Results tagged ‘ Joe Girardi ’
This Team is Going Nowhere Fast
I know that Joe Girardi is a patient man, but it’s time to shake things up with this lineup. The middle of the order is consistently bad. He keeps saying they need to get hot, but if he is waiting for A-Rod, Texeira and Swisher to all get hot and sustain that, then he may be in for a long wait. I would much rather see Swisher in the two hole, with Cano third and Granderson fourth. That would move A-Rod down to fifth and Texeira sixth, which is much more where they belong than in the four and five hole. They are killing this team and it isn’t just this year. They have been inconsistent for most of the past two seasons and it killed them in the playoffs last year. They are not going to suddenly turn things around and hit well from their current spots in the order. It just ain’t going to happen. Time to shake things up and see if that helps any. What have they got to lose? And when is someone going to tell Texeira that being a one dimensional pull hitter is not the right approach. Last night, he got an outside pitch that he could have driven the other way and instead, he rolled over on it and bounced it off the plate. Pathetic.
Another Hughes Start, Another Yankee Loss
Well, I can’t say that I didn’t expect this one. I have read all of the stories this morning about how much better Hughes was and it was something to build on, etc. etc.. Guess what? Allowing 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings is still bad. And it put the Yankees in a hole they could not dig out of. Playing from behind, the offense always seems to press and that makes it harder to hit.
Now having said that, I would have left Hughes in to get that last out in the sixth and it possibly could have saved a few runs. He was at exactly 100 pitches, had two outs and a runner on first and I would have taken a shot with him to get the third out. Of course Girardi brought in Boone Logan to face the lefty, who he promptly failed to get out. That is Girardi’s fatal flaw, he always goes with the book answer and never with his gut.
The other thing that was bad, was the offense. Numbers four through nine in the order had no hits, zero. Overall, it was a team loss, poor starting pitching, poor managing, poor hitting, poor defense. It doesn’t get much uglier than this one.
Sweep
OK, so what have we learned in the first week of the season? Too early to tell, but I do see some trends. Girardi continues to overmanage and it has already cost his team two wins in the very first two games of the season. There were other close calls as well, like last night’s brilliant decision to walk the bases loaded and put the winning run on third base in the 9th inning. One WP or passed ball and it was game over. The fact that it didn’t happen does not make it a good decision. It was a bad decision and these kinds of boneheaded managerial moves are what makes Girardi a bad in game strategist. Just get out of the way Joe and let the team play. Keep your influence to a minimum.
So far, there still seems to be the tendency for this team to not be able to get runners in from scoring position with less than two outs. It is there and until they start delivering, it will be a problem.
Overall, 3-3 on the opening road trip is just okay for me. They are supposed to beat Baltimore, but they need to beat Tampa as well and they pissed away two winnable games in Tampa. Jury is still out on this bunch. Should be an interesting home stand.
Thoughts on Opening Day Loss
Well it wasn’t their best effort to start the season. A lot will be written about Mo Rivera blowing the save in the 9th inning, but this game was lost by the manager in the first inning. Walking Sean Rodriguez to load the bases with two outs in the first inning to face Carlos Pena was asinine. It was the FIRST inning for crying out loud. The dumb move by Girardi backfired and cost the Yankees four runs. It was over managing at its finest. There were two outs and a not so stellar hitter at the plate. Worst case he singles in a couple of runs. Best case, you get him out and no runs. By loading the bases, you put a pitcher into a bad situation. And did I mention that it was the FIRST inning of a scoreless game. Result? Grand Slam home run and a 4-0 deficit. In a game they lost by one run, that was the difference. Absolutely ridiculous. Girardi does this several time each year where he outsmarts himself and costs his team the game. It didn’t take him long this year. He did it in the first inning of the first game. Congratulations Joe.
Girardi at it again
Last night was another example of Joe Girardi attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While it is possible that a case can be made for removing Ivan Nova after eight innings and 105 pitches, the fiasco that followed is indefensible. If you are going to bring in Luis Ayala, then you have got to let him face more than one batter. And Boone Logan? Really? This guy not only should not be used, he should not even be on the roster. Why he still is just baffles me. Girardi lucked out when Mariano was able to get the last three outs, but both inherited runners scored, making a game that was not even close, much closer than it needed to be. Girardi, in my opinion has no gut feel for the game. He goes strictly with percentages and that just doesn’t work. Sometimes, you have to go with your gut and he just never does that. By always “going by the book”, he can always have an argument for why he did what he did, even though most of the time, it fails. Regardless, it’s a good thing they won, because Boston is just destroying everyone right now. The Yankees need to keep winning if they are to remain within striking distance.
Lucky to be 1 back
So the good news is that the Yankees are only 1 game back of Boston. The bad news is that they easily could have swept Seattle and been tied for first. The first game I blame on Girardi…AGAIN. He did his usual over managing trick and it backfired, resulting in giving up the lead in the sixth inning. As always, you can make the excuse that the move to bring in Boone Logan to get out the lefty was the right percentage move. And as usual, it didn’t work. Logan does not get lefties out particularly well, which is pretty bad considering that’s pretty much his only role on this team. I would have stuck with Burnett for one more inning, at least to start the sixth and see how things worked out. But then, that was my gut talking and Girardi does not ever go with his gut. He always takes the safe route, so that when it doesn’t work, he can say it was the right move, that the players just didn’t execute. I say BS. It was not the right move and that’s why it didn’t work. The second loss was a tough one and not much you can do about that. Finally on Sunday, they played a solid game behind CC”s excellent pitching and came away with a win. Now it’s on to Oakland for another tough series, before heading down to Anaheim for a third straight tough road series. This should be an interesting week.
Another Girardi decision blows up
Thank you Captain Overmanage. The decision to intentionally walk Juan Rivera proved disastrous last night. The inning blew up, Toronto scored 5 runs and that was that. Juan Rivera? Really? Again, this was a strict, by the book move by Girardi. Load them up and hope for two. Guess what? The book was wrong. This is Girardi’s problem and it is not the first time I have said this. I would have pitched to Rivera. He doesn’t scare me in the least and the worst that could happen would be two runs. Instead, you load the bases and start a rally. Great job. Another classic case of Girardi not having a feel for the game and going with percentages. That way, he has a logical explanation for a wrong decision. I am beginning to really despise his managing style.
Another one that got away
Although you can expect that Mo will blow a save from time to time, that is not the reason the Yankees lost this game. Again, I believe that Joe Girardi mis-managed his bullpen. Why was Ivan Nova the choice in the 10th? He is a starting pitcher who is scheduled to start on Sunday. Girardi had at least two so-called long men in the bullpen in Hector Noesi and Lance Pendleton. If you’re not going to use them, why waste the roster space on them? And why was Nova left in to face Travis Snyder? You had Boone Logan warming up. He was good the last time out, so why not bring him in to get out the lefty? That is what he’s there for. It’s these kinds of decision that in my opinion have cost the Yankees 4 of their 6 losses. It will be their undoing if Girardi doesn’t change the way he manages the bullpen.
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