IF SOME other Joe had the Yankees half a game out of first despite all their injuries and everything else going on around this team, he’d be nominated for sainthood.
Because it’s Joe Girardi and not Joe Torre managing to get the job done, no one is really willing to give that extra credit.
TONIGHT’S PREVIEW: Yankees at Indians
Girardi is blue-collar basic. He’s not working on a book giving us the clubhouse confidential while throwing some players under the bus. For whatever managerial faults Girardi has, there’s no doubt he is trying his best to win for the Yankees and is not trying to promote himself to be the gold standard of leadership.
No, the Girardi Years aren’t quite as compelling as “The Yankee Years” and nothing has been won yet. Torre deserves credit for those magnificent four world championships, and in his own way Torre is getting his own last laugh out in Los Angeles (and believe me, he’s laughing). But that’s no reason to shortchange Girardi for the good job he has done now that we are well past the quarter-pole of the season.
Somehow, Girardi is getting all these huge Yankees egos and contracts to work together, just as Torre used to do. Maybe, Alex Rodriguez even is getting his own cup of coffee these days under Girardi.
Give Girardi credit for loosening up a bit and making the Yankees more of a pie-in-the-face family than cold corporate killers.
The ultimate would be having the Yankees win the AL pennant and the Dodgers doing the same in the NL. Bringing both Joes together in late October and early November would be a terrific ending to the season and would offer up an East Coast-West Coast story line that would captivate the entire country.
Joe vs. Joe would be Reality Baseball. Throw in Steroid Silver Sluggers Manny Ramirez and A-Rod and you have the kind of World Series that would be a modern classic.
Despite losing Manny, Torre’s Dodgers are well on their way with the best record in the majors because Juan Pierre is now tearing it up. Playing in the NL West sure helps. Remember, Torre is no fool.
The Yankees have the much tougher road to October. The Red Sox and frenzied Fenway Park are a little bit more of a challenge than the fire-sale Padres and mellow Petco Park.
Girardi has had to weather a slew of injuries, inconsistent starting pitching, a shaky bullpen, the ongoing education of Joba the Starter and more, yet the Yankees are heading into June in solid shape.
He has made them more of a running team and has gotten the most out of players such as Brett Gardner and has been flexible enough to use Melky Cabrera, turning him into a walk-off wonder. Yankees center fielders are second in the AL with a .307 average. Fundamentals count. The Yankees glide into a weekend series with the Indians having played a franchise-record 14 straight games without making an error. They lead the majors with 17 come-from-behind victories and six walk-off wins.
Basics and magic.
Girardi was flexible enough to slide Johnny Damon to the No. 2 spot in the order, where he is getting great production, remember, Torre basically thought it was time to dump Damon two years ago.
For those clamoring for Joba to return to the bullpen, this is not the same Joba Chamberlain who came up to the Yankees. Since he injured his shoulder, he is slow to get started, most first innings he is in that 89-91 mph range, and in his nine starts he has surrendered nine first-inning runs. Until Joba gets his early velocity up, he can’t go back to the pen. It takes innings for him to bring it right now. Bullpen work is one and done.
All in all, the Yankees have battled under Girardi. That’s what he did as a player. That’s what he has brought to the clubhouse.
There’s a long way to go, but this Regular Joe is doing just fine, thank you.