful AL outside of the Tigers and Oakland, I still don't believe in Toronto, if Buehrle wasn't having the season of his life they'd be down to earth real quick. Girardi would go only because too many pieces around him need to go. Cashman's well overdue for a pink slip--he's signed the big free agents, but not the right ones. The 1980s Yankees were well-known for bringing a ton of big names to the puzzle, but none of those pieces fit together. Tex, Ellsbury, McCann, Ichiro...they just don't seem like a working unit to me. Long story short (too late,) you can't fire the GM and not expect a managerial firing shortly after.

Eventually, the poor hitting will reflect on the coaching. You can't fire Girardi's coaches and not expect a change of the guard shortly after.

One guy I know said Girardi does a great job managing the bullpen. Really? Because I seem to remember over the years Joba being in games he shouldn't be in. You want a more recent example? How 'bout when Girardi totally panicked when D-Rob gave up the lead to the Twins, takes him out, puts MATT DALEY in with bases juiced (a scenario that D-Rob's been in 100 times and gotten out of it) and gives up four more runs. I'd rather be down 3-2 in the 9th than 7-2 with Jeter, Ellsbury and McCann, wouldn't you?

Here's one more basic issue: Girardi doesn't excite me anymore. He replaced Joe "Park Statue" Torre and immediately fired a spark. He argued with umpires, slammed his hat down, kicked dirt, got the fans riled up, got the team riled up. Remember the Giambi called strike-three in 2008 against the Orioles? Why isn't he fired up anymore? Where are the vocal leaders on the team? Not Derek Monotone Jeter.

These days managers aren't at risk of being fired unless there's a few bad years in a row. Unless your former Browns rookie coach Rob Chudzinski.

I'll be writing a lot more now, I miss you guys. I only got 14 views on my last article, and I know that's on me being absent for three months.

And stop booing D-Rob!

Neil Dwyer @neildwyer1993

5 comments:

  1. Welcome back to the big stage Neil, we sure missed you.

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  2. Living in KC, I had the displeasure of going to yesterday's game. I gotta say, I've never been angrier in my life.

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  3. I'm not convinced a coaching change will help turn things around, but I wouldn't be upset to see Girardi and co. get replaced.

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  4. If there were a better manager out there, available for us, I'd say go for it! But, unless someone with a good handle on the job becomes available...let it be. The coaches and manager can only do so much, they try to put the right players in the right places at all times. After that it is up to them to do what they are paid to do, win games!
    With instant replay, there is no arguing with the umpires anymore!

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  5. coaching changes usually only help temporarily, for better or worse. A team is what a team is, bottom line. There are very few players here who actually give a damn, that's the thing about guaranteeing long term contracts.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)