Like the legendary "Steel Driving Man" John Henry, Joe Girardi’s legend increases with every day that he’s not managing in the big leagues. Girardi has become the symbol for the young, disciplined and determined manager that every team (except for the one that fired him after one overachieving season in which he won Manager of the Year) seems to want. While it’s true that the Marlins overachieved beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations in 2006, and the young players performed above and beyond what could reasonably be expected of them, they were still under .500 for the season and Girardi still got fired days after the season ended, ostensibly for insubordination.
Every managerial job that opens up inevitibly includes the mentioning of Girardi as a candidate. He has effectively milked the way the Marlins overachieved and kept his mouth shut about exactly why he was fired after the season ended to great effect in growing his forming "legend". But is this realistic? Are the teams that are interviewing him and may hire him fully aware of what went on in Florida in 2006? There seems to be a public relations blitz of intense advertising extolling Girardi’s managerial acumen. Many people, most of them in broadcasting, seem to be convinced that Girardi was a fine manager and is going to develop into a "superb" one, if he isn’t that already. That he is picking and choosing his next job very carefully is indicative of someone looking for the right situation; now he’s interviewing with the Yankees to replace Joe Torre.
Girardi has effectively taken advantage of this situation to put himself in the best possible light for prospective employers. He and the Marlins have both been silent regarding the exact circumstances that led to his dismissal after one successful season, and the Marlins dropping seven games in the standings under Girardi’s replacement, Fredi Gonzalez, in addition to the disciplinary problems that Scott Olsen, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera displayed since Girardi left, have only made Girardi look more enticing as a candidate to other teams. The circumstances couldn’t have played out any better for him. Teams who are considering Girardi, though, have to look at some facts that aren’t mentioned as prominently as they should be:
- His strategic skills left something to be desired. I remember one game (I wrote an indignant blog questioning it when it happened—-Bunting With Two Strikes? ) that was a prime example of this. There was an attempt to explain it away as a disciplinary procedure with Girardi letting his players know that he wanted them to do their jobs and was willing to risk big innings to get that point across. That’s a weak argument at best.
- He made egregious errors in handling his young pitchers. One such incident was the game in which Josh Johnson was re-inserted into a game after a long rain delay and subsequently had forearm tightness which forced the team to shut him down for the remainder of the season. Johnson had Tommy John surgery and missed most of the 2007 season. There’s no way to prove or disprove that Girardi’s handling of Johnson was a direct cause-and-effect to the injury, but there’s a time to grind it out and be tough and there’s a time to let cooler heads prevail. I have no doubt that Girardi’s excuse that Johnson said he was all right to go back into the game is true, but occasionally a manager has to see the big picture and save his young players from themselves. Who knows if Johnson was concerned that Girardi would think less of him if he were to ask out of the game? Young players are like children that have to be guided for their own good.
- He had selective memory about his time with the Marlins. Before the season, Girardi knew and accepted that the team was scaling back on salaries, dealing big name players and going with a team of youngsters. After the season, he claimed that he was blindsided by this decision and expected to have larger veteran presence when he took the job.
- Girardi seemed to think that, as the manager, he was running the entire franchise. Someone who would tell his boss to "shut up" among other incidents is someone I would have legitimate concerns about before hiring them. If the entire Marlins organization from owner Jeffrey Loria on down couldn’t wait to be rid of Girardi, there had to have been a problem there. Had it been an organization known for their hand-wringing and cluelessness like the Rangers, Devil Rays or Pirates, it would have been one thing, but the Marlins are one of the smartest and best-run organizations in baseball. Stadium issues and payroll constraints obscure this fact and prevent them from getting the credit they deserve for being as smart as they are, but baseball people know how intelligent the Marlins front office is.
Girardi’s strengths and weaknesses are never going to be put into the proper context until he gets back into the arena and takes another managerial job. There are only two open now; if he doesn’t get the Yankees job, there will only be the Pirates remaining as an option. If Girardi is going to be the next John McGraw or the next Vern Rapp will take awhile to determine; but it’s never going to be resolved until he does get back in that ring. Teams that are considering him had better take a look at all the facts before being taken in by the propaganda that is currently out there, or they may make a very big mistake by taking the legend of Joe Girardi as fact.