Yankees Joe Girardi and the hobgoblins of little minds

History Major

One thing Joe does perhaps better than any other manager is put his players in a position to succeed. That is the mission statement for all managers in all fields. And, as night must follow day, the team usually finds more success as the individual players do.

Any survey of Girardi’s tenure shows him taking somewhat limited players and improving their slash lines in the late season by learning and maximizing their abilities. That’s what Joe was doing those first four months: adding each players numbers from this season to their history.

Then, when the last six weeks arrive, he knows how to use each player to maximize his abilities, and the Yankees chances of winning  games.

You want to know why Headley’s average and production have gone up so much? It’s partially due to better performance. And it’s partially due to match-ups.

You can see similar results with many players during Joe’s tenure. Yankees fans might yell at their tv’s when they think Joe is sticking with an Alex Rodriguez or Aaron Hicks during under performing Junes, or even Aroldis Chapmans.

But those same fans are thrilled when Girardi knows how to reach into his expanded-roster bench and pull just the right player, for just the right moment, in late September. Or when a player who looked lost in July hits a key home run, because Joe now knows exactly how to best put the player, and team, in position to succeed.

And Joe always shortens his hook in the last six weeks of the season. If a player doesn’t perform, Joe is much more likely to sit him, than support him. Just look at how differently he dealt with Bryan Mitchell in August.