FLIPPING OUT: Joe Girardi flips his lid — and tosses it — and bumps into second-base umpire Bob Davidson as he argues with third-base ump Tim Welke (not shown) after Welke flip-flopped on a fair-foul call that cost the Yankees a run. In the end, Girardi (above, right) embraced the cheers from the Tigers crowd. (
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DETROIT — To be clear, Joe Girardi’s greatest skill as manager is not his on-field antics.
“He can’t even compare to Bobby Cox,” longtime Brave and current Yankee Andruw Jones said yesterday, smiling. “[Cox] is the best. He’ll argue anything. Joe is too laid back.”
Jones could joke about Girardi’s theatrical, fifth-inning ejection — one that could draw him a suspension — because the Yankees proceeded to pick up one of their most important victories of the season. Back-to-back, eighth-inning homers by Mark Teixeira and Eric Chavez vaulted the Yankees over the Tigers, 4-3 at Comerica Park, to give them a second straight win against potential playoff foes.
“Joe can lose it with the best of them,” Teixeira said. “He doesn’t do that often, but when he does, he gets his money’s worth.”
Girardi, who still appeared quite agitated afterwards, disputed the notion that he has never been more animated as a manager.
“I think I’ve had a little worse,” he said. “But maybe the most animated this year.”
Let’s not credit Girardi for “firing up his team” with his shouting, gesticulating and cap-throwing. He went ballistic in the fifth and it took the Yankees until the eighth to fully absorb the nuances of their manager’s tirade? Nah. If not for Teixeira, Chavez and strong relief work by David Phelps (two outs) and Rafael Soriano (four outs), the Yankees would’ve suffered a 3-2 loss thanks to the controversial play in the fifth, and we’d be discussing how the team, symbolized by Girardi’s tantrum, was unraveling.
Just say no to results-driven analysis.
So let’s just thank the Yankees manager for putting on a fun show and acknowledge that his argument with third-base umpire Tim Welke had a modicum of merit.
The Tigers, having just tied the game at 2-2 on Alex Avila’s two-run homer, had Quintin Berry on first base and two outs when Andy Dirks lofted a fly ball down the left-field line off Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Welke raised his arms, signaling a foul ball, before then shifting and waving fair. Left fielder Raul Ibanez seemed to hesitate before playing the ball, which then went past him to his right. That’s how Berry scored the lead run.
“My contention is my outfielder pulled up just a little bit” Girardi said. “It only takes a split second to pull up for the ball to get by you. And he probably doesn’t score, and it’s a 2-2 game. Now, I can’t tell you how the game’s going to end up, but at the time, with rain coming, that’s a huge run.”
Ibanez, remarkably honest, admitted he didn’t even see Welke’s wrong call, although he heard the pro-Tigers crowd — reacting to Welke’s initial ruling — groan. Nevertheless, Ibanez said, “I probably should have stayed behind a little bit more. The ball kicked out to my right sharper than I anticipated. I probably should have given myself some more room.”
Said Welke, to a pool reporter: “I’ve watched the replay, and I don’t think there was any impact on the outfielder.”
Girardi repeatedly raised his arms, mimicking Welke’s foul call, and Welke, acknowledging his mistake, gave Girardi more time than usual to vent and lobby. Girardi asked for Berry to be placed at third base, as an acknowledgment that the flip-flop affected Ibanez. Request denied. Girardi asked to formally protest the game. Request denied; you can’t on a judgment call.
He wasn’t leaving until he either got what he wanted or got thrown out, Girardi said; the latter came first. The always contentious Bob Davidson, umpiring second base, stood between Girardi and Welke, adding some appreciated tension to the scene, and Girardi capped his effort by flinging his cap down the field.
“I wanted to say something [to Welke],” Kuroda said through his interpreter Kenji Nimura. “But I think Joe said everything I wanted to say.”
“It’s obviously a big win for us,” Girardi said, and we’ll find out as soon as today whether the manager’s actions get him a suspension. Meanwhile, this marked Girardi’s 17th career suspension as a manager. Just 141 to go if he wants to catch the great Cox.
kdavidoff@nypost.com