WE ALL like Don Mattingly and, really, what is there not to like?
As a player, Mattingly could have written a book on how to handle being the best player in the game and the most in-demand athlete in New York with grace. If that book is actually ever written, Alex Rodriguez should read it.
As a coach, Mattingly navigated an uncomfortable spot, being both Joe Torre’s aide and his presumptive heir, with dignity and loyalty. He supported Torre unconditionally, gained Torre’s complete trust. We never saw avarice for a job he clearly wanted, never heard even an off-the-record dagger toward the manager.
Again, it is hard not to like Mattingly. But if you were supporting Mattingly for Yankee manager over Joe Girardi, you were letting these feelings win. You were letting your heart beat your brain.
Is it possible Mattingly could have been a great Yankee manager? Yep. Is there a chance Girardi will self-sabotage his chances to succeed? You bet.
But this decision had to be made now, off available evidence. And when you put your fondness for Mattingly, the person, in check and let the coldness of logic rule, there really is no other way to go here. Because, as a catcher, Girardi understands pitching better, and the Yankees are now being built around young pitching. And because Girardi managed a near exclusive young team in Florida and is going to be handed an untraditional Yankee team, one deep in inexperience.
But this is going to be like riding the orneriest bull at the rodeo no matter the identity of the manager.
We are going to learn quickly just how easy Torre made doing something so difficult look. Torre was exceptional at defusing bombs, keeping big egos focused on team-oriented goals and warding pessimism out of his clubhouse – all issues made more complicated in the Yankee universe. But Torre was willing to take hundreds of patient, pleasant hours a year with the media. That built sturdy relationships and trust. So in times of crisis he was able to put the best possible face on even the most negative of stories. It is an art, not one I suspect Girardi will be particularly magical at.
But Girardi does have experiences that should help him here. He took over as the Yankee catcher from Mike Stanley in 1996, and if you forget how popular Stanley was in the mid-1990s then know that Girardi was booed at the Yankee Fanfest, Welcome Home Dinner and home opener. He ultimately won the fan base with his sincerity of effort and care about winning.
He also has that one year of major-league managing. It is not much, but it is one year more than Mattingly, and actually having to make those decisions for real – not in your mind – is a huge edge.
Girardi was good enough to earn NL Manager of the Year, but his stint concluded quickly due to a nasty divorce. He was hired in Florida by the owner, Jeffrey Loria. His relationship was never good with the front office, notably, then-GM Larry Beinfest, and eventually deteriorated to hostility with Loria.
The Marlins painted Girardi as inflexible and too tied to a Yankee way of doing things. Girardi has never spoken publicly about the issue and refused again yesterday. But his friends say Loria promised Girardi he could pick his coaches and there would be no rebuilding program, and Girardi had coaches foisted upon him and the payroll cut from $45 million to $15 million.
Girardi conceded yesterday that he “learned the importance of relationships” from that divorce. Girardi is exceedingly bright and the Yanks must hope that unlike an inflexible guy to whom he is compared, Buck Showalter, that experience will educate him. I actually believe that open warfare was good preparation for Girardi, if he uses it that way, to grow. Besides, he walks in to the Yanks the clear choice of the GM, unlike in Florida.
“The comparison I would make is with Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns,” Brian Cashman said. “He got his first coaching gig, had problems with ownership and players. But he was a smart guy, he learned from the experience and adjusted. In Florida, Girardi was Belichick in Cleveland. Hopefully, he can help us become the Patriots.”