Results tagged “joegirardi”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi had a particularly busy Wednesday-into-Thursday evening, between winning the World Series and helping out a crash victim. Girardi stopped his car on his was home after the victory, swerving across the road on the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester, in order to help Marie Henry, 27, who had smashed into the guardrail. Girardi stayed with her and kept her calm until the police arrived. And the dazed Henry didn't have a clue who he was!

What can't Yankees manager Joe Girardi do? First, there's manage the Yankees to their 27th World Series win (okay, fine, there was that $206 million payroll helping out). But after the win, when driving home on the Cross County Parkway, he stopped to help a driver who crashed into a wall!

After Wednesday night's lost chance to clinch the ALCS, the Yankees face off against the Angels tonight. The Daily News' Mike Lupica is impatient and frustrated and tells the Bronx Bombers today: "You're the Yankees and you've won 109 games already this season, and when you're that good, when you're this loaded, you can't let it all come down to a one-game season, not after you had the Angels down three games to one...You bring the World Series back to New York tonight."

• Angels 7 Yankees 6: The Yankees overcame a miserable start by A.J. Burnett only to have their bullpen give the game away. New York put the first two runners on in the first, but failed to score while the Angels jumped all over A.J. Burnett for four runs in their half of the inning. And that’s exactly where things remained until the seventh. With two outs, Mark Teixeira delivered a bases-loaded double to clear the bases and put the Yankees on the board. A-Rod was intentionally walked and Hideki Matsui followed with a single to tie the game. Robinson Cano followed with a triple to put New York up 6-4.

Even though the Yankees were playing Game 3 of the ALCS in Anaheim, Yankees fans were able to watch—via Jumbotron—the matchup at Yankee Stadium yesterday. And there were some boo birds there! One fan told NY1, "Joe Girardi blew the game. He went over in the dugout and looked at the book and he took Robertson out because of something the book says. You can't manage the playoffs by the book. This loss is on Girardi's head."

The 2009 Yankees look to be returning to the playoffs in just a couple weeks after last season's first year being left home in over a decade. This year's team has been marked by a level of extroverted charisma and fiery personalities uncharacteristic of the stoic bunch that led the turn of the century dynasty. But last night, late in a game that did not appear to be on its way toward another AJ Burnett pieface moment, some of that adrenaline appeared to turn nasty as Jorge Posada took a cheap shot shove at Blue Jays' pitcher Jesse Carlson and BAM! It was on—bench-clearing brawl, enough of a mess to end with a little blood.

The Yankees are almost a quarter of their way through the season and their manager is excited that the man who was supposed to be the biggest bat while A-Rod was on the shelf is now hitting two points over .200. Apparently seeing it as a sign that Mark Teixeira is about to turn things around, Girardi called the first baseman's two-for-four performance the most promising development in the team's 8-2 win over the Blue Jays last night. Only two other regular starters in the AL are hitting lower that Teixeira and the closest recent Yankee slugger with nearly as bad of a start was Tino Martinez hitting .254 at same point one season. GM Brian Cashman is spinning the bad start as the 180 Million Dollar Man dealing with the "pressure" of his big contract and new environment. But Teixeira is taking the high road for his performance, saying, "You can always try to find excuses...Yeah, more people are watching, no doubt. More people are writing about it, no doubt. But those are things I can't control...There are no excuses. If you start making excuses for yourself, you've got something wrong with you."

The new accusations against A-Rod in the upcoming biography on him—that he used steroids while on the Yankees and tipped off pitches to opposing players—are now being looked into by Major League Baseball. Officials had already met with A-Rod to ask questions soon after his initial admissions of using illegal steroids while with Texas Rangers. A sports law expert told the Times, “The last thing (Commissioner Bud Selig) wants is for someone else, like the federal government or Congress, to try and intercede and take this matter out of his hands.”

After postponing his meeting with MLB officials yesterday so that he could play in one last spring training game before joining the Dominican team in the World Baseball Classic, Alex Rodriguez did eventually get together with league brass and was described as "cooperative" by the commissioner's office. As expected, the two hour meeting centered around two men with close ties to A-Rod, cousin Yuri Sucurt and trainer Angel Presinal, as well as inquiries as to just where Rodriguez obtained steroids from. Both the Yankees and the slugger seem to think that the change of scenery for the WBC for a few weeks will be beneficial to all parties. Rodriguez joked that his leaving means that "we're going to give (media relations director) Jason Zillo a three-week vacation. He's the happiest guy here. I expect him to be fresh when I get back." As for the scandalized slugger, manager Joe Girardi said, "I see him more relaxed every day...The first couple days, you know, you could tell it was weighing heavily on his mind...I think he's done really well."

The Yankees just won’t go quietly into the offseason. Last night controversy erupted between Joe Girardi and the press corps over the status of Mariano Rivera, who had left the team yesterday to return to New York for a checkup. Girardi insisted it was just a end of year physical while Brian Cashman told the press Mariano had felt something in his shoulder and was having a MRI. The press conference included Girardi banging his fist on his desk and telling the media they could stare at him if they wanted to.

A payroll of $209 million should at the very least guarantee that a team is in the thick of the playoff race until the very end, but barring a miracle run, the Yankees won’t be. While George Steinbrenner is no longer in charge, the failure of the 2008 Yankees demands someone to be held accountable and fans are well within their rights to expect changes.

It started with Ian Kennedy providing six solid innings of pitching. Kennedy has been horrendous so far this year and maybe it was the news that Joba is coming to take his spot, maybe it was something else, but he was a different pitcher tonight. Shelley Duncan who has also longed for 2007, provided the initial run and Robinson Cano, the guy who represents the Yankees’ offensive failures in 2008 provided the game-winner with two outs in the ninth. Even Joe Girardi got involved, channeling Billy Martin with a justified meltdown in the ninth after a blown call by the umpires.

