Credibility and accountability take a hit
-
- August
- 30
It would be evident to the most novice of baseball fans that Robinson Cano made a bad play in the seventh inning. He was too far away from Derek Jeter to try that flip. The error opened the door to an awful 7-6 loss.
Joe Girardi knows this, he has to. He’s been in baseball all his life.
But in another moment that strained his credibility as manager, Girardi refused to criticize Cano. In fact, he compared him to future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, saying Cano has a “smoothness” to his game.
Kim Jones of the YES Network, much to her credit, did not let the comment skate by and asked a series of questions about the play. Girardi repeated the same theme.
Here is the audio:
I get that a manager doesn’t want to be truthful about injuries, most of them are that way. You want to be positive after a loss, that’s also understandable.
But when a player botches a game in front of 53,273 fans and hundreds of thousands of others on television, you can’t pretend it’s OK and then compare him to one of the best second basemen ever to put on spikes.
In any sport, the manager or coach has to be credible. He’s the face of the organization. Yankees fans are not stupid.
Meanwhile, Cano left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters. Derek Jeter, Darrell Rasner, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Edwar Ramirez all made themselves available and he did not.
Part of being a big leaguer is being accountable, especially when you sign a $30 million contract extension before the season. Teammates hate that. If Alex Rodriguez can stand there and talk about his bad day, so can Robinson Cano.
Bad performances all around today. Third place is not an accident.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 5:42 pm by Peter Abraham.
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pete.
great stuff.
first time long time
tough days indeed for the stripers
This has already been said, but GOD I miss Larry Bowa. And GOD I miss George.
Girardi clearly has no intention of benching Cano. It’s funny how he always has this stern, tense look in the dugout during games yet he never criticizes his players and gives his upbeat, positive quotes after losses.
Cashman needs to get involved now and do something.
guys, do you think Girardi is on the hot seat for his teams performance, injuries notwithstanding?
That is what the Yankees are to this great city.
Thank god there is a team like the Mets that will restore baseball credibility to our great town.
The New Yankee Stadium should have been built in NJ.
Pete I love the blog and check multitple times a day, but honestly it’s enough criticizing Girardi. What did he do to you early in the year that has caused this kind of hatred??
Maybe he was told by his teammates suit up and go because the press will hound you about that play, how about that for some thoughts on it ?
No. Hank and Cashman have already come out and supported him 100%, Cashman going as far as telling people to blame him instead of Girardi.
Clearly, they don’t see him as the problem. He has made his fair share of boneheaded decisions this season but he is far from the problem.
Pete,
Your credibility as a writer takes a hit every time you say A-Rod isn’t “clutch” when his CAREER numbers in the “clutch” say otherwise. But I’ll let you tell it.
I like Joe, but he’s enabling Cano, which does neither the team nor Cano any good. I don’t care about Cano so much as I do the team and the players are not idiots; think they don’t wonder to themselves and amongst themselves why Joe doesn’t do anything about it? Pull him out of the lineup – send him down. I don’t care, but do something, anything. Joe looks like he’s catering to his players, something a manager can never do.
It’s funny that Girardi postgame audio is usually only posted after a loss. Last year, there was audio from almost everyone of Torre’s postgame pressers, win or lose. Now, it seems that we only get Girardi’s reaction after a loss.
Cashman should have sent him down to AAA—- but he doesn’t want to look bad after he gave him that stupid contract. So instead, they are using Melky as a scapegoat.
I wouldn’t be suprised if Cashman told Girardi not to bench him.
i understand what fans want to hear. i understand what the media wants to hear.
but i also understand what girardi is doing.
this is his first year as the manager of the yankees. he wants to be here a long time…while wins is the only guarantee for it…there are definitely other factors involved.
is it possible he doens’t want to criticize his players is b/c he, cash, hank, hal all know what needs to be done with this team and they are just riding out the rest of the season? is it possible that if they have any intention of trading cano, any negative criticism would hurt his value even more? especially considering how the media in ny would take a quote by anybody and run with it causing a frenzy?
in ny, the less said the better. fans may not like it. the media may not like it…but i can see why girardi won’t say anything bad about what’s going on. especially since he wants to be around next season and will have to be around some of these guys again.
girardi is not pretending everything is OK. that’s what you think he’s doing. but there’s more things at play.
Of all the players in recent Yankee history, the only one to get locked up far before he had to be was Cano. What a mistake.
At least Horace Clarke worked and gave a damn. This guy has got to go.
Out here on the West Coast, w/o access to YES, I couldn’t see the lowlights but Giradi’s actions are understandable. It’s bad enough to have one overpaid headcase on the team, he doesn’t need to make another one. Praise in public, criticize in private was the management mantra of the USAF so it’s understandable.
Matters not, we are in the wilderness. We will remain there as long as the team relies on he who will remain nameless. Remember 1965-1975? 1982-1995? Well, the franchise survived that and we’ll survive this stretch.
Any chance we can trade the nameless one for Zito? Both have contracts that the GM and franchise rather forget :^)
raymagnetic – No one cares what Alex Rodriguez did with the Mariners or the Rangers.
I don’t know what “not clutch” is but I know it when I see it. And it looks a whole lot like Alex Rodriguez.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Cashman bolts for LA this off-season and realizes this mess is too big to clean up.
Our young talent has all flopped- Hughes, Kennedy, Cano, Melky, Ohlendorf, Robertson etc. wheras LA has legit young talent that he sees as an opportunity to build around.
Our only jewel is Joba.
“Pete I love the blog and check multitple times a day, but honestly it’s enough criticizing Girardi. What did he do to you early in the year that has caused this kind of hatred??”
I have always thought Pete was too critical with Girardi, but he is dead on today with everything he wrote above.
Think Larry Bowa would have defended that play? Not in a trillion fiddlesticking years. But Girardi compares him to Robbie Alomar? Pete is absolutely right, that is an insult to the fans’ intelligence.
This team needs more Bowa period and no one is in greater need than Cano. They need to be reunited next year, be it in LA or here.
Every player in the clubhouse ought to leave without speaking to reporters.
What if David Eckstein or Orlando Hudson made that flip and the same result happened? I guarantee we wouldn’t have Kim Jones using “smoothness” as a code word for lazy Dominican.
Why don’t you sent Brian Cashman your resume, Pete? Joker.
“raymagnetic – No one cares what Alex Rodriguez did with the Mariners or the Rangers.
I don’t know what “not clutch†is but I know it when I see it. And it looks a whole lot like Alex Rodriguez.”
aado,
His CAREER numbers also contain the years he’s been with the Yankees. Trust me his so called clutch numbers are really good as a Yankee.
DJ – that is a very good point. Girardi is probably on a leash and following orders from Cashman and the higher-ups.
Benching him or sending him to the minors only hurts his trade value. The organization as a whole just seems content on riding out the season.
Same old: MLB put restrictions on how often and how much audio newspapers can use this season. But nice try at a conspiracy theory.
Meanwhile, it’s amusing that some of you attack me every time I mention something about Girardi. Do you really think it’s OK to compare Cano to Alomar today?
