Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Joe Girardi’s staying with the New York Yankees. The team announced on Wednesday that Girardi signed a four-year contract reportedly worth $16 million.
This is great news for the Yanks. Not only does this mean they will keep one of the best mangers in baseball, but also that the Bombers will not have to take part in the managerial musical chairs this offseason.
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The Yankees have gone 564-408 in five years with Girardi at the helm – the best record in baseball during that time period – and won the World Series in 2009. True, the Yankees failed to make the playoffs this year, but with a plethora of injuries and distractions off the field, nobody believed the Yankees would hang in the pennant race as long as they did.
Girardi did a phenomenal job with a banged-up team by handling his bullpen masterfully and platooning players based on pitching matchups. Second base was the only position that wasn’t done by committee. The starting rotation was a mess and the offense was stagnant and sometimes non-existent throughout the season, yet they still won 85 games.
Though the Yankees failed to reach October in 2013, Girardi overachieved. $4 million a year is well worth keeping him in New York.
Already, Dusty Baker and Dale Sveum have been fired, Ron Washington and Mike Scioscia are in danger of getting canned, and Davey Johnson is retiring. But rather than joining the ranks of managers on the move, Girardi is joining Ron Gardenhire and Terry Collins as skippers who are staying put.
Now that Girardi is inked through 2017, the Yankees can focus on re-signing their next target: Robinson Cano.
James O’Hare is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JimboOHare, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
