Comments on: Interviews start today in Tampa

By: TimH

TimH — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:26:11 +0000

On the other hand could Torre have had the same success Girardi did with the team he had in Florida. Girardi played the hand he was dealt, and won manager of the year.

By: Jeter's Future Wife

Jeter's Future Wife — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:36:51 +0000

I understand that Girardi used the iron hand managing in FLA…however, do you think he is that dumb to manage in that style in NY? I mean really, give the guy some credit here. He knows exactly what he’d be walking into and to presume that his style would be the same is ridiculous. He only managed one year so it’s not like that style is imbedded in him.

By: EDFl

EDFl — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:25:48 +0000

Murphydog,
Girardi might not be a one-trick pony. IMO, he would make a good Yankee manager.At the same time, they should keep an eye iin the way he handles young pitchers.True he had to be a disciplinarian with a young club but he might have ruined the arm of a young pitcher.
On sept.2nd. against the Mets, Josh Johnson was pitching, leading 4-0. At the end of the 5th inning, Josh complained of tighness on his arm. Then there was an 82-85 minute rain delay. Girardi sent Josh back out after the delay. Johnson never pitched again in 2006. He was leading the NL ERA, was 12-7. He has started 4 games from that moment on. Maybe the injury to the pitcher would habe occurred anyway. We’ll never know.I hope Girardi has learned from his mistake. I dont blame the Marlins’ pitching coach. The buck stops with the manager.

By: catya

catya — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:04:57 +0000

This has to be the most coveted job in all of baseball, for managers.everybody’s wondering what the yankees will do.I have friends in a lot of different markets,that always ask,who is getting the job.

Beantown may be headed to the world series ,but yankees beat them in division play,and with all our player problems, yankees still finished just 2 behind.They didn’t beat us. Next year should be fun,beantown relied on other teams to eliminate us,that’s still something they need to do.

By: catya

catya — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:39:17 +0000

Something, I really like about next year,is the young guys in the farm system. They have to be stoked that the Yankees
have gone gone back to promoting from within. Now, when the Yankees aquire a new prospect it’s not just for trade bait,they could actually make the team,if they perfom.

This season was refreshing watching these hungry,motivated guys,mix with the vets.We do have great things to look forward to next year.

A family member just called with their disgust, that The Drunken Lawyer is back.(Larussa) I tried not to laugh.
I was thinking better you than us.

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:39:11 +0000

I think all this talk of Mo, Jorge and Arod waiting to know the manager before resigning are just negotiation leverage. And I say this as a huge fan of Mo and Jorge. Think about it, of the three names being considered now, is any one really gonna be a huge problem for Mo and Jorge? They played and have good relationship with Girardi, Donnie and Pena are current coaches. Will they really prefer to go to another team and work for managers they don’t know than for any of these three? I doubt it.

But I don’t blame them at all, if I was an agent I’d do the exact same thing.

By: murphydog

murphydog — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:35:22 +0000

When Girardi was in Fla, he skippered a young, cheap, not very deep team, with about the lowest payroll in baseball. You manage kids with minimal or developing talent differently than you manage veterans with proven and/or declining skills. That being true, why do so many of you think Girardi is a one-trick pony, that he can only manage like a drill sergeant? He had no choice in Florida. He had to be strict and extremely disciplined to get that team as far as he did. And who knows what the real story was with the starting pitching? Nobody here, that’s for sure. So stop blaming Girardi for hurting pitchers and don’t think he couldn’t be successful with the yanks.

Joe Torre managed a mostly veteran, All-Star Yankee club with big egos the best way you can, trusting them to do their jobs and insisting that they give 100%. He didn’t wetnurse them or hover over them or conduct bedchecks. When they screwed up, they heard about it in person and discretely. If that didn’t work, adios, a la Ruben Sierra version 1.0., Kenny Lofton, Womack, etc. That said, Girardi, if chosen, would manage his Yankee veterans differently than he did the kids in Florida, looking to the vets to provide leadership and clutch performance without constant cheerleading, screaming exhortations or feeling the need to conduct instructional league sessions.

Speaking of ignorant perceptions:

1. Torre always caught hell for the “fact” that he was a bad manager for young players. That kind of cracks me up because Jeter, Bernie, Mo and Po were all pretty young players when Torre came to the Yankees. They seemed to have turned out alright. (You might want to throw in Cano, Wang and Cabrera too, just for completeness).

2. Someone posted above that Jeter would be treated with kid gloves by Mattingly if he became the manager, as though that actually happened under Torre. Are we talking about the same Jeter who plays everyday unless he has a bone sticking through his skin or was run over by a car? The Captain? Kid Gloves? Just exactly what should Mattingly do with Jeter? Break him on the Wheel? Draw and Quarter him? Use electroshock therapy? And what exactly justifies more aggressive management for Jeter anyway?

Everybody just relax, take deep cleansing breaths and let them choose their manager. We’ll go on from there.

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:31:54 +0000

I have said as soon as we knew Joe wasn’t coming back that Boras would use this as an excuse to opt out Arod. Doesn’t mean I believe that’s their real reason, but it sure give them the perfect PR excuse to preempt the money hungry talk.

And in a way this “uncertainty” could also give Yankees an excuse down the road to back-paddle and negotiate with Arod after he opts out. They can say, we didn’t have a manager in place then, but we do now, so we will now talk to Arod.

By: J-Dawg

J-Dawg — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:25:34 +0000

Giuseppe, that’s definitely true about vets knowing their bodies better than youngsters. Last year Mike Mussina was throwing four hitless innings against the Mets until the rains came. He correctly decided not to come back out. Josh Johnson was a youngster in the heat of competition but he needed to use his head and show a little maturity as well.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:22:44 +0000

(coughs….) like I said !!!

I still donâ€™t know why newspapers wonâ€™t acknowledge Tony Pena

2003 for the Royals turnaround, as the Royals won 21 more games than they had done the previous year. Pena managing style could be described as â€œsmall ball,â€? as the Royals overcame their offensive weaknesses (Only the Tigers has a lower OPS+) with stolen bases (3rd in the American League) and solid hitting (their .274 batting average was 4th in the American League, while they only struck out 926 times, 5th fewest in the AL). The Royals were able to combine these assets to score 836 runs, 4th in the American League.

closer Mike McDougal hurt, Damon traded for Angel Berroa and Berroa under his work w/ Tony had a career year

Beltran on nearing his walk yr., Mike Sweeney out 1/3 of that season, his best SP was Jose Lima and Runelvys Hernandez

WHY IS TONY PENA NAMED THE OTHER GUY ? If anything he should be the # 1 choice.

http://www.baseball-reference......003_Royals