If so, I have no idea what to tell you. Blame me if that makes you feel better, I guess. Meanwhile the Yankees are about to have their first losing August in decades.
I’ll be back later.
Memo to Yankees change Alex’s number, that #13 has not been a good omen for the Yankees.
NY Yankees No. 13-
Steve Barber, Curt Blefary (1970-1971), Tory Lovullo (1991), Mike Pagliarulo (1986-1989), Bobby Brown (1981), Cliff Maples (1948), Keith Smith (1985), Mike Blowers (1989), Charlie Hayes, Jim Leyritz (1993-96, 99-00), Michael Coleman (2001), Jose Vizcaino (2000), Willie Banks, Alvaro Espinoza (1990), Luis Sojo, Lee Mizilli (coach), Walt Williams (1974-1975), Mike Figga, Antonio Osuna (2003), Gerald Williams (1992) and Alex Rodriguez (2004).
Um, Golden, Girardi said smoothness. Not Kim.
And it’s the players who expect each other to be accountable, not the media.
Reading comprehension, try it.
i have no problem with girardis answer
have a major problem with cano bailing and not standing in front of his locker to answer questions
Girardi should have done a Joe Maddon/Gil Hodges, forcefully removing a non hustling player from the field
Cano has cost us several games with his nonchalant attitude
Almost no doubt we would have won if the double play was completed
Yes the team is populated by players in the downside of their careers, who rarely have made the big play this year
But lack of hustle can not be tolerated, and Girardi, by not benching Cano, is, in effect, saying it OK
Time to see what we have with Gardner, and even possibly Austin Jackson
This team needs to get young and hungry
“No way they should have given Robbie that contract. He’s the last guy who should have gotten a contract like that,’’ one Yankee said. “They never gave a deal like that to Derek Jeter or Bernie Williams or Jorge Posada or Mariano Rivera with so much time to go before free agency. They could have given it to Cano or [Chien-Ming] Wang. They picked the wrong guy.’’ ————————————————————————————-
That is most certainly a Mussina quote. Obviously, it has to be someone who was here a while and knows the contract situations of all those guys. Giambi is another possibility.
“Just look at [Red Sox second baseman Dustin] Pedroia, and the year he’s having. The difference between him and Cano is the difference between the teams. Pedroia doesn’t have one-quarter the talent of Cano, but he’s outplaying him by a mile.’’——————————————————————
That sounds like a Damon quote. Damon seems to be still obsessed with Boston and likes to talk.
Both of those quotes are also something A-Rod or Jeter would say, though I doubt either of them would risk talking off-the-record with anyone criticizing anyone.
“NY Yankees No. 13-
Steve Barber, Curt Blefary (1970-1971), Tory Lovullo (1991), Mike Pagliarulo (1986-1989), Bobby Brown (1981), Cliff Maples (1948), Keith Smith (1985), Mike Blowers (1989), Charlie Hayes, Jim Leyritz (1993-96, 99-00), Michael Coleman (2001), Jose Vizcaino (2000), Willie Banks, Alvaro Espinoza (1990), Luis Sojo, Lee Mizilli (coach), Walt Williams (1974-1975), Mike Figga, Antonio Osuna (2003), Gerald Williams (1992) and Alex Rodriguez (2004).”
Yikes. I have half a mind to go post this list on the fanmail section of Arod.com. I wonder if he knows or has ever thought about this before? Anyone know if its ever been mentioned in interviews or anything?
How is Girardi not being credible? Every player will make mistakes throughout the season, and Girardi (a venerable former player who has more credibility about the game of baseball in his pinky finger than you do in your entire body) knows that. Unfortunately, Cano made an error in a crucial situation. He is still is one of the best defensive 2B in the game, and doesn’t deserve to be singled out b/c some reporters who got cut from their high school junior varsity baseball team are upset that he wouldn’t give them post-game material. I’m pretty sure he’ll be around tomorrow – why not ask him then? One reason only – because it won’t help you nearly as much for your articles as it would today. Stop being selfish.
“Charlie Hayes, Jim Leyritz (1993-96, 99-00), ”
Yeah, the Yankees were terrible when Charlie Hayes and Jim Leyritz wore number 13. That number 13 was such bad luck in the late 90’s that the Yankees managed to win 4 WS.
“Trust me his so called clutch numbers are really good as a Yankee.”
how do you define clutch numbers?
In fact IIRC Charlie Hayes caught the final out in the 96 WS, no? I’m surprised that the ball managed to find his glove and not slip through the glove’s webbing considered the man was wearing number thirteen at the time.
“how do you define clutch numbers?”
Randy,
I don’t believe in clutch or luck or voodoo either. But baseball reference has a section featuring each player’s numbers in the clutch and A-Rod’s are very good.
Cano obviously doesn’t care. He knew what he was doing when he left. He can jump up and down when he hits a home run but can’t answer a question on how he can mess up a simple play. What a loser. Girardi treats him like a rookie that is going to make mistakes. It is time for him to take off as a player and so far he has gotten worse. But if the manager doesn’t care then why should the player.
Actually, a remarkably dumb quote from Girardi is a lot more interesting to read and would, therefore, help the writers not hurt them. I don’t know why people get on Pete for pointing out the obvious obtuseness of comparing Cano to Alomar today. Pretty basic.
Sean:
What sky is the color in your world?
Oh, and I played varsity and I don’t much care that he didn’t talk. Why in the world would I care?
I have way more faith in Pete Abraham than Joe Girardi. I think this managerial experiment has gone on long enough. The only way I’d compare Cano to Alomar is if Robbie spits on an umpire tomorrow.
Pete,
Why did Girardi bring up smoothness in the first place? Because Kim Jones brought up laziness. Why? Cause Cano is Dominican and that’s the stereotype. How much BP does Kim Jones take? How many ground balls? What kind of work out is she putting in? Give me a break.
You reporters are all tossers. Asking the same dumb questions all the time. “So you made an error today and you cost the team the game. How do you feel about that and what are you going to do to correct it?” How the hell do you think they feel about it?
Did you ever play one sport in gym class your whole life? It happens. You boot a ball, drop a touchdown, miss the shot. IT HAPPENS.
But you and all your colleagues just stick microphones in every face you can to grab quotes to fill up 40 lines or 4 and a half minutes. Because the season hasn’t gone great you’ve all got to find someone to villify after every god damn game. It’s sad to watch. I’d tell you to go get a real job where you aren’t spending all of your time tearing down other human beings, but we both know you ain’t leaving that catered clubhouse spread.
Ellen—it’s because, after reading this blog for two seasons now(without posting once), that many people who do post do not have the highest of mental capacities. That part is obvious to anyone with half a brain.
long september upcoming boys and girls
yanks are fortunate its the last season at the stadium, cause otherwise it would be half empty towards the end
“Cause Cano is Dominican and that’s the stereotype.”
Oh, my gosh, what a ridiculous commentary.
