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Joe Girardi is a World Series-winning manager and apparently, also a good samaritan to boot.

From MLB.com:

On his way home from winning the World Series with a 7-3 win over the Phillies on Wednesday night, Girardi stopped to help a woman who had lost control of her car on the Cross County Parkway in Eastchester, N.Y., and crashed into a wall, according to The Journal News (Westchester County, N.Y.).

The driver was stunned by the accident, but otherwise uninjured, police told the publication.

“The guy wins the World Series, what does he do? He stops to help,” Westchester County police officer Kathleen Cristiano, who was among the first to arrive at the accident scene, told The Journal News. “It was totally surreal.”

It’s not like Girardi pulled the woman out of a burning vehicle or anything, but we don’t hear enough good stories like this that surround sports figures. This is a nice story and it shines light on the fact that there are many sports figures out there that do some good for society.

Well done, Joe.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has confirmed that Pedro Martinez will start Game 6 of the World Series, while Yankees skipper Joe Girardi has said that Andy Pettitte is on track to oppose Pedro in the pivotal game.

Martinez allowed three runs over six innings while striking out eight in a Game 2 loss. With Philadelphia’s backs to the wall trailing 3-2 in the series, Pedro will be expected to save the Phils’ season.

Pettitte’s situation is interesting and worth following because he hasn’t worked on just three days rest in the past two seasons. In four starts this October, he has worked on extra rest so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes with not having an extra day or two to rest his arm.

There has been plenty of offense on display so far in this series, so we could be in store for a Game 6 slugfest as the pitchers start to wear down.

Apparently all Nick Swisher needed was a fire lit under his ass.

Swisher, benched in Game 2, homered and doubled in the Yankees’ 8-5 win over the Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night. With the victory, New York takes a 2-1 lead in the best of seven series.

Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui also went deep for the Bronx Bombers. A-Rod’s shot was memorable because it was the first call overturned by replay in the history of the World Series. He finished 1 for 2 on the night with two RBI and a walk, while Swisher went 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI.

The Phillies got two home runs from Jayson Werth and one from Carlos Ruiz to take a 3-0 lead in the second inning. But the Yankees answered with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings on their way to victory. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels was touched up for five runs on five hits in just 4.1 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two.

With this win, the Yankees have the Phillies right where they want them because CC Sabathia opposes Joe Blanton tomorrow night. But a win is vital for the Bombers because if they lose, not only will Philly even the series but it’ll also have the momentum with Cliff Lee (who beat the Yankees in Game 1) starting Game 5.

Tomorrow is critical for Joe Girardi, who decided to start Sabathia on only three days rest. If the Yankees can’t take a 3-1 series lead, then Girardi’s gamble could wind up costing his club.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has decided to start Joe Blanton in Game 4 of the World Series instead of ace Cliff Lee on short rest.

What this means is that Lee won’t be available for a possible Game 7 because he’ll pitch Game 5 now. Considering Lee has never started on short rest in his career, Manuel may have had little choice but to pitch Blanton in Game 4.

Blanton started Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s World Series and combined with four relievers on a five-hitter in a 10-2 Philadelphia win. So he has World Series experience and shouldn’t be fazed by the pressure, although he did allow four runs in six innings against the Dodgers in his only postseason start this season.

It’ll be interesting to see how New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi counters the move. There was talk that CC Sabathia would start Game 4, but Girardi may decide to save his ace to face Lee again in Game 5. Considering several Yankees (including Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez) have had success off Blanton in the past, Girardi might want to save Sabathia in order to go toe to toe with Lee.

The chess game begins…

Thanks to their 7-6 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night, the Angels saved themselves from elimination to force a Game 6.

L.A. starter John Lackey gave up three runs on six hits over 6.2 innings of work, while striking out seven and walking three. He was cruising until the sixth inning when he allowed a double to Melky Cabrera, then walked pinch hitter Jorge Posada on a terrible call by home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth.

The call definitely rattled Lackey, who wound up walking the bases loaded before retiring the second out of the inning. He was relieved with the two outs and the bases loaded, but the Halos bullpen wound up getting shelled as the Yankees put six runs on the board to take a 6-4 lead.

But the Angels answered back with three runs of their own and then held on over the final two innings to secure the victory.

The call by Culbreth completely swung the momentum in the Yankees favor. Lackey had every right to be pissed, although he allowed his emotions to get the best of him and Mike Scioscia had little choice but to relieve him. Had New York wound up winning, the Angels could have pointed to that call as their death nail.

Joe Girardi will once again be subject to criticism following his decision to let starter A.J. Burnett go back out for the seventh inning. The Yankees had all the momentum and Girardi should have had more faith in his bullpen, but he allowed Burnett to start the inning and A.J. would up allowing the first two batters to reach base to spark the Halos.

Another Yankee that will face some heat is Nick Swisher, who went 0-for-5 and popped out with bases loaded in the top of the ninth to end the game. He had a solid regular season, but he’s hitting just .118 so far in the postseason and has killed several scoring opportunities for the Bronx Bombers.

