My wife has no heart, she doesn’t care. I roll my eyes and make guttural sounds of disappointment, slap my arm against the couch. I curse and curse some more. They’re killin’ me, I say.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
The Nationals!?!
Straight, with no emotion, like Alice Kramden, she says, “Every year the Yankees lose a series to the worst team, every year it’s the same. It happens. They have hot streaks and slumps.”
But you don’t understand. The Nationals! Two games they should have won against Marlins. Shut out by the damn Braves.
“Well, it’s better than losing to the Red Sox.”
“No it isn’t! At least the Red Sox are good. And they’ve done nothing but lose to them either.”
She shrugs, looks at me, knowing I’m hopeless, and refuses to join in. She has no pity for me or the Yankees. She doesn’t care.
The Yankees played another lifeless game tonight. They had just four hits yet had their chances, leaving the bases loaded twice and stranding eleven in all. In other words, they didn’t do jack-boil-scratch as they lost 4-0 to the Braves in Atlanta. Rookie starter? On cue, the Yankees’ achilles’ heel. I know Tommy Hanson is a stud, but c’mon already.
Chien-Ming Wang wasn’t bad–he gave up three runs on three hits in the third (all three runs scored with two out), and Phil Hughes was terrific again in relief. But that didn’t matter much. Alex Rodriguez went 0-4, Jorge Posada struck out four times and Derek Jeter hit into his third double play in two games as Yankee fans were left with nothing but hard, angry feelings.
Yanks hit skid row, now five behind the Sox. My how it am ugly.
Garret Anderson will be 50 years old someplace and still get a big against the Yanks.
If Boss George were still in charge, Girardi might have been shown the door already.
How dire are things? Well you obviously started writing this piece before the game ended ... that doesn't bode well! ; )
Yup, part of managing my fury...Garret Anderson. For love the LOVE OF PETE!
I asked it in the game thread, but putting aside whether you think he should be fired, at what point do you think he will be fired, if at all? I want to say that two more series losses to the Braves and Mets would seal the deal, but I have a real fear that Girardi wont be fired because of the desire to avoid the embarassment of Torre's successor lasting only 1+.
[5] Sadly, I think Ham is right:
Sometimes a person's greatest virtue is also their biggest fault.
that top graphic is just AWESOME alex!
If your stress-reduction kit don't work, try this? http://tinyurl.com/674bk4
[0] "Jack-boil-scratch"
Is he any kin to Maury-ingrown-hair-tweeze?
These humps make me want to resort to excessive personal hygiene you know, for the extra cleanliness! I feel like a skunk just... skunked me!
Anyone have any extra tomato juice?
>: (
I think Girardi gets to the All Star Break, I really believe a team has gotta be in piss poor shape to fire a manager before that point.
diane - if you're still up and out there: i'm soooo sorry for my careless omission earlier today. of course, i LOVE reading your NOTD columns - each and every one of them!!! : )
[10] well, we'll almost certainly be in FOURTH place by then...
Wacky Packs! The walls of my childhood closet are littered with em. If only my sons could seem em now.
Yeah, Alex, we're all inconsolable jerks at this point. The only bright spot on the 40 man, and I'm not fuggin kidding, is Phil Hughes.
I'lll go to sleep tonight, nod off fast and heavy, thinking about Big Shoes Hughes and the chocolate covered mints he's droppin across the Majors.
Girardi just answered "no" when asked if he was concerned about the Yanks' lack of hitting.
"No"???
Damn Wang might have gone seven if they didn't pinch hit for him ... only 62 pitches thru five.
Girardi is going no place. A couple of weeks ago, they were throwing pies in each other's faces and joking about the toy wrestling belt. Girardi was being praised for creating a positive, family-friendly culture.
As badly as they have played, they are not going to panic at 38-32.
And who are we bringing in to manage this emerging mess anyway? Bob Lemon?
"And who are we bringing in to manage this emerging mess anyway?"
It almost doesn't matter. Addition by subtraction.
As far as firing a guy this early, the margin of error is extremely small in this division. Time to shake things up.
[10] I just hate waiting until the ASB when the warning signs are so clear. I thought it was time to fire Girardi after the Boston series because I thought 0-8 combined with the way he managed the last game was a sign that this team had serious flaws. If a change had been made then, maybe the Yankees would have been refocused and could have made serious hey against the 4 poor teams they've faced since then. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, but the Yankees let it slip away. Now, my fear is they will let the entire season slip away before making a change.
[18] You can't fire a manager in the middle of June when he was in first place 48 hours earlier, thats just no way to run a baseball team. The Boston series should have raised some eyebrows, and I'm thinking it did...but no one should 've lost their job over it.
Girardi had at least earned the right to set the ship straight after that debacle, an opportunity that seems to have been squandered yes...but it was earned.
[19] Normally I'd agree, but I think in this case, Girardi had been given enough time to prove his worth. Falling to 0-8 against Boston was more important than being in first place. I think the seeds for this stretch were planted in the Boston series. It's how I felt at the time, I think the next 10 games have vindicated that feeling somewhat. All that is irrelevant, however, because we are still stuck with Girardi for now. I just wish they'd either fire him, or he'd prove me wrong, but I don't expect either to take place anytime soon.