Girardi took away the candy and ice cream in clubhouse = Pete very pissed at Girardi
NYY: A. Rodriguez GIDP with 2 on no outs for 11th GIDP in August (NYY record)
LOL that was on ESPN’s bottomline scroll after they showed the game score.
raymagnetic – Alex Rodriguez didn’t play in meaningful game after May 15th as a Texas Ranger. I do not care what the numbers say. All I know is that Alex Rodriguez was the last guy I wanted to see walk up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and I am sure that I am not alone.
Mark my words. Alex Rodriguez will go on a tear the very moment that the Yankees are eliminated from the wild card race and I am also sure that he will pad those clutch numbers that you like to use as the gospel.
No hablo ingles!
Golden:
Nice to see a racist check in. Good luck with that. Yep, all them Dominicans are the same.
Meanwhile, the clubhouse spread isn’t available to reporters. And what do you suggest we write about this game, how they all tried real hard?
Why does Kim need to take BP? I’m not sure I get that. Does that mean every political reporter needs to be president first? That could take a while, all those 4-year terms.
Does this mean I need to stop reading W.C. Heinz because he never actually boxed Muhammad Ali?
I dont have a problem with Girardi not throwing him under the bus. Everyone knows that he made a bad play. I am aure in his own way Cano knows he made a bad play. I also didnt see Jeter or Arod throwing him under the bus either. BOTH of them said that he has made that play before and that everyone makes mistakes Jeter when pressed hard by Kim JOnes about the play and whether he shoudl have done something different on whether it was Cano being lazy. He said absolutely it was not a lazy play even said he has made that mistake before so for Girardi to say that Cano is the caliber of Almoar he is when he wants to be there have been many times when he has made great plays at 2nd today was NOT one of them. It would not suprise me if Girardi has a little talkwith Cano about this but as has been his way in his Yankee tenure what he says to players stays between them.
HOWEVER what I find even worse and un-excusable was that Cano was not present to answer reporters questions that is just bush league. Every player stands infront of hislocker and answers on the good days and the bad days. Mo has stood in front of hislocker when he has blown loses. Damon stood in front of his locker eveyr game and the game where he made those two errors and cost us the game he was in front of his locker accouting for his errant ways. For robbie not to be there you are right has no excuses and may just put another nail in his Yankee coffin.
So, Girardi should just call his players out in front of the media who have had a bad day? He’s not that type of manager. In fact, neither is Joe Torre, but he was never criticized for having this characteristic of staying loyal to his players.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this was like to 15th time Robbie Cano made a dump play and got no retribution. Peter’s criticism is fair because of the repeat nature of Cano’s lazy play. How many grounders just miss his glove because he didn’t dive? One per game at least
ages ago marcus camby asked out of one of hisfirst games as a knick, since he was out of breath. van gundy kept him on the bench for the rest of the game. camby said afterwards he learned his lesson and would never ask out of a game.
that very same knick team made the 1999 finals while injury depleted and playing with no homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
the thing i hated most about torre was the acceptence of losing and lack of accountability. girardi was supposed to be different. he’s even worse.
cano should have been pulled mid-game ages ago.remember the 12-hopper that cost us a game? his lazy ass would have been dragged to the bench by a manager with real guts.
and for cano apolgists – a pop quiz:
when was the last time cano actually dove for a ball? (instead of stumbling towards it).
lazy people don’t like to get their clothes soiled.
Glad I Was there to boo A-Rod and Cano.Everybody but Nady and Mo are to blame.
Trade somebody for brian roberts
I think this is a bad one-
a) Leiter compared Cano to Alomar during the game, does he lack credibility? They are referring to his style- which is “smooth” in nature which can look lazy- i don’t think girardi was saying that he made a good play.
b) Derek Jeter said its a mistake, everyone makes mistakes- does he have any credibility?
c) no problem with anyone killing cano today-it was a bad play and he should talk to the media- but since girardi makes a couple of comments to kim jones he’s the main topic of the blog post?
d) AROD…if someone didnt watch the game and just read your updates pete- they would think he hit a dribbler to third…I would think the basic point of arods double play would be that hes snakebit and cant catch a break…can you hit a ball harder?
Popping up with the bases loaded and one out isn’t a reason to blame Nady?
Nah…it’s easier to blame A-Rod.
raymagnetic-
i went to baseball reference and couldn’t find the clutch hitting info you mentioned.
got a link to a page on it?
thanks
Pete is 100% right in his original blog post. Cano is a joke, and I hope the veterans get on him for leaving the clubhouse. As for Girardi, this time last year everyone was hyping this guy up, saying he was going to give the Yanks the kick in the ### they needed to get over the hump. A year later, the exact opposite has happend, and they have become even more lazy, and not focused. Terrible job by Girardi, not sure where all that fire went, maybe the higher ups do want him to tone down, or maybe he just wasnt a good manager. Look at the season the Marlins are having, it clearly wasnt Girardi who got the most out of them, and he had Cabrera.
Today on the post game, Michael Kay said “he felt bad” that A-Rod always seems to be up with men on base in a key spot and that is always seems to be him at the plate in the big spot.
THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HIT FOURTH. YOU COME UP WITH GUYS ON BASE. THAT IS WHY YOUR TOP THREE HITTERS ARE WHO THEY ARE. SO THEY CAN GET ON BASE FOR THE CLEANUP HITTER. LET’S FEEL BAD FOR ALEX THAT HE CAN’T DRIVE IN RUNNERS AND DO THE JOB HE WAS PAID TO DO.
Maybe Michael Kay should feel bad for the Yankees fans who watch these games and put in their time and spend their hard earned money so that people like Alex Rodriguez can play baseball for a living. Let’s feel bad that Alex once again didn’t come through in a big spot on a day where he made $166,667. Poor A-Rod.
adam,
yes, torre was also loyal to his player to a fault, at least via media.
however, the one time i remember torre showing up a player while knowing full well he was on camera (it was in the dugout during a game) was when soriano thought he had hit a home run and started strutting manny-style, only to see the ball hit the wall abd having to run like mad just to stretch it to a double. torre got in his face immediately.
lesson here:
bad performance or bad day should be handled internally and quietly. however – bad attitude must be extinguished for everyone to see as it sets an example. i have no doubt that many yanks are fed up with cano and the support his laziness is getting.
I have been wholly unimpressed with our manager this season.
Well at the end of the day the best part is that you can always say its just a game. Its unfortunate that the play turned out the way it did, but i can recall dozens of plays that have gone in the yankees favor over the years.
Awful loss, awful season…..it couldnt be said any better…..this is a 3rd place baseball team. Unfortunately, if we were in the NL East and not the AL East, things would be different.
This team is in a hurry to get to the finish line right now despite knowing that finish line is the end of September.
Frankly, this season is much easier to swallow then the endings of the last few years….at least we dont have to get excited to watch Pavano or Ponson pitch a pivotal elimination game in a 5 game series against Anaheim.
