Joe Girardi was tossed for the second time in little more than a week, but on Tuesday, the Yankees manager claimed he did nothing to deserve getting ejected in his team’s 12-7 loss to the Mets in The Bronx.
“I got thrown out and I’ve got no idea why,” Girardi said after being tossed at the end of the fifth inning when Kelly Johnson was caught looking with a pair of runners on.
Home plate umpire Jerry Layne said he was surprised to hear of Girardi’s confusion.
“When Joe stands over there and is yelling out on balls and strikes, I think Joe knows exactly why he got thrown out,” Layne told The Post. “And I think Joe knows my temperament. I’m not somebody that just goes crazy all the time. … I’m not going to go looking for something, but I’m not going to let that go.”
Girardi agreed with the crew chief’s analysis of their relationship.
“Jerry is usually mild-mannered,” said Girardi, who tossed a towel onto the field before leaving the dugout. “I was shocked and I’m still shocked. He said ‘Come on Joe, you know me.’ And I do. I’m not blaming him, but that was a big part of the game and we had guys who could hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
Instead, the inning ended with the Yankees still trailing 11-5 after they seemed poised for another rally when consecutive singles drove in Jacoby Ellsbury and knocked Zack Wheeler out of the game.
“That was the only time he was animated,” Layne said of the Johnson strikeout. “[Girardi] threw his arms up in the air and was yelling about balls and strikes. I thought that was totally uncalled for on his part and I would have thrown anybody out, whether it be Joe Girardi or Joe Torre.”
Girardi was ejected by Laz Diaz in Anaheim on May 5 in a significantly different scene, as Girardi reacted to the controversial Diaz shaking his finger at him “Dikembe Mutombo-style” for yelling from the dugout.
But Layne said he had heard enough from Girardi, who watched his pitchers get rocked by what had been a feeble Mets offense.
“I think he’ll probably review it in his mind and come to the conclusion that he probably realizes he can’t do that,” Layne said. “He knows. Maybe he was frustrated. I’m not making an excuse for him, but that’s why I threw him out of the game.”