Joe Girardi entered 2015 under much scrutiny having missed
the playoff two years in a row. To boot, this is also the first season without
any member of the core 4 on the roster, placing the leadership role squarely on
his shoulders. Though there have been a few hiccups, The Yankees currently sit
in 1st place in a strongly competitive division, all while dealing with a
multitude of poorly timed injuries to key players. Having dealt with this the
past two years, Girardi is a seasoned pro at keeping a team competitive even in
the worst of scenarios. It speaks volumes to his character, showing why the
Yankees have placed so much confidence in him.
It's no secret one of Joe's greatest achievements during his
tenure has been the consistency of the Yankee bullpen. With a 3.36 ERA in 2015,
the pen is once again a strength the team can rely on. It's also helped that he’s had fantastic
pitchers in the back end such as Betances, Miller, David Robertson, and the
great Mariano Rivera. You can always count on Girardi getting the most out of
the pen, something his predecessor (Joe Torre) masterminded during dynasty
years of the late 90s.
One could say that the lack of perpetual success is due to
the mishandling of a highly paid roster. The decreased production in 2013 (4.01
RPG) and 2014 (3.91 RPG) do make that a valid point. However, things have
turned around substantially with the club averaging 4.6 RPG entering Monday,
the second best in all of baseball behind the Blue Jays. This is due to the
increased production from Teixeira, McCann, Gardner, and especially Alex
Rodriguez. None of this would be possible if Girardi wasn’t instilling confidence
in their abilities, something any good manager or coach knows how to do with
regularity. In the rigors of a long season, things like that are much neglected
and underappreciated.
In a year many thought would be the tipping point of his
tenure, Girardi has stepped up in the face of pressure and is delivering one of
his better managing performances since 2009. Although, he’s not out of the
woods yet and is still prone to common mistakes and misjudgments. Not many
coaches/managers in sports can say they’ve been through a storm like he Girardi
has and come out (though a little worse for wear) just fine. It’s a testament
to the firmness and reliability he showed throughout his 14 year acting career.
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