Once again, if David Eckstein made the exact same play, I guarantee you the word laziness would not have come out Kim Jones mouth. You’re calling me a racist for criticizing Kim Jones for bringing it up. Gold, Jerry, gold. That’s that Amherst education for you. I’m Irish and Dominican. It’s disgraceful that I even have to share that, but hey, you’ll twist just about anything to win an argument.
166,667? wow it takes some people 10 years to make that much. lol.
All players make errors and have bad days
And yes I played sports and my son a a varsity college athlete, and i’ve coached multiple sports, so I have a sense of what it takes to win and get the most from your talent
Damon’s dropped fly balls were terrible, but not a result of a lack of focus or hustle, he just messed up
Cano’s play was a nonchalant play at a crucial point in the game, that cost the team a game it couldn’t afford to lose
I’ve seen at least four instances this year where he either didn’t hustle or didn’t concentrate
And he’s gotten away with a lot of nonchalant plays, but the risk is always high when he doesn’t focus
The quote about Pedroia compared to Cano is 100% accurate
The notion that criticizing cano because he’s Dominican is absurd
He’s a talented, but very soft player
In fact, with a few exceptions (Mo, Pettite, Jeter) this is a soft team, that falls apart when the pressure is on
I can’t stand the Red Sox, but we need more of what Youkliss and Pedroia bring to the field every day!
Time to root for the Phillies and the Twins like they have been our collective favorite teams all our lives. That or just accept that Boston is making the playoffs and hope they get trounced early by the Halos.
Cubs vs Angels series would excite me.
While I think Girardi comparing Robbie to Alomar was a bit over the top, I don’t get why Pete thinks that Joe is going to throw one of his players under the bus. He’s a first year manager trying to get these guys to trust him. You think he’s going to slam Cano in front of you? I don’t think so.
I am also distressed to see the racist comments on here. Cano’s issues have nothing to do with his race. I also don’t think he’s lazy. Cano lacks judgement. I don’t think he thinking out there sometimes. That’s not lazy; that’s stupid, which is probably worse. Still, I think this kid has a future and we should stick with him.
You can call for Joe to sit Cano all you like, but unless you are willing to sit through games with Betemit at 2B, you better get used to seeing Cano.
Today sealed the deal as to whether this is a championship caliber team or not. Good teams don’t let games like this get away. Good teams know how to put a team away. This team doesn’t.
Joe Girardi does deserve criticism for game management and certain statements he makes in post game interviews.
Cano may in fact have symptoms of ADD and needs to grow up to be a major league player. Walking out the door deserves no less than a fine by Girardi and serious discussions with teammates.
Girardi still has time to establish a winning attitude and leave this season on a high note. It’s up to him.
i don’t think a player who can’t put the bat on the bat at will can be a good clutch player.
and arod can’t hit the ball at will.
he usually needs three swings to hit the ball once.
why would he be confident in a clutch situation?
he’s tense and he has good reason to be.
I’m really absolutely with Pete here. Respect for that post.
This lack of credibility is a big problem in sports, not just in the US.
“I can’t stand the Red Sox, but we need more of what Youkliss and Pedroia bring to the field every day!”
i agree wholeheartedly with the first part, but i don’t think we need players like youkillis and pedroia.
i think we need players who can’t stand the sight of them and want to annihilate them.
hahaha – I wish Cano would have stayed and answered the same question over and over from 20 reporters about that play. Most of the time he doesn’t seem to understand the question and then answers in complete gibberish – it would have been a hoot!
I also don’t think it was a lazy play – I think he poorly judged the distance to 2nd base and tried to give the throw a little extra the flung it into the ground. The correct play would have been to square up and throw it overhand.
...and it did hit Jeter’s glove – he should have caught that ball or at least knocked it down.
Oh, and just what would be the point of Girardi ripping Cano publicly? What is that going to solve? It’s clear Girardi doesn’t want to give it to his players in public, and frankly, I don’t blame him. It isn’t going to make things any better.
Another great line from today.
Joe Girardi said that the Yankees have to win every game now and that he will use Mariano the way he has been even if it for multiple out saves.
“We couldn’t manage the games like this in April and May because we would have burned out guys in the bullpen.”
Or, if you had managed games like this back in April and May you probably wouldn’t be about to have an “x” next to your name in the standings now.
Golden:
Call somebody into the room and have them read this sentence to you slowly:
Joe Girardi said Cano played with smoothness, not Kim Jones.
I’m not really sure how to explain it to you.
““I can’t stand the Red Sox, but we need more of what Youkliss and Pedroia bring to the field every day!â€
So we need more whinners and short people?
Pedroia plays the game hard; he’s a gamer. Pukelis is a wuss and a cry baby. I don’t want anyone like that on the Yankees.
pete, in fairness to golden, he said earlier that girardi said that because kim said lazy- so he said smooth- that was his argument…im on a blackberry so i couldnt hear one way or another-
If this was a year for Joe Girardi to feel his way with this team then he should get on with it and finish the season.
Next year it will not be tolerated by either the front office or the fans. His free pass has reached it’s final days.
Seemed to be a good move by Joe maddon when he benched their centerfielder (I think he plays center, def an outfielder)
Seemed to be a good move for the 1969 Mets when Gil Hodges walked out on to the field and pulled his best field player off
In a crazy way, Billy Martin did that with Reggie Jackson in Fenway
Lack of hustle and focus kills a team, needs to be addressed in a clear, unambiguous way
Betemit sucks, we all know that
But Cano needs tough love, and that’s Girardi’s job
I actually think that the Yankees ARE stupid. They hired this idiot Girardi as manager. He has blown 12 games now. That is far above average for any manager, for a Yankee manager it is unforgiveable. The man should never have been hired as manager.
Talk about Clueless Joe… we have the epitomy of clueless now. Girardi.
I’m a little disturbed at how many people are calling my comments “racist”.
You’d have to be a Massachusetts-educated moron to act like the “Dominican players are lazy” stereotype doesn’t exist. And the liberal New York sports media made damn sure they tagged Cano with it when he came up.
I’m criticizing the stereotype and Kim Jones for falling into it. Cano made a bad play and he’s having a bad year. He’s also made a lot of good plays and had good years. I’m not going to let some dude with a BA and a blog label me for words HE is twisting.
“…and it did hit Jeter’s glove – he should have caught that ball or at least knocked it down.”
If you look at the replay, the ball DID NOT hit Jeter’s glove. That being said, he did wait a bit too long to run after it. Alex had to leave 3rd to get it. And the pitcher wasn’t covering 3rd either so it was a crappy play all around.
Tom,
Thanks.
Pete,
Reading comprehension. TRY IT.
Listen, I am not about to throw Robinson Cano under the bus for making an error today. Was it a costly mistaken at an inopportune time? Absolutely. However, this season ended weeks ago for the Yankees, so it’s not as if this play singlehandedly ruined the year. That being said, Cano brings a blatant lack of professionalism to the ballpark with him each and every day. Not only is he hitting .271 with a pathetic OBP of .308 (considering his career numbers were .314 with an OBP of .346 before this season), but his general demeanor out on the field is amateurish. If he makes a mistake, he’s smiling and fooling around in the dugout. He makes more “mental errors” than anybody on the field. It’s happened over and over again. And on top of this, he leaves the clubhouse before anybody can confront him on a game costing mistake today.
