Yankees Will Regret Pushing Joe Girardi Away, Putting Bright Future in Flux

On Thursday, the New York Yankees cut manager Joe Girardi loose, per the team's official public relations Twitter feed. His current contract was up at the end of the month, so he wasn't technically fired. The Yanks can use softer language like "parted ways."

That's semantics, though. This was a one-sided decision, as Girardi made clear.

"With a heavy heart, I come to you because the Yankees have decided not to bring me back," the ex-Yankees skipper said in a statement, via CBS News.

Girardi wasn't perfect. He made mistakes, including some costly ones in the 2017 postseason, which we'll discuss.

Here's the bottom line, however: The Yankees are a young team on the rise that charged to the doorstep of a World Series berth. Now, with Girardi out, New York's bright future is in flux.

General manager Brian Cashman and the club's front-office brain trust injected unnecessary uncertainty into what should have been an exciting, even triumphant offseason. And it's not as if there's an obviously superior candidate waiting to take Girardi's place on the dugout's top step.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

First, let's review the case against Girardi.

Though he compiled a solid 910-710 record in 10 seasons with New York and won a title in 2009, the Yankees missed the postseason in three of the last five years and, prior to this October, hadn't won a playoff game since 2012.

This year, they snagged the American League's top wild-card slot and made it to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

Along the way, Girardi was a magnet for criticism and controversy, much of it centered on Game 2 of the club's division series matchup with the Cleveland Indians.

To be blunt: Girardi left his frontal lobe in the clubhouse, or possibly back at the hotel, that night in Cleveland. He pulled starter CC Sabathia too soon, misused his bullpen and, most damningly, failed to challenge a blown hit-by-pitch call that loaded the bases for the Indians.

One batter later, Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor blasted a grand slam, and the Indians engineered an inspired comeback that put them up 2-0 in the series.

"Being a [former] catcher, my thought is I never want to break a pitcher's rhythm," Girardi told reporters after the game, explaining his decision not to challenge the call. "That's how I think about it."

As explanations go, that's somewhere between idiocy and complete nonsense.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

For the next two games in the Bronx, Yankees fans pelted Girardi with boos. Closer Aroldis Chapman "liked" an Instagram comment that dubbed Girardi an "imbecile." Chapman claimed it was an accident, and Girardi said he believed him, per Mike Fitzpatrick of the Associated Press.

Either way, it was a rough stretch.

Of course, the story doesn't end there. The Yankees lifted themselves off the mat and won the next three games, shocking the favored Indians. Then they pushed the 101-win Houston Astros to the limit in the ALCS.

A team that was supposed to be in the midst of a rebuild and a couple of years away from serious contention got within a single victory of the Fall Classic. Doesn't Girardi deserve a share of the credit?

"Any time you're down 2-0, and particularly the way it happened—it was a tough loss—it shows a lot about them," principal owner Hal Steinbrenner said after the decisive Game 5 win over Cleveland, per Billy Witz of the New York Times. "They've been loose the entire time, just lighthearted the entire time, had their backs the entire time."

Isn't that a big part of a manager's job—keeping his team loose and cohesive?

Whatever acrimony existed between certain players and Girardi—let's say Chapman's Instagram transgression wasn't an accident—clearly Girardi had the respect of his young core.

Here's an anecdote catcher Gary Sanchez shared with me last November, reflecting on his breakout 2016 rookie season: "When I first got called up, I went oh-fer my first couple of games. I was feeling anxious because I wanted to get my first hit. And Girardi came up to me and said: 'Gary, take it easy. You're going to be in the lineup every day. Just go out there and do what you would do in the minor leagues.'

"That was the moment where I just felt the confidence to go out there and take some pressure off my shoulders and do what I needed to do."

I didn't ask specifically about Girardi. Sanchez offered that praise on his own.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Again, none of this is to suggest Girardi was faultless. On the other hand, no manager is.

Which brings us to the list of possible replacements.

If the Yankees look internally, they could tap bench coach Rob Thomson or first base coach Tony Pena. Thomson has no managerial experience, while Pena managed four forgettable seasons with the Kansas City Royals from 2002 to 2005.

Casting a wider net, the Yankees could hire a recently fired MLB skipper such as Brad Ausmus, who was cut loose by the Detroit Tigers, but that would reek of change for change's sake. Dusty Baker? Terry Collins? It all feels like going laterally or backward.

It's possible New York could unearth a hidden gem among the game's various coaches and ex-managers who turns out to be the perfect fit in pinstripes.

It's equally possible the new hire will be as or more flawed than Girardi, minus the familiarity with the organization and this roster of rising stars.

Whenever a club falls short of a title, it's tempting to seek a scapegoat. The manager is the obvious target. But the Yankees overachieved in 2017. No heads needed to roll.

Cashman and company swung the ax anyway. Now, the onus is on them to find a better skipper and keep this burgeoning juggernaut on course—or crash against the rocks of regret.

All statistics and managerial records courtesy of Baseball Reference.