Joe Girardi that is.It seems as though the Yankees and their front office, like to keep everyone waiting and guessing. By now, you should know what happened with the whole Joe Torre situation. After a week and a half of organizational meetings, they decided to "offer" him a 1-year contract with incentives based on his performance. An offer that Torre felt he had to refuse (1-year $5 million, with an additional $1 million for each round of the postseason he reached). The attention has since, turned to find a new manager. The 3 candidates the Yankees have in mind: Girardi, Don Mattingly, and Tony Pena. All of whom, are within the Yankees organization.
The Yankees conducted interviews with all 3 this past week in Tampa. Girardi on Monday, Mattingly on Tuesday and Pena on Wednesday. Who is the favorite to be Torre's replacement? That depends on who you ask. Hank Steinbrenner and General Manager Brian Cashman both agree on Mattingly being the favorite. Girardi's interview was said to have gone better than expected, while Pena's interview was in need of being exceptional in order to get high consideration.
The best choice in my opinion for the Yankees managerial position is Joe Girardi. And here's why:
- He knows the New York media and the New York media knows him.
- Girardi has some managerial experience, having managed the Florida Marlins in 2006 and won National League Manager of the Year. He kept them in the hunt for a playoff berth until September, a feat no baseball person thought was possible that year.
- He is a former catcher and it's known throughtout baseball, former catches usually tend to make good managers. He has an understanding for pitching and youth, both of which the Yankees are now trying to incorperate into thier success.
- Having been bench coach in 2005, Girardi had a front row seat to Torre's everyday decisions and daily media circus.
- He has an established relationship with many of the Yankees players, most notably Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera. The latter 3, are all potential free agents, so his hiring might sway the free agents to be, to stay in the Bronx.
- He can be laid back but has an aggressive, in your face sense of managing, something the Yankees have arguably lacked over the last few years.
- This "Joe" also came in 1996 and replaced a Yankees fan favorite, Mike Stanley. So replacing someone who the fans loved is nothing new.
- Finally....he is a proven winner. He knows what it takes to win it all in the Bronx, having won it in '96.
Yes, there could be many debates on why Girardi shouldn't be manager, but the same can be said for the other 2 candidates. I would go with experience if I were the Yankees front office. Not just any experience, but Yankee championship experience, something the other 2 men lack.According to ESPN, the decision on who Joe Torre's replacement, might be announced as soon as Monday, if given permission by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, as Major League Baseball does not like to have any major announcements on the days of World Series games (Monday would be an off day for the Series.)
On a positive note, the last time the Yanks had a new manager named Joe, they won the World Series in his first year. Let's see if history repeats itself...Yankee Stadium needs to say goodbye the right way, with a World Championship, as it closes it's doors for the final time.. in 2008.
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