Professional athletes make mistakes and should be accountable for them. They need to realize that sports isn’t all fun and games at the professional level and they need to act accordingly. That doesn’t mean smiling in the dugout after striking out in the 7th. That doesn’t mean leaving the ballpark before anybody can get a hold of you. Now, I am a big fan of Cano and really hope he puts it together in the years ahead. But, quite honestly, if he wants to act like a baby and not take responsibility for his occasional failures, then that’s someone I’d prefer wear another uniform in the future.
And to comment on the SI remarks, I couldn’t agree more. I thought it was an insult to previous Yankees (such as DJ and Mo) that Cashman broke the mold with Cano. There was no reason to sign him to a lucrative long-term deal at this stage in his career and if the choice came between him and Wang (who has won 19 games in each of the past 2 seasons), the choice was clearly Wang.
But Golden, you are making assumptions about Kim Jones that I’m not sure you can make. Do you know for a fact that when she used the term smoothness, she really meant lazy Dominican? I don’t think you can make that leap of faith.
this might sound strange but i think when this season is over and i look back at it, the thing thats going to upset me the most is the winning streak after the all star game, becasue there we see that this team was capable of winning it all, we were finally glued together, but then for some unknown reason we shattered into a mess of a team.
Wait, Girardi shouldn’t publicially admit when his player does something stupid? Why not? Are we supposed to believe that WE are blind instead? Or maybe we have no idea of how baseball is played?
Girardi comes across as a fool. That is because he is one. He gets out managed in most series and is why the Yankees are going to miss the post season.
Cashman’s worst mistake in the offseason was not the non-Santana trade (though that was an awful decision too) but his decision to let Bowa go.
“And to comment on the SI remarks, I couldn’t agree more. I thought it was an insult to previous Yankees (such as DJ and Mo) that Cashman broke the mold with Cano. There was no reason to sign him to a lucrative long-term deal at this stage in his career and if the choice came between him and Wang (who has won 19 games in each of the past 2 seasons), the choice was clearly Wang.”
I think they based their decision thinking in terms of injuries. They had been snake bitten in the past giving money out to pitchers only to have them come up lame (i.e. Pavano). I think they wanted to avoid that scenario playing itself out again. That doesn’t make it right, but it’s an excuse that I bet is pretty darn close to the truth.
I think today summed up the whole year in a nice tight little package. There is nothing that makes you think this team is going to make a run at playing in October. There is a reason they have camped out in 3rd place all year. They are a third place team.
I dont know how you let Robinson Cano take the field tomorrow. That was as lazy ass a play as you are ever going to see. Championship teams dont do that on double play balls. This year may have rendered Cano done in NY. And Yankee fans can watch him take off as an LA Dodger.
As for AROD, it has been as remarkable a year for the worst reasons for him. Think of it this way, in one swing last night, Beltran quadrupled the amount of RBIS in the 9th inning that AROD has. I have been a Yankee fan since 1977 and I have to say with a straight face man, he is having as unclutch a year as one can ever have
And as has been debated here especially by me, we are tied to this jelatonius puddle of goo for the next nine years after this one. 9 more years. He was off the books and now hes here for the next 9 years.
Yankee fans get used to saying it, the new Yankee Stadium is now known as the house AROD built. That is absolutely frightening.
For all the people that debate why cashman keeps his job its because the ruinous moves that the Yankees have made have not been made by him….Igawa was an organizational knee jerk to dicek….Randy Johnson…..signing arod for 10 years….that came from over Cashmans hed
Ive defended #27 here all year but show me some balls tomorrow and sit Cano….and spare me he may cry or you will lose him….Something needs to be done to state that you cant be a major league ballplayer and do lazy ass things like that all of the time
Your 2008 New York Yankees summed up their season in a nice bowtie today with one month left to it….amazing
hank hal, the worst mistake Cashman made was pushing for Girardi, his yes man without a clue, as manager.
Girardi needs to serve notice that in no uncertain terms will lackadaisical be accepted by any and all players – without exception.
“Cashman’s worst mistake in the offseason was not the non-Santana trade (though that was an awful decision too) but his decision to let Bowa go.”
I’m not sure you can blame that one on Cashman. I don’t think Girardi wanted Bowa.
“raymagnetic – Alex Rodriguez didn’t play in meaningful game after May 15th as a Texas Ranger. I do not care what the numbers say. ”
So in other words AADO, you’ve made up your mind and there’s nobody that can change it. Nice.
pedroia and youkillis are both in your face kind of guys.
i think the way to beat then is to get right back in their faces and raise them one on the intimidation scale.
when each of them hogs the plate and defies the pitcher to throw up and in. the pitcher should accommodate them with a little chin music.
make that a lot of chin music.
neither guy is a tough guy. what are they going to do besides whine a lot and squeal like a stuck pig?
oh yeah, i forgot. that was youkilis’s reaction to joba.
“You’d have to be a Massachusetts-educated moron to act like the “Dominican players are lazy†stereotype doesn’t exist.”
I’ve found in my experience that many stereotypes exist only because people who are offended by their potential to exist continue to perpetuate them.
Aren’t we all making an assumption here that Girardi didn’t tear Robbie a new one in private? Why does Pete and apparently everyone else think that Girardi needs to call out Cano in front of everyone? He can get his point across in private just as well as he can in public.
Now, if you are saying that doing it in public will have greater impact on Cano, that’s possible, but we can’t assume that he hasn’t said ANYTHING to Cano when we are not there in the clubhouse.
“i went to baseball reference and couldn’t find the clutch hitting info you mentioned.
got a link to a page on it?
thanks”
Randy,
Click on the link below. When you scroll down they have Clutch Stats. You can do it by year or by his entire career.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bsplit.cgi?n1=rodrial01
I’m more than okay with Girardi not throwing Cano to the wolves (even if he deserved it). He went too far with the Alomar comparison, but whatever.
Cano started it, but it didn’t have to completely fall apart after that. RBI single, walk, pitching change, K, RBI (2)single, popout, K.
Then in the 8th. Single, pitching change, single, sac bunt (look there it is again!), pitching change, RBI single, RBI groundout, K.
Many culprits to share the blame. Including the manager for not calling the double steal, since you can’t have A-rod bunting because man-law says you can’t. And A-rod hit it hard, but to the left. And Cody! Love ya kid, but you gotta have a better at-bat than that, esp. after the DP.
Cano should’ve stayed and manned up himself instead of hiding behind the manager’s empty, unearned praise.
I don’t see how Girardi loses credibility for protecting his players. It’s obvious what he’s doing. Any kind of blame or tongue-lashing should be done behind closed doors.
Spare me the pablum about lazy dominican ballplayers and have a discussion please about the fact this man has played half assed the whole year
Laura- I agree with you, i think one of the perks of being the yankees and playing in ny is that you dont have to lock these young players up before they hit their last year before free agency…treat it as an opportunity to further gain a look at a player…way too early with cano—even if he was great how much $ do they save?
