Tampa, FL (WFAN) -- So long GI Joe. Hello Gentle Joe.
For those who wonder if Joe Girardi learned anything from his first year as Yankee manager, the answer seems to be "yes." Last November Girardi was vague about such lessons when he discussed the topic during an hour-long chat on WFAN with Ed Coleman and me. But more evidence has been presented over the last two weeks that tells you this is a different Joe Girardi.
Not one player has complained about an overly rigorous running program. Had Mike Mussina known this to be the case, maybe he would have come back! (Girardi by the way acknowledged that the controversial "no candy" policy was an organizational mandate, not a managerial one. Maybe Brian Cashman is the guy without the sweet tooth).
Girardi is just as friendly to the media as he was a year ago, but is much more revealing in his daily sessions and not as guarded. He admitted over the weekend that Robinson Cano might have turned things around earlier if he had acted sooner to bench him. That was not something he was willing to say last season.
Taking the players on a surprise field trip to the pool hall (see photos below) sounds a little crazy, but it's designed to build team unity. Maybe it's not as dramatic as Denzel Washington showing his racially divided football team the battlefields at Gettysburg in Remember the Titans, but the point is obvious. Girardi wants to build a closer-knit team starting from the top down. He wants to get to know his players better so he can guide them better during the year, knowing when a player needs a kick in the pants vs. a pat on the back.
Here is Joe Girardi speaking Monday morning about getting to know his team…
Girardi later discussed how the way he is perceived is not necessarily reality…
Brian Cashman admitted many times last season and again this past off-season that Girardi needed to be better at handling the media. It doesn't sound like that big a deal to fans, I'm sure. But there is an entire department with every professional sports team called Media Relations. The men and women who work in these departments all know the importance of spreading an effective message through radio, TV, and print. These are the messages delivered to you the fans, and if there is a breakdown at that level, things can get ugly.
Girardi's messages were muddled last year for a number of reasons. But he's an intelligent man who is learning how to make the proper adjustments in the relationships with his players, his coaches, the media, and in turn you the fans. It's not all going to be smooth. Last week's A-Rod mess will tell you that. But Girardi's measured and even tones during that whole fiasco showed a year's worth of maturation as well. Joe Torre was a master media handler in New York, but even he would have blasted an unfamiliar reporter by now for repeated A-Rod questions.
As Torre's successor, Girardi is allowed the one-year grace period. It's over now, of course. It all has to line up for him now---positive relationships and positive results---or else he'll be looking for a new job next fall.
Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to Yankees@wfan.com.
Go back to 1997, the year after the Yankees won their first World Series under Joe Torre, and two of the most talked about players were a couple of kids who were less than two years removed from their big league debuts in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.
Welcome to February. It may not feel like it outside, but spring is right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers are just two weeks away, and if that’s enough to warm you up right about now then try another pair of socks and some hot tea.
I can’t imagine I’ll ever have the privilege of covering a player like Hideki Matsui again. The word “unique” is thrown around too much, but this was indeed a unique experience, right from Day One.
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