TAMPA – Mariano Rivera plopped to the ground. He was surrounded by teammates bent over, grabbing knees or holding hips. Others were squatting looking up at the late-morning sky. Every Yankees pitcher was oozing sweat, most were breathing hard, some had open mouths desperately trying to replenish their lungs.
“That,” Mike Mussina said after every pitcher had completed 10 timed dashes of about 200 yards, “was more running in one day then we did all of last year.”
The Joe Girardi Era had begun. It apparently will come with plenty of perspiration.
The inspiration for how this camp will be run will come from Girardi’s energy, embrace of technology and fanaticism when it comes to conditioning. In all of these ways he is distinguishing himself from both an Average Joe and Joe Torre.
That will be an obvious storyline during this camp and beyond, where Girardi differs starkly from his predecessor. Part of it is just generational. At 43, Girardi is 24 years younger than Torre.
So it is no surprise on the first day of workouts of Girardi’s tenure to see him – on foot – moving swiftly from one work station to another, stopping to help in the menial chore of picking up balls or pausing to jot notes to himself. While Torre had an assistant handle all internet-related matters, such as e-mail, Girardi had his laptop open on his Legends Field office desk.
But in no way is the Yankees culture about to be transformed more than in body preparation. It is clear Girardi is set to push his players physically way more than Torre did.
During the offseason various players and their agents mentioned that they were being forewarned about how this camp would be operated. Strength and conditioning coordinator Dana Cavalea, trainer Gene Monahan and Girardi reached out to every player expected to attend camp. The message that resonated was that there would be much more competition in this camp.
A stopwatch, for example, was used for just two shuttle runs a spring under Torre. But it was out yesterday and it is going to be a fixture in this camp.
“I think it is just spicing up the work, but, yes, I do believe in competition,” Girardi acknowledged.
For the most part, players have heeded the message. Outwardly, this group looks in far better shape than last year. Players such as Brian Bruney and Jose Molina have dropped significant weight, and even the perpetually lean Mussina appears more defined.
Last year GM Brian Cashman hired Marty Miller to run the conditioning program and it was a disaster. There was an epidemic of hamstring pulls combined with a group of players – notably Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon – who were not in peak shape. Miller was fired May 2 and replaced by his assistant, Cavalea, who is far more popular than Miller, who was roundly ignored.
“We made the playoffs last year because we finally got in shape in June,” Mussina said.
So obviously, the Yanks are reacting to the bad bodies and the slow start of last season. But this is also about Girardi, who is arguably in better shape right now than anyone in his camp. He believes in fitness helping both the body and mind during actual games. Unlike Torre, he likely will watch the conditioning portion daily and even talked about running from foul pole to foul pole “to encourage” his players on occasion. That is not something Torre, who had knee replacement during the winter, could consider.
For now, Girardi definitely will get a honeymoon. But don’t forget that this is a veteran team. Many of the players are used to Torre’s ways and most have set prescriptions for how to ready themselves for 162 games. Mussina said he anticipates some grumbles, but no revolt. He calls this alteration “necessary.”
However, one sweaty pitcher did depart the arduous running drill by saying: “We are doing Navy Seal stuff this year. If they had a pool, they would make us swim.”
The Girardi Era was open for business. Will it work out?