Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News is subtly suggesting that Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi is already on the hot seat following the Bronx Bomber’s poor effort against in state rivals the Mets.
More to the point, the Yanks are doing almost nothing well. They entered this game batting .258 and stood 11th in runs scored in the AL. Their team ERA of 4.32 placed them 10th. The only bright spots were old dependables Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, a depressing notion. The Yanks are still relying heavily on their heroes from the ’90s, after all these years of revolving rosters and transactions.
Despite all of Girardi’s announced plans for more aggressive play on the bases, for building runs, the Yankees have stolen only 14 bases all season, while opponents have swiped 45 against a quartet of catchers. Girardi, it turns out, is no more aggressive than Torre.“We’ve tried to do things,” Girardi said. “You have to have the opportunity to be aggressive. We don’t have the guys who can fly. We’re not going to outrun the baseball. We have to try to take advantage of situations when they’re there. Sometimes, they don’t present themselves.”
Then again, it looked Sunday night a lot like disaster.
The media (and Hank Steinbrenner for that matter) need to give Girardi a chance, here. The Yankees look bad, but they’ve had injuries and nobody should be surprised that the pitching has struggled with a blend of aging arms and inexperienced youth. The panic button should not be pushed yet on Girardi with it only being May 19.