Game 6 is set for Saturday at 8:07 p.m. ET and will feature Joe Saunders vs. Andy Pettitte.

The Angels avoided falling in a three-game hole by beating the Yankees 5-4 in Game 3 of the ALCS on Monday night. Vladimir Guerrero hit a game-tying two-run home run in the sixth inning and Jeff Mathis hit a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the 11th inning for the Halos.

Not to take anything away from the Angels because this was a huge win for them, but Joe Girardi screwed the pooch by taking reliever David Robertson out in the 11th after he retired the first two batters. Girardi replaced Robertson with Alfredo Aceves, who immediately gave up a single to Howie Kendrick and then the double to Mathis.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but Robertson’s location was fine and his curve was sharp, so why Girardi felt the need to take him out is perplexing. Granted, the same outcome could have happened if Girardi left Robertson in the game but it really seems like the New York skipper over managed the situation tonight.

According to a report by The Journal News, Yankees manager Joe Girardi is considering using a three-man pitching rotation against the Angels in the ALCS.

Girardi pointed to the lighter workload that CC Sabathia faced in September, as well as the longer layoff he’s getting now since the Yankees swept the first round. Girardi said that the team would like to have plan in place for the rotation going into the series, as opposed to just waiting to see where the team stands when Game 4 rolls around. Remember, too, that because of off-days Sabathia could pitch Games 1, 4 and 7 and only have to pitch on short rest once instead of twice.

It’s not a bad strategy, although if the Yankees and Angels push it to a Game 7 that means Sabathia won’t start Game 1 of the World Series if New York wins. That said, it’s Girardi’s mission to get the Yankees to the World Series and then worry about how to game plan for the Fall Classic when the time comes. So if he feels as though a three-man rotation is the best strategy against the Halos, then he should go with it.

If the Yankees are forced to use a fourth pitcher, than it will likely be Chad Gaudin and not Joba Chamberlain, who will remain in the bullpen.

According to a report by the New York Post, it appears that Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi’s job is safe for now.

At 13-14 after last night’s 4-3 loss to the Rays, voices in and out of baseball are wondering if Girardi, who is in the second season of a three-year contract, is safe.

According to several organizational sources Girardi’s job security isn’t an issue. Too many injuries too early in the season and slow starts by CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. And he hasn’t had cleanup hitter Alex Rodriguez play a game, lost Chien-Ming Wang early and Jorge Posada recently.

Though Girardi said he understands the attention that comes with managing the Yankees, he said he isn’t fixated on those who blame him for the pedestrian start and being dominated by the Red Sox.

“That’s not something I really focus on. I focus on the task at hand. Every day we do the best we can to prepare our club and every move we make is to win the game and that’s what I focus on,” said Girardi, who has been hamstrung by an awful bullpen.

As the article notes, Girardi can’t do anything about veterans like Sabathia and Teixeira getting off to slow starts, A-Fraud not being in the lineup and Wang forgetting that he’s not pitching in a home run derby contest every fifth day. Girardi will continue to catch heat because he replaced a manager in Joe Torre who should have never been fired in the first place, and the pressure to succeed will always be bestowed on Yankee managers because of how much the club spends to win. It just comes with the territory.

The manager is always on the front lines when a team is losing, but at some point the players are going to have to just step up and freaking produce. Girardi can’t manage situations that are unmanageable (i.e. the pitching staff turning the new Yankee Stadium into Coors Field).

With their 7-3 win over their hated rivals on Tuesday night, the Red Sox swept the Yankees for the second time this season and are now 5-0 against the Bombers this season. Jason Bay hit a two-run homer (his seventh of the season) off Yankees’ starter Joba Chamberlain in the first inning to spark Boston’s victory.

It’s only May, but it has to be somewhat troubling to the Yankees that they are nothing more than a .500 club at this point after spending as much as they did to fix their pitching staff in the offseason. They currently have the second worst ERA in baseball at 5.86 and opponents are currently batting .277 off them to date.

Part of the Yankees’ issues, as they’re finding out, is that they now play in Coors Field Jr. There’s a jet stream in right center at the new Yankee Stadium and opponents are hitting bombs as if the Yankees were hosting the Home Run Derby on a nightly basis. Of course, not having Alex Rodriguez in the lineup has been an issue as well, although he is set to return soon so that all could change.

But what has to be most troubling to the Yankees is that they’re just 3-7 against AL East opponents so far this season. And it’s not like they were facing the same red-hot Boston team the past couple days that rattled off 11 straight wins during the month of April; the BoSox had just been abused by Tampa entering their two-game series with New York. Opponents have largely teed off on Josh Beckett and Jon Lester so far this season, yet each had solid outings against a Yankee offense that was supposed to once again be one of the best in baseball.

Again, it’s early and once A-Fraud gets back into the lineup the Yankees’ offensive production should pick up again. Plus, they have always been relatively slow starters before picking it up around the All-Star break, but Joe Girardi and the rest of the Yankees’ brass can’t feel great that they’re sitting at 13-13 with that payroll and are now 0-5 against the Red Sox.

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