How much of blame for the New York Yankees slow start falls on the head of Joe Girardi?
New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi received a vote of confidence Wednesday from principal owner Hal Steinbrenner, as the team continues to struggle, but should he be blameless?
Mired in last place in the American League East, the Yankees sit seven-and-a-half games out of first drifting with a record of 18-22. With a payroll at $226.8 million, the Bronx Bombers are headed in the wrong direction as the season hits the quarter pole.
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Injuries have taken a toll. Designated Hitter Alex Rodriguez, pitchers CC Sabathia and Luis Severino have spent time on the disabled list. First Baseman Mark Teixeira is showing his age. Third Baseman Chase Headley looks lost and starter Michael Pineda’s woes grace the back page of the tabloids every fifth day.
The Yankees are a mess. Although noble for Girardi and his staff to receive a free pass from ownership, too many things going the wrong way say otherwise.
Sure, savvy fans can point to the millions invested in contracts to aging players doled out by General Manager Brian Cashman. From the old George Steinbrenner era of buying the best team possible, Cashman locked down players such as Rodriguez, Sabathia and Teixeira to keep used to championships winning at the new stadium. A reminder the last time the Yankees were in the World Series was seven years ago in 2009.
Considered one of the best managers of the game, Girardi has done a masterful job keeping the broad egos in check in the clubhouse while navigating the Yankees near the top of the standings.
Yet a look of recent years shows New York in retreat. The Yankees have failed to win 90 games or a playoff series since 2012. Coming off last year’s Wild Card loss at home, and landing Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds as a closer, expectations starting 2016 were sky high.
Instead, New York as a team is hitting .236 with an OPS of .679. A OPS so bad it is dead last in the league. OPS+, a good barometer how an offense meshes with the rest of the league, sits as of Thursday at 86 or 14 percent below average. Only the moribund Minnesota Twins fare worse. Except for Brian McCann (.811 OPS), Starlin Castro (.775) and Brett Gardner (.762), the production shown from the Bronx is non-existent.
As the bullpen has performed as expected, the starting rotation has not. Masahiro Tanaka, trying to save his elbow, is junkballing his way to a good year and has one win to show for his effort in eight starts. Nathan Eovaldi handcuffed the Oakland Athletics this week, but still has an ERA of 4.44. Sabathia found a groove, then got hurt. Pineda? Try a 1-5 record with an ERA of 6.60.
What ails the Yankees is beyond one person. A collective failure on all fronts, what promised to be a good summer in the Bronx is fading.
Blaming the manager is often foolhardy. He doesn’t hit, pitch or field, but it is his job to motivate and teach. A stalwart in the dugout for nine years, replacing Joe Torre, the question Steinbrenner and Cashman need to discuss if Girardi is still the right man steering the ship? With two managers over the last 20 seasons, the Yankees—known for firing managers at the drop of a hat—have been anything but rash.
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If the season continues to go the wrong way, at what point do the powers that be go in another direction? The day any manager gets hired, they know a clock ticks until they get fired. Girardi’s clock is running short.