Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Girardi losing media trust on Yankee injuries


Joe Girardi went through a battery of probing questions from the New York media about why he pulled Andy Pettitte from the game after only five innings. It turns out that Pettitte has arm stiffness that dates back to his last start, something Girardi has kept to himself. For some reason, Girardi is reluctant to be candid about injuries to his players, something that dates back to 2008, and the New York reporters are getting sick of it.

Even Kim Jones of the YES Network persistently questioned Girardi about the lefty's injury when a handful of questions from other reporters failed to get an adequate response from the manager. It's a sign that the New York Yankees beat reporters are starting to lose trust in Girardi to be honest about injuries.

This is the second time in less than a week that reporters have felt Girardi wasn't forthcoming about an injury, with him not willing to 'fess up to the real reason for sitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday.

If you think that this doesn't have ramifications for Girardi, think again. As a reporter, I know that a source that lies or misleads once cannot be trusted, even if what he or she says sounds credible. Reporters are going to be less likely to believe Girardi in the future even when he does tell the truth. They will be more likely to attack Girardi for questionable game decisions or if the Yankees hit a rough patch. Plus, they will be more willing to run with iffy information from other sources.

Girardi needs to work on being more honest with reporters who are just trying to do their jobs. The last thing he wants or needs is a hostile media watching his every move.

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