Is this Joe Girardi's last stand?

28. Will this be the last September we ever see Joe Girardi’s number 28 jersey in the Yankees dugout? It is fair to argue that as fall baseball looms closer and closer, the Yankees are getting pulled further and further down the hole they try to climb out of countless times. Joe’s managing style this season has been a source of debate from pitiful outings, to failure to produce runs, to lack of motivation, and questionable pitching changes. It has caused me as well as other fans to question Girardi. Faith is something the fans and organization of the Yankees have. I have stayed faithful to Girardi; he brought a championship to a whole new era of fans, but is it time for a change?

Photo Credit: Paul J. Bereswill | NY POST

Girardi sports a win-loss percentage of .562 (812-633) over more than 1400+ games as manager of the Yankees. It is quite an accomplishment that after some 9 years with the Yankees, the team has not fell below .500. Girardi brought much needed leadership that the team needed to progress forward after legendary manager Joe Torre, decided to reject an offer to stay in New York. There was doubt in the fan base regarding Girardi’s managing credentials as his only other experience managing was with the Marlins. Needless to say, Girardi soon proved that he was able to fill the shoes the Yankees needed as in 2009 in just his second season managing, the Yankees were World Series champions.

But just as his predecessor, will he decide that his time is up in New York?

It is worth to note that after the 2009 championship season, there has been a steady decline in wins and this is due partly on the departure of many talented players to either retirement, trades, or Free agency. The culture as well is different than it was in 2009, there is new life in the Yankees and it looks like Joe is too stubborn to adapt.

It will be easy to blame the manager for a team’s underperformance in a season. But this season, the team that Girardi was given was great on paper, but on the field they were a no show. It will not be fair to only judge Joe for this team’s shortcomings as baseball is a team game and not a one-man show.

This on the other hand, does not excuse Girardi’s management during the middle of the game. His tendency to pull pitchers by the batter causes a disruption in a game, which in turn has a negative impact on the Yankees. Because of this, there are points where this a gap of talent between the pitcher and batter and most of the time the Yankees bullpen gets exploited.

But there is a reason for this madness. In recent years the Yankees have become a team that lives by the spreadsheet; they rely on the numbers and analytics rather than having confidence on the player themselves. There is some truth about this though, as many of the numbers are reliable. But when you have games just like this recent series with Boston, where every decision you make seems to backfire. You will sometimes need to lead with your gut rather than the numbers.

The future is bright for the Yankees, but is Girardi still part of that future? If Joe, decides to leave he will have no shortage of job openings, as any team in the MLB will hop on the opportunity of have him lead their team.

So will the Yankees take a chance to change managers after a couple seasons of disappointing end results?

Or will number 28 still lead the Yanks to their 28th championship?

Article by: Daron Vasquez

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