Well, the only two choices Cashman seemed to have were Girardi & Mattingly. Hard to say that Cashman made a huge mistake given the two choices on the table. Why they didn’t interview anyone else (other than Pena who seemingly had no shot) is beyond me.
To be exact, the guy Cashman may have wanted all along was Hillman, a Cashman favorite with ties to the Yankees organization. But he reached an agreement with KC before the Yankees’ job officially opened up..plus, who knows if the Steinbrenners would have agreed to a no-name?
Remember Soriano in the 2003 playoffs and I submit Robinson Cano as the 2008 version of that …..I think he may go this year and I wont shed a tear when he does
on the topic of girardi not saying anything bad about cano i dont know which is better
either he blows it off like he did today,
or he does what Jerry Manuel did when Cancel tried to steal third and got caught, in which in the post game jerry called him brain dead
personally i thought it was funny, but to people here does that qualify as throwing someone under the bus?
Giradi will be back next year, I submit under red hot pressure
Wow, pablum – I had to look that up! Nice syntax.
you gotta have faith,
Saying someone is brain dead or had a brain fart if funny. There was no way to laugh today’s play (by all the perpetrators) off.
So nobody is allowed to say “Cano is a lazy Dominican” but you can say “Kim White Bread Jones”? Find something else to whine about.
we need more players like joba, who thrives to “stick it” to the “tough” player, and is not afraid to challenge himself and the players he comes across
And someone called Kim Jones a dumb blonde. That’s wrong. She’s not a true blonde.
raymagnetic-
thanks for the link
i’ll check it out.
I still think very highly of Robbie and expect him to be a great hitter some day.
Players make errors all the time—remember he also had a go ahead home-run today.
But he has to face the music afterward, as painful as it must be.
He doesn’t strike me as any less disciplined than any young player, just perhaps a little immature.
His lack of plate discipline bothers me most about his game, far more than the errors.
Yeah, Tony Pena had no shot. That is curious because he had better credentials than Girardi. Each had won a Manager of the Year award, with the difference being Pena didn’t get fired after one season, hung around for 2 or 3 more. Guess he was the token minority interview. Hope he gets another shot with another team.
“And someone called Kim Jones a dumb blonde. That’s wrong. She’s not a true blonde.”
My issues with Kim Jones have been debated to death so I won’t bore everyone by going into them again here. I will give her the benefit of the doubt by saying that there is no proof that she wanted to call Robbie a LD. It’s a stretch to say that she did.
I’m with Pete. Girardi should have blamed everything on Cano. Afterall, that’s the way Torre used to do it.
It’s funny, I remember the day Cashman made Cano a multi-millionaire. I was one of maybe three people on here who said it was a stupid move to take all motivation away from a guy who’s laid back at the best of times and flat out lazy at the worst of them. Who disputes that now?
Of course it’s hard to hang that on Girardi so we’ll never hear Pete mention it.
raymagnetic –
Alex Rodriguez can change it, not his apologist.
we should bring in betemit as a defensive replacement for cano in the 7th innings or later
“Guess he was the token minority interview. Hope he gets another shot with another team.”
I think what hurts Pena is that he walked away from KC when the going got tough. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his ability to handle adversity.
well…good thing we didnt win 2 out of 3 against boston because if we did, this lose would have been even more unbearable, at this point its not accepted but it definitly is expected.
Laura,
Missed the whole hullabaloo. Recap of the LD situation?
“we need more players like joba, who thrives to “stick it†to the “tough†player, and is not afraid to challenge himself and the players he comes across”
Yes!
And we need to figure out what we have with Gardner who seems to be a tough kid, a grinder
If he can slap, bunt and walk his way to a .350 OBP even with no power, we could use him in CF
Which raises another point
This team doesn’t make a ton of errors, but I’ve never seens a team with less collective range in the field
Pretty much, except when Melky was in center, we only catch ball hit right to or one or two steps away from a fielder
That’s an insidious problem that kills us, that we need to change by getting younger and faster
raymagnetic – One more thing.
If we just base it on stats, Carl Pavano should be brought back on a new contract next year because he is undefeated in 2008.
Rarely does Jeter get taken out at 2nd on DPs. Unless Giambi is the one making the throw. Truth is Cano turns the double play very well. He protects Jeter, and he turns bad throws from Arod and Jeter into DPs.
He made a mistake, it happens.
I think what hurt Tony Pena is that Girardi blew the Yankees away during the interview process.
Moving on…
During the Fox game of the week with the Rays and Orioles, it was mentioned that the Rays have a quality coach (Tim Bogar) that sits in the stands for every game home and away and reports to Rays manager Joe Maddon about things he sees on the field for both teams that might not otherwise be seen from the dugout.
It made me wonder if the Yankees employ such a method and if not, why not.
If the Rays with nowhere near the financial resources of the Yankees can do it, why not the Yankees ? Maybe it’s because the Rays are hungry, looking for an edge, and not interested in leaving any stone unturned.
Many have suggested that Buck Showalter be brought back in a front office capacity and having a quality coach in the stands seems like something he would endorse.
Pete, relax. way to hard on robbie. he also went 2-4 with a HR. where is the a-rod blasting?????????
“Missed the whole hullabaloo. Recap of the LD situation?”
In her interview with Girardi, Kim Jones described Robbie’s style of play using the word smoothness. A poster here named Golden then wrote that she used the smoothness term as code for calling him a lazy Dominican. Pete took issue with that (as most of us did).
This team doesn’t make a ton of errors, but I’ve never seens a team with less collective range in the field
Been saying that all year, hard to make errors on balls you should be getting to, but dont, and they fall in for hits
Laura,
LOL. That’s pretty funny. He is Dominican. He is laid back. But guess what? Most people who are raised on any kind of island are. I can personally attest to that, Golden. Don’t assume that people who are laid back are lazy.
Clapton100:
the other day before the game the coaches got together with gardner and were teaching him how to bunt correctly, once he learns i agree with you he is a threat and i also like his mentality that not any hill is not to hard to climb
as much as melky dissappointed everyone this year he had his defense skills to help this team and i certainly miss it
God stop people….stop with the dominican thing being an attribute to his laziness…..good lord he just flat out sucked all year, i could give a crap if he was plaid let alone dominican
excuses excuses put the pom oms away and call it like it is…..2008 yankees SUCK
“raymagnetic – One more thing.
If we just base it on stats, Carl Pavano should be brought back on a new contract next year because he is undefeated in 2008.”
Are you seriously comparing Alex Rodriguez to Carl Pavano? I’m not an A-Rod apologist but his numbers say he’s one of the best players to ever play the game.
Last year A-Rod had a 1.138 OPS with RISP. In 06 he had a .939 OPS with RISP. Do you think that he suddenly forgot how to hit with RISP?
Do you think that he suddenly forgot how to hit with RISP?