[14] I heard that.
I'm starting to loathe him.
Changing managers (or coaches) fixed the Rockies and the Penguins in hockey.
If Cashman doesn't pull the trigger soon, he needs to go as well.
Hey, If A-Rod makes that play they only lose 1-0. : ) These games are H-O-R-S-E-S-H--I-T!! and bollocks.
Via Kepner:
[12] thelarmis, on thursday you probably won't hear me making like the bleacher creatures...instead I think I'll be booing my guts out at the lack of effort by our team.
I, for one, want Girardi fired. We're exactly ONE game better than we were at this time last year. Boston will be ahead by 10 games in 2 weeks. How much talent does he need to win? Do we literally have to have 25 all-stars (and I know I'm exaggerating) to even be in second place?
FUCK I am pissed off right now. If you compare Boston to us, player-by-player, we really should be a better team, right? Am I wrong? Damn, we're 0-8 against them, a losing record in interleague, 1-2 against the Nationals, 1-2 against Florida and we're now 4 for our last 13. UGH. Just shoot me now someone, please.
I take back everything I ever said about Joe Torre. That man won a damn division with an absolutely rotten pitching staff, compared to what this one SHOULD BE.
[25] I'm referring to Torre's 2005 pitching staff BTW. And, yes, I realize we're not scoring any runs right now...
[5][15][20] Your discussion topic seems to be migrating. At first you asked when we thought Girardi would be fired (if at all), but really this now looks like an excuse for you to argue that he should be fired--deserves to be fired--immediately.
I'll not discuss whether I think that he *should* be fired (in fact, I have not made my feelings on this subject known at all). Instead, I will return to the more interesting, original question.
I predict that he will not be fired in the middle of the season unless the team really goes into the tank, by which I mean well under .500 and/or last place. Why do I say this? Well, some on this thread would argue that Girardi lingering is evidence of the team's arrogance and/or stubbornness over admitting a mistake. This is largely unprovable, so I cannot comment on it further.
Rather, I think there is a more obvious answer: who would replace him mid-season? There is no heir apparent, unless one thinks that Pena is the future manager of the NYY. I doubt that the team would go with an interim manager. I figure that they have someone already in mind--a bigger name from outside the present organization. Creating an interim manager, whom they would not plan to extend at the end of the year, would only complicate the situation. It is simply easier to give Girardi the rest of the season, then fire him at the end if it is so deemed.
The only caveat is if the organization feels that they must win THIS SEASON. In this case, they might be wiling to roll the dice and get rid of Girardi on the hope that it would spark the team to win this year. But despite the overall, ongoing pressure on the Yankees to win this season, I don't think the FO is thinking as much n the short term.
Just look at the roster--whether one actually likes the players or not, it seems pretty obvious that the FO has built what they see as a core of players for the future: Cano (young, signed), A-Rod for years, Teix for years, CC for years, AJ for years, Hughes (young), Chamberlain (young), most of the bullpen and MiL (young arms), Melky/Gardner (young, roster depth, possible starters), Swisher (signed for a couple of years).
Of the aging vets, Jeter is probably gone in a couple of years (after 3000), Hideki is gone this year, Damon is gone. Nady is gone. There will be money to fill in with FAs. And there may be some young guys, eventually, on the way.
We are seeing a team in transition.
[27] well put. If I was in charge, Pena would have been hired in the first place (although I liked Girardi). Somewhere there's a Bronx Banter thread where I expressed my preference for Pena, if only because he had Kansas City over .500 at one point. So I'd fire Girardi after this performance and name Pena the manager without the interim tag.
According to Pete Abe:
Speculate away, though I think we have our suspicions.
[25] i'll join you in the booing! section 224, right? i'm gonna try and call turner field tomorrow - find out what i can bring in with me and what time the yanks will take the field for BP. hope to see you thursday...
Although I would hire Bobby V., Pena would likely be an interim manager for the rest of the season, barring a complete turnaround and playoff success.
I think Cash realizes that his rep would take an extraordinary hit if he continues to tie his future to
Frank FurilloJoe Girardi.If nothing changes by the end of the month, Girardi probably gets canned.
The worst possible outcome may be just enough wins that allow him to keep a job for which he is uniquely unqualified.
The only caveat is if the organization feels that they must win THIS SEASON.
Cashman has repeatedly made statements to that effect.
i just read the whole game thread. some super funny/clever lines!
Sliced - welcome back, bro! hope you'll stick around.
William - stay, don't go, man! i thought you kicked ass this offseason and i learned a lot about the game from your posts.
Jazz Tokyo - sorry i wasn't here for ya, man. i had to teach. then i had to go back to the studio to practice after dinner. i'm listening to Kenny Dorham right now - 2cd live set on Blue Note w/ Kenny Burrell.
i hope to have some beer later in the week, but right now, i've got a ton of tunes to chart for different gigs. still more BN on the way, but i really need to curb it - not only am i running outta ca$h, but i need to take time to focus on finishing my own material so i can release the damn CD already...
