You know, some things just boggle the mind, no matter how hard you try to understand them. Last night, Joe Girardi did a mind boggling thing: He sat down Johnny Damon in favor of Justin Christian.
Yes, you read that right. Why he would make such a move when the Yankees DESEPERATLY needed a win, I have no clue. Especially against a team that they need to pass in order to gain control of the wild card.
Girardi’s explanation:
“The turf sometimes can beat up his body,” Girardi said before the game. “We’ve got three days in a row with a short turnaround on Wednesday.”
- B/R Ticket Guide
His replacement, Christian, went zero for four. Girardi then added this to reassure all of us why sitting Damon, who leads the American League in hitting, was the right move to make:
“It’s tough, but the other thing you have to deal with is Johnny’s shoulder’s banged up,” Girardi said. “There’s a lot of things that go on that make the lineup the way we want to. That’s what I chose to do.”
Interesting. I’m speechless. If I was the manager of the Yankees, I’d have Damon out there until his arm fell off, even then I would still have him at DH if he could swing a bat.
43 games remain and the Yanks are now five out of the wild card. This ship is sinking and sinking fast, and at this point, you need to do whatever it takes to win.
So what if Damon is a lefty and the opposition throws a lefty to the mound, who cares if you play three games in a row with the last game being a quick turnaround? Who cares?! You must win now. At all costs. There is no excuse for this move.
Once again, the Yankees lost and that’s now four in a row and 11 of their last 16. The Titanic that is the New York Yankees is starting to sink as we speak. It seems it’s only a matter of time before it’s all over. I hope this season turns around quickly. It has to...doesn’t it?
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3 months ago
Girardi has made some mistakes, but in all honestly what manager doesn't? Stop being so freaking hard on him, you can't blame him for the poor performance of players. Sitting Damon wasn't a great move obviously(he's been ridiculously hot)but forgivable for all the reasons you mentioned.
There is still a month and a half left, and while I totally agreed with you that they need to get there shit together, and fast, they've just been outplayed. I have more of a problem with him starting Melky, who is complete and utter garbage this year. What the hell happened to him by the way? Last year he looked promising... having an almost Andrew Jones like season
3 months ago
I agree with you Gozer, Girardi's decisions have to be questioned. I have been harping in some of the other things I have written on this space about his questionable constant shuffling of the line-up. Your subject of sitting the leading hitter in the AL because of the wear and tear on his body on astro turf and because his shoulder was banged up is ridiculous. Make him your DH and leave him there, that will save lots of wear and tear on his body. And it doesn't matter if his shoulder is banged up, he can't cover any field and he can't throw at all. I like Damon and he is hitting great, but Joe should let him do what he can do and get some consistency with this team, starting the same players more than one day in a row and leaving them in the same positions more than one day in a row. And I disagree with Matt that you can't blame Girardi for the poor performance of the players. Some of the poor performance has to be blamed on his mindless positioning of the players
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