Ummmmmmm…....Yes
shouldnt we blame the bullpen just as much as we are blaming cano right now??
yeah cano opened the door for the blue jays with that silly error, but then the bullpen came in and instead of slamming the door in the blue jays faces they held the door wide open saying “Come on in!”
Hasn’t Pete said several times that Girardi, not Kim, used the term “smoothness?”
mel,
Go read what I wrote. I’m not calling Domincans lazy at all. I’m half-Dominican myself (as I unfortunately had to lay out early to defend myself against bogus racism charges).
I’m DEFENDING Cano. My exact words were that if David Eckstein or Orland Hudson made the exact same play, we wouldn’t have heard the word lazy.
Rays just won.
Bosox winning 3-0 in the 1st.
Golden,
So who said ‘lazy’? Or said you said it?
I still believe that when Cano started hearing about the comparisons between himself and Rod Carew, it was when he stopped playing gritty baseball and thought everything would be a breeze.
He’s never had a professional mindset ever since and the frosting on his cake is when Cashman made the mistake of giving him financial security a year too soon.
Travis,
Girardi certainly did say smoothness. He used that term to describe Cano’s defensive play because Kimberly Jones called him lazy. This is now the third time this is being clarified.
If I’m not mistaken Rocco Baldelli is a free agent after this season. He’s hurt all the time but he’s still very young. Could be gotten to play CF next year.
“Girardi certainly did say smoothness. He used that term to describe Cano’s defensive play because Kimberly Jones called him lazy. This is now the third time this is being clarified.”
Yes, I switched the roles in my recap. Sorry.
“If I’m not mistaken Rocco Baldelli is a free agent after this season. He’s hurt all the time but he’s still very young. Could be gotten to play CF next year.”
It doesn’t make sense to get a chronically hurt guy to play CF when we have at least 3 healthy individuals who can play the field.
“the other day before the game the coaches got together with gardner and were teaching him how to bunt correctly,”
did it strike anyone else that a player like gardner should have emerged fro the vaunted yankee minor league system already being able to bunt?
i think that he can’t is a very big indicator that all is not well in the yankee minor league system.
Thanks for the clarification, Golden.
In my world, I would never make a connection between a ballplayer being labeled lazy with the fact that he is Dominican. It would never, ever have occurred to me. I hope i am not alone.
ray- he has a disease where he has no energy. I don’t touch him.
“Cashman’s worst mistake in the offseason was not the non-Santana trade (though that was an awful decision too) but his decision to let Bowa go.â€
I’m not sure you can blame that one on Cashman. I don’t think Girardi wanted Bowa.
Laura, You’re wrong. CASHMAN made the decision on Bowa. Girardi had no say in it.
If we’re going to sign Baldelli, we might as well bring back Bernie.
Hate to even say this, but fixing CF is only one place where range is a problem
Jete is close to being a statue at SS and Arod doesn’t move well at third
Neither guy makes a ton of errors, but both have very limited range
Abreu has definitely lost a step or two or three, almost never makes a running catch
Damon is just not a Good centerfielder anymore and Nady is average
Cano has range but obviously lacks focus
Where does Posada play next year…first?
Really think this team needs to re-tool, but it won’t be easy
I would say Cano is a show-off more than simply lazy. He seems to think he looks cooler if he plays what looks like to us in a “lazy” way.
Have you ever seen him dive for a ball? Would love to see him play harder, rather than “smoother” as Girardi likes to call it.
Travis,
If it was anybody other than Cano, I wouldn’t have jumped on it. Remember the guy who did games for the SF Giants with his whole “brain dead Caribbean players” comment?
You hear it all the time on YES with Michael Kay especially. Constantly with the little explanations about how Cano isn’t really lazy.. he just looks so non-chalant. Does he look non-chalant when he rips one into the upper deck? When he stands in tough as nails on every double play? When he uses the best arm at second base in the majors?
Everytime Robbie makes an error it’s because he’s lazy, not because he made an error. How many errors does Dan Uggla have on the year?
The issue is still not clear to me. Did Kim Jones use any derivation of the word ‘lazy’? If she did, shame on her. Anyone can see it was a careless play by a smooth player.
Really, what manager would get in Cano’s face on this issue?
Would Showalter or Torre have handled it that way?
Maybe Charlie Manuel, certainly Piniella, but I dont see any others doing anything but pulling the guy into their office and having a calm discussion.
Inexcusable of Cano to shirk the questions following the game. Says a lot about his character right there.
Would REALLY like to trade him, but his market value is really down right now. It’s not like other teams can’t see what the Yanks have got on there hands. Of course, some managers out there might actually try to use some discipline on him, whereas Girardi babies him—terrible judgment on Girardi’s part to enable someone as young as Cano.
Golden, I understand where you are coming from. I wonder, though, if people just don’t have such high expectations for Robbie that they are tougher on him than they might be for a lesser talent? I think he does portray himself as having a fairly carefree attitude, even if that’s not his real personality. Leaving the clubhouse without talking to the media won’t help that.
“It doesn’t make sense to get a chronically hurt guy to play CF when we have at least 3 healthy individuals who can play the field.”
“ray- he has a disease where he has no energy. I don’t touch him.”
Forget what I said. I see now that he hasn’t even been playing the field since he’s been back with the team.
golden,
for whatever it’s worth, when i think of dominican players, i think of someone like joaquin andujar who was one of the best conditioned and hardest working athletes i’ve ever been around.
i’m not going to rehash the debate, but i found reading your take on the situation interesting
golden,
Cano tried to make a “slick” play, like a point guard in basketball throwing a behind the back pass
Had he turned and faced Jeter chances are he would have made a good throw
I DON’T SEE WHERE HIS NONCHALANCE IS EVEN DEBATABLE
Guys make mistakes and errors all the time
This was an error of poor attitiude and poor judgement in a big situation in a must win game
There’s no room for that type of approach on a good team
This has been the year of adjustments…there’s a new manager and coaching staff that everyone is getting accustomed to. People keep mentioning how Cano is missing Bowa…we can also say that Jeter might be missing Torre. Jeter is having an off year. We can’t blame that hit on the wrist all season for his down year. As for Joe Torre, I didn’t want him to leave, but now he’s gone and Girardi is the Manager. Hopefully this is an adjustment year for the players and the media with the new Manager. Giradi doesn’t have the same demeanor as Torre and no one should expect to be treated as they were by Torre.
