People to Blame for the Yankees Missing the Playoffs - Part 1: Joe Girardi

Now that the New York Yankees have officially been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in 15 years, I figured it was time to pass out some blame. 

No one person is solely responsible for the Bombers' disappointing season, but some are more responsible than others.  And therefore, I bring to you my list of the people to blame for the Pinstripes failing to reach the postseason.

In Part 1, I discuss Manager Joe Girardi, who I believe is most at fault.

1. Joe Girardi

I was very excited when I heard Girardi would be replacing Joe Torre as the Yankees' manager because I thought he would bring the small-ball style he employed with the Florida Marlins over to the Bronx, where for too long, the home team sat back and simply waited for a three-run homer.  But once in the American League, the new skipper fell into the same trap as his predecessor.

Entering Wednesday's action, the Yankees have stolen 112 bases, good for fourth in the AL, which is exactly where they finished last year in that statistic.  It's a solid total, but not as good as the three teams ahead of them: Tampa Bay (136), Los Angeles (124) and Boston (117).  It's no coincidence that those three teams are heading to the playoffs.

New York only laid down 30 successful sacrifice bunts this year, which is 11 less than last season.  With an offense that struggled so mightily to score runners once they got aboard, it might've helped to advance a few more guys via the bunt.

The same could be said for putting on more hit and run plays.  With five games left, the Yankees have already hit into 143 double plays, which is third most in the league.  In 2007, they were eighth in the AL.  With this many GDPs, it'd probably be a good idea to put the runners in motion more often.

I also wasn't a huge fan of Girardi changing the lineup almost every day.  I understand injuries wreaked havoc this season, but when Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui were healthy and hitting well, the manager would continue to give them frequent days off.

Turning to pitching, Joe did a great job handling Joba Chamberlain's transition to the rotation and through the first four months of the season, he did an excellent job managing his bullpen, making sure that no one was overworked like during the Torre years. 

But once Damaso Marte arrived on the scene via a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he instantly became Girardi's workhorse.  Marte began popping up in the seventh, eighth, and sometimes both innings, night after night, facing lefties and righties, despite the fact that he was the team's fourth best reliever.  The Yanks had a good thing going with Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras handing the ball to Mariano Rivera, but with Marte in the mix, the pen started blowing more leads.

The batters are mostly to blame for the lack of clutch hitting, bad luck is mostly to blame for the over abundance of big injuries, and the front office is to blame for not supplying the club with enough good starting pitching, but in the end, this is Girardi's team and he is most to blame for its lack of success.

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man"is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com. Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]