Without the security provided by a long-term contract, Joe Girardi's job status will quickly become a major issue if the New York Yankees have trouble winning baseball games early in the season. But Hank Steinbrenner sought to put a quick end to any speculation that Girardi's lame-duck position means he has to repeat his World Series championship to keep his job.
While making it clear that winning the World Series always remains the goal, Steinbrenner flatly answered no when asked if Girardi has to win it all again. He said that Girardi was both his and general manager Brian Cashman's choice and that his manager proved them right last year. Girardi himself seems unconcerned about his contract and why should he be? He won the World Series last year and he's already been fired once as a manager so I'm sure he's not worried about losing his job.
The media right now are more focused on the contracts of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. But I think the lack of a contract for Girardi has the potential to be a bigger distraction. Hopefully the Yankees get off to a good start and this becomes a non-issue.
While making it clear that winning the World Series always remains the goal, Steinbrenner flatly answered no when asked if Girardi has to win it all again. He said that Girardi was both his and general manager Brian Cashman's choice and that his manager proved them right last year. Girardi himself seems unconcerned about his contract and why should he be? He won the World Series last year and he's already been fired once as a manager so I'm sure he's not worried about losing his job.
The media right now are more focused on the contracts of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. But I think the lack of a contract for Girardi has the potential to be a bigger distraction. Hopefully the Yankees get off to a good start and this becomes a non-issue.
Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment