Girardi Out, Who's In?

The Yankees announced today that Joe Girardi won't be returning as manager in 2018, a decision that wasn't completely unexpected.  His contract was up and both sides seemed lukewarm about a reunion.  Had Girardi's contract not expired, I'm sure he would've been back next season.  But the fact that the Yankees wanted to move on, plus the fact that he wasn't under contract, made it an easy decision.

Here's the craziest part, though.  Yankees fans have taken to social media to express how "outraged" they are that Girardi won't be back.  The same Yankees fans who would constantly take to those same social media outlets to complain about Girardi and say how terrible a manager he was.  Well, which is it?  Do you want him running the team or is he a terrible manager that needed to go?  You can't have it both ways.  You can't say how much he needs to go, then be upset that he is.

Of course, there is one decision for which he deserved all the criticism that was directed his way.  Had the Yankees not come back to win the Indians series, the decision wouldn't have been mutual.  To Girardi's credit, he knew he blew it by not challenging that hit by pitch/strike three call that changed Game 2 and put the Yankees down 0-2.  Although, that was evidently the last straw for Brian Cashman, the one who ultimately decided a change was necessary.

Girardi's legacy is a complicated one.  Managing the Yankees is not an easy job, even if Girardi's predecessor, Joe Torre, made it seem that way.  And Girardi brilliantly navigated so many different challenges over the years.  Consider this.  After reaching the postseason all 12 years under Torre, the Yankees missed the playoffs four times in Girardi's 10 years.  And those four years were the final season at the old Yankee Stadium, the Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter retirement tours and that awkward A-Rod situation last year.

Yet, despite never having the level of success as Torre (which, if you think about it, was unattainable for whoever was going to follow), Girardi never had a losing season with the Yankees.  So, through all the "disappointment" and the injuries and the youth movement, Girardi's teams still managed to have a winning record every season.  Which is pretty remarkable if you think about it.

Personally, I'm a Girardi fan.  I think he really was the best person to handle the Yankees (and the New York media) over the last 10 years, and, unlike most, I was never one who took for granted how hard it is the marquee franchise in baseball in the pressure cooker that is New York. 

I would've liked to have seen him return, but I was also prepared for this possibility.  And I understand the baseball move behind it.  Which, ultimately, is why the Yankees (the same team once owned by a man who fired people as frequently as our current President did in his former job) are conducting just their third managerial search in the last 22 years.

So, the question now becomes, who replaces him?  Rob Thomson and Tony Pena are the internal candidates, but there's also chatter about Al Pedrique, the Yankees' Triple-A manager in Scranton.  He managed Judge, Bird, Frazier, etc., in the Minors, which is why he's in the mix to manage the Big League club.  But there's more to managing in the Majors, and managing the Yankees specifically, that means a Pedrique promotion isn't just automatic.  In fact, I'd be surprised if he gets the job.

Should they want someone with previous Major League experience, they couldn't really go wrong with Dusty Baker.  He just got fired after two years with the Nationals, falling victim to Washington's ridiculously-high expectations.  I'm not saying the expectations would be any lower in New York, but Baker seems well-equipped to handle them.  After all, he managed the Cubs, which isn't really that much different than managing the Yankees.  And he took the Giants to the World Series, in addition to making the playoffs with Cincinnati.  Yes, it's all National League teams.  But Dusty knows what he's doing.  Although, his age could be a factor.

There's one name that I'm really intrigued by, though.  Don Mattingly.  Mattingly was Torre's preferred choice when the Yankees hired Girardi in 2008.  Mattingly, of course, didn't get the job and ended up going with Torre to LA before taking over when he retired.  He's now managing the Marlins, but Derek Jeter's ownership group is evidently considering a change.  How crazy would it be if the Marlins did decide to let Mattingly go, only for him to succeed Girardi as Yankees manager, a job many think he's been destined for for quite some time?  (It would actually be the second straight time the Yankees got their new manager from the Marlins, too.)

Whoever ultimately ends up taking the Yankees job, whether it be Mattingly or someone else, will face the burden of expectations.  Expectations that are going to be incredibly high for the 2018 Yankees.  It's one of the glamour jobs in the sport, but it's also one of the most pressure-packed.  I just hope whoever it is is up to the challenge.  Just like the two guys named Joe who preceded him were.