Where the hell did the Yankees find this Joe Girardi guy?
Yeah okay, he won a couple of World Series rings catching their pitching staffs back in the 90s, but that was almost 15 years ago. What has he done for the Yankees lately other than not make the playoffs last season for the first time since the strike?
First Girardi stumbles and bumbles his way to a disappointing 103 wins in a regular season when he obviously should have done much better with the talent that was gift wrapped and handed to him by Brian Cashman and the franchise's deep pockets.
What's that? He didn't have A-Rod for a month, you say? And moving Phil Hughes to the bullpen worked brilliantly in establishing for New York what is arguably the best bullpen in baseball? Forget all of that. The Yankees have a massive payroll, the highest paid player in the game, and a lineup and rotation stocked full of All Stars and future Hall of Famers. One could argue they shouldn't have lost a single game in 2009 never mind an obscene 59.
Then, after somehow slipping his way into the ALDS — taking the AL East by a minuscule eight games — he enters the ALDS with the absurd idea to use a three-man rotation. Absolutely no one does that anymore. And if no one does it than it must not be the correct way to manage. But there goes Girardi, bucking conventional wisdom and throwing his three best pitchers out there, including CC Sabathia on short rest. Yeah, the Yankees did sweep the Twins — with their pitching dominating all three games, holding Minnesota to six total runs — but in the ALCS against the LA Angels of Anaheim Girardi's critically erratic handling of his pitchers (specifically the bullpen) would come back to haunt the AL East Champions when his luck finally ran out.
The Angels won only 97 games in the regular season, a whopping six less than the Yankees in a much easier division. And while they did finish 10 games ahead of second place Texas, the Rangers were only 87-75, eight games worse than the second place, wild card winning Boston Red Sox (95-67). In any case, it was obvious that the Angels were a highly inferior opponent and that only Joe Girardi could get in the way of another inevitable playoff sweep by the Yankees.
![1950 World Series - New York vs Philadelphia [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VW63M833L._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - hanwitopa
you forget that pettite but still mentioned he has more post season wins than anyone in history. he is an awesome post season pitcher and pitches better in big games....not a bad coice for game 6 cause if you win the rotation is set in order, which it now is.
2 - Tony
Yeah, I know. That was one of the points I was making. Its a satire.
3 - Minderbinder
Wow, I was going to comment on your complete lack of subtly but now I see why you felt you had to add "satire" to the title.
I don't think too many people questioned CC on 3 days rest, but are the Yankees going to pitch AJ Burnett on 3 days rest? CC is a horse, but I would be nervous about Burnett on short rest.
4 - Tony
Yeah I wasn't really going for subtle. I didn't think people questioned CC on 3 days much either until I read the New York press. They have been ridiculously hard on a manager who has done a great job. Its utterly baseless.