Diane - once again, my apologies! it was a total oversight and accident leaving you off the writers' list. i LOVE your work and am looking forward to NOTD tomorrow!
Evil/Jeb - hope to see you at The Ted on Thursday!
Cliff - get some rest, buddy!!! : )
not sure if that covers it, but it's a start...
can we please just score some goddamn fuckin' runs already. i mean it's the freakin Yankees. isn't that what we do?! : /
[31] Cashman has repeatedly made statements to that effect.
citations?
[33] damn, MP, are you on the night shift? :)
Girardi should get the rest of this year, I agree with you about the rebuilding point as well.
[32] thelarmis, I missed all the weekend games as my laptop still down at home, stuck watching the evil BoSox games on tv..hope have it fixed by this weekend though. Have fun at the game tomorrow!
[34] Up late--very late--writing. This means of course oversleeping tomorrow, getting a late start, wasting the day, and having to stay up late again to catch up. The vicious cycle...
[35] Are you a "writer"? or just doing some "writing"? er..you know what I mean..
4:40pm here, and itiching to break free from the desk..won't bother watching that horror show of a game on archive this evening so my lady will be happy and willing to go out..
[36] I'm a real life perfesser, writing research for honest to goodness academic publications. And that's all you're getting out of me!
Now, off to bed, finally.
[37] Nice, maybe Joe G would listen to you then since he's a Northwestern grad and all.. good luck with the current research!
[33] I wouldn't lie to you.
The reason the quotes stand out in my mind is that when I read them, I feared that he would trade top prospects for veterans in order to achieve that goal, which is an anathema in most cases to me.
The counterpoint is that firing Girardi would be admission of failure for him, and I'm not sure he has the courage to do that.
I figure that they have someone already in mind–a bigger name from outside the present organization. Creating an interim manager, whom they would not plan to extend at the end of the year, would only complicate the situation.
Depends on who they have in mind, I suppose. The obvious names are Showalter, Valentine, Peña & Randolph.
But I am curious to see how this will play out.
Don't care about their run total. It is a misfact made up of runup scores. I look at the hits and men left on base. Few of the former and lots of the latter last night. They don't produce the runs they need.
And the A-Rod is batting .207. Looked at 13 pitches in 4 ABs. Not going to work back into shape with them kind of plate appearances.
Yeah, fire the manager for an old, sluggish team with no reserves. That makes sense. I hope they do fire Girardi. Cause then Cashman's next. Except he's already survived 12 years. That's one reason I have little doubt he'll throw Girardi under the bus as well.
And they're still the third best team in the division.
For $200 million.
Again.
Some year soon, the guy who put this monstrosity together - now with total control! - will be responsible. I anxiously await that day. They still have a horrid offensive outfield that completely undermines whatever benefit the infield gives them. And yet I'm supposed to be surprised when they don't hit?
[42]
Lonn Trost!
[43] Except he's the reason the offense has shown any life at all!
The Stadium covers one major flaw of this team. They're mostly devoid of good hitters. You know, the same team that lost 200 runs in 2008? This is the team we've been watching:
2008 - Home: .281 .349 .440 .789
2008 - Road: .262 .335 .414 .749
2009 - Road: .277 .350 .452 .802
Someone also explain to me how the manager gets blamed for hitters not hitting? In what universe does a manager turn crappy hitters into decent ones?
[42] Come on. This is a 90-95 win team, even with its flaws.
Sure Cashman has ridiculous resources to work with. And, I agree he's not exactly Gabe Paul. But this is on the manager.
@ 46
How many games did they win last year? And they're still running in place, even after dropping $300 million.
But this is on the manager.
I'll repeat: Someone also explain to me how the manager gets blamed for hitters not hitting? In what universe does a manager turn crappy hitters into decent ones?
The team ERA+ is 95. Their road hitting is barely above average.
Average pitching plus average hitting = an 89 win team.
[27] How is it any more provable that they aren't canning Girardi due to lack of options? You're assuming in the first place that they wouldn't do it as an addition-by-subtraction move (yes, I''ve said that about five times in the last day), and in the second place who knows how they evaluate these people. I don't think Girardi was a no-brainer to replace Torre, either.
[45] Why didn't you include the 2009 home split?
It appears they've improved across the board in the road split.
Anyway, as you alluded to in [47] the problem with this team is the pitching.
@ 49
Because the stadium hides how average this team actually is.
By the way, that 2009 road split didn't include last night.
2008 - Home: .281 .349 .440 .789
2008 - Road: .262 .335 .414 .749
2009 - Road: .274 .348 .446 .794
That's the 2008 offense right there but in a new park. The pitching is average. But so is the hitting.
[47] Yes, your numbers show they're underperforming.
On paper, this is a better team than any of the 2005-2007 teams that Torre took to the playoffs. Remember Miggy Cairo batting 6th and playing 1B every day? How about Andy Phillips as our DH? Or Sal Fasano? Or Bernie Williams gracing us with his outfield play and rifle arm? Or Bubba Crosby as our everyday CF? Or Tim Redding and Darrell May?