NewsYankees ready to author new ending
After tough end to '08, Girardi has big plans for new home
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
04/07/09 2:36 PM ET
BALTIMORE -- Joe Girardi had tears in his eyes the day he walked out of Yankee Stadium last September, saying goodbye to the building where he created some of the best memories from his playing days.But Girardi's emotions were also jarred because the Yankees' playoff string of 13 consecutive seasons had been snapped. His first journey as the club's manager ended a few weeks too early, never a good sign with an employer that perennially demands October success.
"I think the feeling that we had at the end of September last year is a feeling that we don't want to experience," Girardi said. "That memory of last September was a bad memory. We went out and added to our team, and I think all the players were excited about the people that we brought in. That's one of the reasons we have expectations for ourselves."
The Yankees made sure to invest heavily to ensure that Girardi would have the horses to compete in 2009, so much that he admits if the Yankees don't win, there will probably be someone else sitting behind his desk at the new Yankee Stadium for the 2010 season. It was a scenario that Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner did not care to envision last week.
"This is an optimistic time right now, so I haven't even thought about it," Steinbrenner said. "As far as I'm concerned, we're going to make the playoffs. Our fans expect that every year and we expect that every year. We're going into this very positively, on a good note. We're healthy and firing on all cylinders, and we're going to keep pushing until we get there. Things like that, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I'm not expecting we will."
Girardi was confident going into his first season, so much so that he selected the uniform No. 27 to remind him of the daily goal at hand -- to secure the Yankees' 27th World Series championship, which has thus far eluded the Yankees since the moment Bernie Williams caught a deep Mike Piazza fly ball to end the 2000 Fall Classic.
But he had a flawed mix to pilot in 2008 -- rookies Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy both struggled with injuries and inconsistency, ultimately finishing the season winless. The Yankees also did not have the depth to withstand crushing injuries to key pieces like Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Chien-Ming Wang, attempting to patch holes with retreads and league-average veterans.
There was little Girardi could have done to replace a clubhouse leader like Posada or a 19-game winner like Wang, but he recognized that other changes could be made after the 89-victory showing. Girardi made an effort to improve his relationships with each person in the clubhouse, ranging from star players all the way down to locker room attendants and media members.
"You understand how to do this job better," Girardi said. "You understand what you have to do as a manager better with each player. Sometimes it might be encouragement, sometimes it might be going the other way. You can't really learn it until you go through it. Relationships are extremely important."
Girardi also did what he could to back off the militaristic tone his spring took in 2008, which left one player gasping for air on the clubhouse carpet after a particularly strenuous workout. Incessant dashes across the outfields were replaced by bonding events, like the day Girardi -- with the blessing of his veterans -- called off practice in lieu of a billiards tournament at a Tampa-area pool hall.
"You learn a lot about the job by going through it and sitting in that chair," Girardi said. "You learn a lot about your players. For approximately 20 of the players, I have a year under my belt and the relationship is manager-player. It's one thing to know a player as a teammate, or a broadcaster or coach. It's another thing to know a player as a manager."
The end product, A.J. Burnett said, is vastly different from what he might have expected.
"It's a lot different looking in on the other side with these guys," Burnett said. "It's a great group. Everybody is on everybody all the time, getting along. From the other side, you see a lot of business and professionalism, and that's what these guys are. But we have such good chemistry in there that guys know when to turn it on at game-time. It's a great group of cut-ups."
Said Posada: "This year seems a little different. We're having fun, we're going out there with a purpose. That's the only thing we have changed."
Though the Yankees' spring began with the distractions of Alex Rodriguez's admission of using performance-enhancing substances and an injury that followed weeks later, the Yankees jelled behind the scenes, with Sabathia in particular serving as something of a clubhouse ringleader in organizing group field trips. Controversy eventually gave way to confidence, which was not dampened by a season-opening 10-5 loss to the Orioles on Monday, in which Sabathia and new first baseman Mark Teixeira struggled.
"I think after the way we lost last year, I think everyone has come in here with a different attitude," Posada said. "We have a five-man rotation with a good chance to win every night, and that's the way we want it. Whoever is on the mound, we have a pretty good chance that we're going to keep the opposition down and score some runs."
Girardi's tone is similarly sunny. After guiding his club to the Grapefruit League's best record, glowing about the effort put in during Spring Training and crossing his fingers that it spills into April, Girardi said that he likes his chances of leading this roster deep into the autumn months.
"I think we're more experienced, especially in our starting rotation," Girardi said. "We're a much deeper team this year, I think, all-around. It is a different club."
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