As far as Girardi not throwing Cano under the bus….Torre never did either. I guess that’s one thing they have in common.
so many are fed up with cano. so many are ready to ship him out.
the kid is 25. yes, i refer to him as a kid b/c he’s a kid. all people mature differently. it might take him longer than, for example, jeter. but that’s OK. he’s still a player you work with. he has alot of good talents and can help this team win. in fact, he HAS helped this team win. so let’s take a step back a re-assess what’s going on here…the kid is having a bad year. the entire team is having a bad year. everybody.
as for the race issue…i do believe that race does play a part in some’s head, be it consciously or subconsciously.
for example, in basketball, a player like tyler hansborough, who’s white, can scream, jump up and down, and go crazy is called “tough, and plays with heart”. meanwhile, a player like steven jackson, who’s black, can scream, jump up and down, flex his muscles, and is referred to as a “showboat and thug.” race DOES play a part to some. i think kim jones using the word “lazy” doesn’t mean she’s a racist but is more an example of the ways we characterize people from different ethnicities. abreu also has been described as lazy even tho he busts his tail to first base every single time he’s up.
the yanks have been very fortunate to have such a good group of players for such a long time. even this year’s team consists of a good group of players. but many of them are on the downswing of their careers…including guys like jeter and pettitte. so there needs to be a turnover to the roster…but that takes TIME. and unfortunately, new yorkers won’t give them any.
torre was the same way with his players and girardi learned under him.
you don’t kill a player in the open,it will cause problems,
these types of coaches know only one way and believe that it is wrong to critisize a player in public.
i think cano should be packaged in a trade.
the yankees need to re-do this team,it is a mess but can be fixed.
the yankees need pitching and hard nose tough players and cano seems like he has an attitude.
i heard a story that bowa yelled at cano and cano would’t talk to him.
this team had a great run.
they did what most teams if not all teams couldn’t do in the history of the game.
you have to give credit to the red sox and rays.
it is simply not possible to go to the playoffs every year.
comment #13 in this thread captures what’s going on. That said, Girardi should have let Cano have with both barrels (publicly and privately) today.
He needs to be gone after this season.
Precisely the kind of player you don’t keep in rebuilding this team.
Pete—excellent post!
I’m really not understanding why some of the comments here are defending Girardi and attacking you. After all, you aren’t the only beat writer reporting issues with Girardi. Several writers have been doing that since around June. You are only telling the truth—something Truthless Joe has not been doing much of this year.
There’s quite simply something fundamentally wrong with the way Girardi handles the media. I’ve never missed a Joe Torre Yankees postgame interview, I’d catch them on the Yes website if nothing else. However, I stopped listening to Girardi’s in mid May. He just doesn’t say anything of any value nor meaning. At best, he’s actually quite boring.
I suspect that he perhaps handles the team in the same way—perhaps that’s part of the problem this year. were it a few individuals under-performing then it would be fair to say it was them, but it’s most of the team so it’s management. Management may or may not have caused it, but it sure hasn’t fixed it.
In any job, not just baseball, if you knew your manager was lying publicly, you’d question whether he was occasionally doing the same to you. You’d never be able to completely trust him. Ever. Would this motivate you to do you best?
There’s obviously things going on in that clubhouse this year. I guess in someone’s autobiography in a few years we may find out the truth behind the 2008 season. There certainly seems to be a lot more off the record comments and things getting leaked to the press than has been since the late 70’s from the Yankees clubhouse. And it started right back with the ice cream and candy, it wasn’t just since the team’s been losing.
I can only hope that Girardi made such idiotic comments because they are trying to boost Cano’s trade value. However, I’m certain there are ways of doing it without making yourself look like a complete buffoon. It’s almost impossible to believe Girardi was employed by the media at one point since he’s so completely inept at handling them.
I doubt he’ll get fired this year. However, I don’t think he’s the right man for the Yankees job. He has much to learn, and New York is not the place for an apprentice. He just simply does not have the right personality to manage such high profile players, and such large media attention.
Thanks Pete. Your posts are honest and insightful.
If Cano couldn’t improve his often loose attitude in game,package him and Melky to trade seem be necessary.
No one would be killing Cano over this mistake except that it’s a pattern of behavior we’ve seen again and again in him. PERIOD.
Obviously, Cano knows he screwed up BIG TIME because he got the heck out of Dodge before the media could question him.
DUH.
Girardi doesn’t have to kill him to the press, but he certainly can’t be putting Cano into the same sphere as Alomar immediately following a dumb-headed play. That fact alone blows up the incident to the level where the media is handed a story on a platter.
That’s just bad judgment (for the umpteenth time) on Giradi’s part.
Excellent post, Wang Is Taiwan.
mel,
Kim Jones used the word lazy. Not a version of it.
laura:
sorry but the yankees don’t have one single player to play center field.
a 300 obp from melky won’t cut it,you risk damon getting hurt and he is not good defensively anymore.
Bru, that’s not really the case. I can’t recall specifics but I know there’s a couple of times at least where Torre did at least make faces or indicate with his tone that he was not happy with individuals on the team.
Yes, he didn’t throw them under the bus publicly, but he did show us the fans that there was probably something going to be said in private—at least it seemed that way. Maybe it was all media management and fan theater, however Joe Torre always seemed to be more honest.
like somebody said earlier, cano’s play was not “lazy” but was purely a misplay.
he was caught between charging the ball or waiting for it to come to him. he was kind of leaning forward so him momentum was towards homeplate. as he was moving forward, he decided to flip the ball to jeter in the manner he did. it wasn’t a lazy flip either, he flipped it hard. just threw it poorly. it was a mistake play but far from lazy.
post all star break:
batting .322, sluggin .532, ops of .880 which is consistent with his career averages.
when the team looses, everybody looks bad…but it looks like cano is a major target for alot of people this season.
I hate to say this because I don’t think that you need to hold anyone’s hand in baseball, but I’d like to see Girardi take Cano on as his special project from now on.
Girardi’s a nurturer and took Krazy Kyle under his wing. Nursed him back to health. lol.
Girardi needs to be firm and watchful with Robbie. Just like the dad.
Well, the kids look good here in Savannah. Krum and Montero has singles and a pulled off a double steal and Laird plated one of the two first inning runs with an infield single, the other run scored on the error. Going into the top of the third inning.
Montero mashes another single and goes to 2nd base on a medium fly to right field.
Montero is now 2 hits behind Carl Crawford’s Charleston record.
most people here would like to see cano traded, but i feel that cano has shown that when hes right he can help carry a team (ex. post all star break)
golden,
Thanks. Well, then she was wrong about that. It wasn’t a lazy play, it was careless. But in her mind Cano must be lazy like Jeter is hustle. IMO it has nothing to do with his race, just his easy-going ways both on and off the field.
SI’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the Brewers and Indians are discussing a possible trade that would bring CY Young winner CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. Prized 1B prospect Matt LaPorte from AA Huntsville is believed to be the centerpiece of the deal.
sj-
i like cano as a player , but i do think he needs constant coaching.
i think yankee position players that come up now are fundamentally unsound. no one in the yankee organization taught cano how to hit. he already had that. old time coaches like clete boyer who taught players how to play yankee baseball aren’t there any more.
the yankees shouldn’t be teaching players minor league skills at the mlb level. the bunting situation with gardner is an embarrassment to the organization.
cano does have some bad habits, but isn’t that as much the yankees fault as his own?
did they teach him the right way to play in the minors?
i don’t think so.
i would hate to see cano go.
darkmoonfire:
i agree torre was more honest but they both are very concerned about the bond and trust between a manager and player.
nobody knows what’s going on behind closed doors.
i refuse to believethat girardi doesn’t get on players.