His job [with the Marlins], guiding a team of young players to a fourth-place finish, was quite different from his job this season, when he was charged with meshing three high-profile free agents into a clubhouse mixed with veterans and youngsters. When CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett all began thriving during their first seasons in pinstripes, Girardi received a fair portion of the credit.
Girardi has also endured his share of criticism. His bold managerial moves in the postseason made waves, from his strict management of his bullpen to the most controversial topic of all, his use of a three-man rotation. That strategy, made possible by Sabathia's willingness to pitch twice on short rest, worked out. Other strategies did not.
Most often this season, Girardi was cautious. When Alex Rodriguez returned from hip surgery and began to struggle around midseason, Girardi gave the star slugger an entire weekend off and made sure to provide him with regular rest thereafter. When Hideki Matsui showed rust on his surgically repaired knees, Girardi forbade him from playing the outfield, resting him in nine consecutive Interleague games in June and confining him to a pinch-hitting role during the three World Series games at Citizens Bank Park.
Matsui returned from his Interleague benching on a tear, then was named the World Series MVP despite starting only three of the games.
DiComo also pointed out that while Girardi was great, he will lose votes because of the payroll and the quality roster he had to work with, but with the exception of a week here and there Joe Girardi did nearly everything right this year.
Regardless of whether he wins the award or not he deserves a ton of credit from us fans for what he did this season. There were times where I had my doubts, but he got them where they're supposed to be and you can't take that away from him.
Off the field he was just as good, handling the media flawlessly after a rocky first season, handling controversy and minimizing distractions, and even organizing that pool tournament at the beginning of Spring Training so that the team could bond. Many players pointed to that moment as the time this team came together.
Between the off the field stuff, keeping everyone rested and healthy, making bold moves (the three-man rotation throughout the playoffs) regardless of the second guessing it could create, and bringing a clubhouse together, he did as good a job as any manager out there.
