Yankees Joe Girardi and the hobgoblins of little minds

And Time is Fleeting

Baseball seasons are long and manager decisions are many. Everyone makes mistakes and Girardi is as fallible as anyone. But here we are, twenty games from the end of the season, and the Yankees are pointed towards the playoffs.

Through injuries and inconsistencies, suspensions and under performing free agents, Joe Girardi still has his team playoff bound. When they arrive, they will likely be rested and ready.

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And a lot of that is because of the patience and consistency of Joe Girardi. This is not to say that he is the perfect manager or never makes mistakes. But his effort does not exist in a vacuum, either

Most teams in the league would like to be where the Yankees are right now. That’s almost annually true since most teams usually finish below the Yankees. Let’s return for a moment to the Royals as an example.

Since 2008, the year Girardi became Yankees manager, the Royals have won one WS and appeared in another. Many people on local talk radio wondered why the Yankees couldn’t be more like the Royals when KC won it all.

Some felt KC has even been better than the Yanks over that time as the bombers have only been to the Fall Classic once; they won that series in 2009 but have not been back.

And Don’t We Always Judge Baseball By Consistency?

However, the remaining years reflect a bit better on Girardi and his underappreciated managerial style. Kansas City has made the playoffs just twice since 2008 and finished fourth in the AL Central more times than first.

Next: Even Opposing Managers think of Girardi as a Brilliant Strategist

Under Reliable Joe, the Yankees have made the playoffs five times. And only twice were they not either the best or second best team in the East. That’s the big picture of the effects of Joe Girardi and his consistent ways: Consistently maddening to the fans but consistently winning for the Yankees.

I will finish this piece with an invitation for commentary and controversy. Joe Girardi is one of the best managers in baseball, and shouldn’t be allowed to leave the Yankees unless Casey Stengel becomes available. That is sure to make some regular readers leave angry sentences in the comments section.

Well, at least they’ll be consistent.