• Rangers 4 Devils 1: Don’t let the score fool you, this was a close game for about 57 minutes. New York got on the board first thanks to Brendan Shanahan, but New Jersey answered with a power play goal from Paul Martin. The game remained tied until the 7:23 mark of the third period when the Devils made a bad turnover off the power play and Brandon Dubinsky hammered home a rebound off a shot for Scott Gomez. It was one of three assists for Gomez who had a great game in his playoff debut for New York.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: The Rangers Take Round 1"

It may have come a day later than many people wanted, but the Yankees opened the final season of the Stadium on a high note, winning a close and well-pitched game 3-2. Chien-Ming Wang went seven innings allowing only two runs and Joba and Mo closed the game out with a scoreless inning each.

Joe Girardi made the goal clear from his introductory press conference donning the number 27 to represent the quest for a 27th title. But, despite their tremendous resources and talent, this Yankees’ team is further away from winning a title than any in recent memory because of the question surrounding the starting pitching.

     

Entering Spring Training the Yankees had three big questions to answer. The biggest and most obvious was the role that Joba Chamberlain would play. Hank proclaimed that he wanted Joba to start and Joe Girardi’s insisted that Joba’s future is as a starter, but in the end the Yankees put him in the bullpen for at least the start of 2008. And it makes sense because while they won’t admit it publicly, the Yankees are going to cap Joba’s innings around 140 this year. So, Chamberlain wouldn’t have been able to start for a full season and the Yankees will have their devastating setup guy for at least part of 2008.

That didn't take long. Opening Day is still 2 1/2 weeks away, and the Yankees have already engaged in a bench-clearing brawl with the Devil Rays. The blood began to boil Saturday, when Tampa Bay's Elliot Johnson ran over Yankees minor-league catcher Franciso Cervelli in a collision at home plate. Cervelli got the worst of it and suffered a broken wrist. Both managers -- Joe Girardi for the Yankees and Joe Maddon for the Rays -- defended their players. Girardi said such a collision shouldn't have occurred in a spring training game. Maddon said it was "hardball" and a clean play, and that Cervelli shouldn't have blocked the plate if he didn't want to get run over.

Okay, Mets manager Willie Randolph hasn't been in pinstripes for a while, but this photograph of him saying hi to new Dodgers manager Joe Torre just seems like something from the bizarro world - not that there's anything wrong with that! Randolph, who was a Yankees coach under Torre, said, "It was a little strange, a little different. But I told him, 'You look good in any uniform.'"

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light more down the stretch. So did Omar Minaya's complete neglect of the roster's periphery. The Mets trotted out inexperienced and ineffective pitchers down the stretch, and the bullpen that Randolph had to deal with wasn't that good to begin with thanks to some questionable trades. What this means for the 2008 season remains to be seen, but it cost the Mets fans Lastings Milledge, another symbol of the collapse. He was dumped dealt to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

Joe Girardi made his first appearance in Yankee pinstripes as the new manager today. He chose the number 27 for his jersey, referring to more World Series wins in the Yankees' - and his, he hopes - future as the Yankees have 26 World Series championships. The former Yankees catcher said, "The team's expectation is always going to be to win the World Series. It's not going to change." He also mentioned that he...

Well, it didn't take long for Joe Torre to find a new job (not that it should have). He's trading The Bronx for Chavez Ravine and "fans" like Rudy Giuliani for Posh Spice. The Post is reporting that the former Yankees manager has agreed in principle to a three-year $14.5 million deal (hopefully there are no performance incentives) to be the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would be replacing Grady Little, who...

Stating that “this is about being a New York Yankee again today,” and proclaiming, “I expect to be in the Fall Classic next October,” Joe Girardi met the media as the next manager of the New York Yankees today. Girardi sought to differentiate himself from his predecessor saying, “I am going to be myself. There are expectations on me and my coaching staff, the same that were on Joe Torre when he came in...

The Yankees have offered Joe Girardi the job of manager, further emphasizing the fact that the Steinbrenner boys, and not their father, are now in control. According to reports, Girardi has been offered a three-year deal worth approximately $2-million a season. Negotiations are described as “ongoing” currently. As a side note, Don Mattingly has apparently turned down an offer to coach on his staff. Assuming Girardi accepts the offer, he will take control of a...

Assuming MLB gives them permission, the Yankees will probably announce their next manager tomorrow. The team has conducted three interviews and according to Hank “Liitle Stein” Steinbrenner, that’s all they plan on doing. So, let’s take a look at the three candidates. First up there is the long shot, Tony Pena. Pena joined the Yankees two seasons ago as Joe Torre’s first base coach, but his biggest impact was on Jorge Posada. Under Pena’s tutelage,...

While the Joe Torre situation drags on and on and on, at least one candidate apparently doesn’t want the job. According to a friend of Mattingly’s “he does not feel ready for the manager's job and is uncomfortable with replacing Joe Torre.” Furthermore, he has told a member of the Steinbrenner family his feelings. While Don's agent denies the report, Mattingly is absolutely right to be wary of taking this job. He is easily the...

Welcome to the first day of the Yankees’ offseason, buckle your seatbelts this is going to be a wild ride. While it is 99.9% certain that the Yankees are going to have a new manager for 2008, his identity remains a mystery. Joe Girardi, Don Mattingly and Tony LaRussa are the top names you hear, but remember in 1995 the Yankees shocked a lot of people when they chose Torre, so don’t be surprised if...