In the most important off season of the past two decades, the Yankees will have to start by evaluating leadership in the decision making process. Manager Joe Girardi‘s contract is up and one year remains on Brian Cashman’s current deal as GM.
Not only might the titles change, but the entire philosophy and the direction of the franchise can be altered in the next year. Not to mention the players on the field.
And that’s only one side of the equation
For now, the Yankees are going to have to gauge Girardi’s preferences as the ball appears to be exclusively in his court. Girardi, to his credit, said he won’t take long and it will entirely come down to what is best for his family, which is where the logic kind of stops.
Suffice it to say, Girardi is not enamored with taking an established reputation and being asked to bring the impossible to Wrigley Field.
So what could possibly be the alternative? If he’s unwilling to go to Chicago it’s unlikely he’s open to going anywhere else, after all, he never lived anywhere else (except a season in Florida) and he doesn’t have so much as a couple of brothers in another location like he does in Chicago.
Smart money is on Girardi either working out a deal with the Yankees or leaving managing altogether. He’s too young to go the way of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte by leaving the game altogether for at least a year (especially with multiple kids still lacking financial independence), so it’s likely Giradi is torn between his old broadcasting gig (which could also happen in New York) or managing the Yankees.
The replacement candidates list is not long
For New York’s sake, they should hope Girardi’s top choice is in a dugout in the Bronx. Since last check, the only rationale high profile replacement was the Skipper who will be hosting the Atlanta Braves this weekend.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, no longer struggling and under-achieving, are seemingly content with Don Mattingly, who would have been a natural replacement.
With Mattingly off the table, there is no inside-the-box fix for Girardi’s absence like there would be for Cashman’s. Joe Maddon is making a legacy in Tampa, Terry Francona is rebuilding Cleveland and Mike Scioscia doesn’t have the personnel for his management style to work in New York.
Nobody else is more proven than Girardi and the Yankees would be better off making creative decisions with new player development employees over unfamiliar management styles.
So it would either be making a change to an unknown or bringing back “Binder Joe” who earned his nickname for always going with a rational decision over “playing the gut”.
There are plenty of reasons to critique Girardi, just like any other manager in baseball. He trusts his veterans too much, he plays less important players more often because he knows what they are and sometimes he uses insanely small sample sizes to try to justify questionable moves.
But New York is in a permanent win now mode even if it shouldn’t be and Girardi has his hand forced more often than not by trying to manage his way to a 90 win season over a higher draft pick even when the cards aren’t in his favor (this year being a perfect example).
Let’s hope he stays
On the flip side, He’s an NL manager of the year, a World Champion player and coach in New York and he managed his butt off keeping this team from mutiny during A-Rod’s drama, a plethora of injuries and steep competition this season.
He’s the right man for the job and when he gets young pieces who have long-term potential, he may even play them.
For now, the Yankees don’t get to make the decision for their manager and Girardi will be the first domino to fall before the Front Office figures out what to do with a roster not realistically set to “contender mode” until 2015.
A three year deal would make the most sense.
…Should Girardi accept it.
