Yankees: Girardi goes off-spin, team better “Be Prepared”

Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, wasn’t talking to a group of Boy Scouts when he said his team needed to “be prepared” when they come back from the break. He was talking about a team that wasn’t prepared of late, with a 7-18 record going into the break.

Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, wasn’t speaking directly to his team. He was answering a  hypothetical question asked of him by a reporter who wanted to know what he would tell the Yankees as they head off to the All-Star break.

After stating the obvious that the team needed to “play better” and how he looked forward to the return of Starlin Castro and Matt Holliday following the break, along with Aaron Hicks by the end of the month, he went off-spin and threw in the notion that the team needed to be better prepared.

Now, first off, “preparing” a team is the number one job of the manager. Chances are, though, that there is something that annoys him about his team and he wasn’t pointing the finger at himself. Nor, was he pointing his finger at anyone in particular.

But he was clearly targeting the intangible that seems to be missing from the Yankees of late, and that’s the cohesiveness that branded the team in the early part of the season. When, if you fell down today, I picked you up, and vice-versa.

Granted, the team has been playing with a lineup minus some key elements due to injuries. But with the exception of Aaron Judge, that’s precisely Girardi’s point. No one has been there to pick the team up.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Should Yankees toss short-term extension at Harrison Bader before 2023?
• Yankees chose worst possible player to ring in New Year on 2023 team calendar
• Yankees State of the Farm System Review: Josh Breaux
• Yankees make upside play, sign former Rangers top prospect outfielder
• MLB insider claims favorite emerging in Bryan Reynolds rumors (not Yankees)

And from what Joe Girardi sees of late is that the Yankees are playing well enough to lose. They’re not stinking up the joint, but they are losing game after game that they should have won. Whether it’s the bullpen that collapses or a starting pitcher that gives up five runs before the third inning, or a hitter who ends the game with runners on and his bat on his shoulders, this is not a team prepared to win games at this level.

Whether it’s the bullpen that collapses or a starting pitcher that gives up five runs before the third inning, or a hitter who ends the game with runners on and his bat on his shoulders, this is not a team prepared to win games at this level.

Girardi senses something, and when he says the team needs to be prepared, he’s probably seeing some things he doesn’t like. A pitcher who should be doing his sprints in the outfield instead of chatting with fans. A reserve position player who should be getting extra cuts in the cage instead of eating a sandwich in the clubhouse.

By sending this message “out there”, Girardi may be hoping that the defendants, in this case, get the message and there is no need for further action. But just in case, it’s likely that Girardi has passed the word along to Brian Cashman naming names with an indication that if you see an opening, it’s okay to dump this guy.

Next: Yankees are buyers, Cashman says so

These are down times for the Yankees. But at the same time, the upside is clear. There is an opportunity to clean house if that’s what needs to be done to turn this thing around.

So, maybe the message Girardi has for his team should have been, Be Prepared for that!