Yankees – Page 160 – Keefe To The City

Aug 10, 2016

Joe Girardi Is ‘Trying to Win Games’

Joe Girardi said he would do the right thing and let A-Rod play the last four games of his Yankees career, but he like he has so many times as Yankees manager, he lied.

Three days ago, I watched Alex Rodriguez announce his forced retirement from the Yankees. And three days ago, right after he did that and right after Brian Cashman told some lies about the process as if he had no part in it, I watched Joe Girardi tell some more lies. Girardi said A-Rod would play in the final four games if he wanted to and he would even play the field if he wanted to. Girardi was going to allow the player responsible for Girardi still being the Yankees manager and Cashman still being the Yankees general manager decide how to end his Yankees tenure. Joe Girardi was going to do the right thing.

But a funny thing happened on the way to A-Rod having four games left in his Yankees career: Joe Girardi lied as he has so many times as Yankees manager. Girardi posted the lineup on Tuesday night in Boston and left A-Rod out of it. The reason? “We’re trying to win games.” So since Girardi is trying to win games, he left the .204/.252/.356 hitter out of the lineup, but included the following hitters:

1. .261/.350/.376
2. .274/.335/.374
3. .196/.283/.337
4. .231/.330/.413
5. .259/.298/.398
6. .288/.317/.456
7. .251/.325/.379
8. .263/.300/.421
9. .195/.256/.303

The only two hitters in that lineup that deserve at-bats are Didi Gregorius (sixth) and Gary Sanchez (eighth). The rest of the lineup would be better filled in by the Triple-A lineup, and if it were, more fans would go to the Stadium the final seven weeks of the season, and watch the games and pay attention because they might mean something. But to Girardi’s point, A-Rod might be 41 and have no position, but he wasn’t going to lose the game for the Yankees. He certainly couldn’t have done worse than those players that played instead of him.

There was Mark Teixeira striking out looking on a fastball down the middle with the bases loaded to finish 0-for-5 and to end Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox. There was Aaron Hicks standing on third base as Teixeira struck out in an 0-for-3-with-a-walk night for the first-round bust, who has now wasted 255 plate appearances this season. And there was Alex Rodriguez watching from the dugout as he watched one of the four games remaining in his Yankees and possibly MLB career end without him playing in it.

Teixeira and Hicks aren’t the only Yankees who suck. Most of the time Brett Gardner, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Chase Headley and Starlin Castro do too. But right now at this moment with now just three games in A-Rod’s career left, Teixeira and Hicks are the focal point. Teixeira, because like A-Rod, his career is finished, but since he did the “You can’t break up with me because I’m breaking up with you” or the “You can’t fire me because I quit” in announcing his retirement he has immunity. And Hicks, because, well he sucks and is eating at-bats that could be given to A-Rod or Rob Refsnyder or anyone on the Triple-A roster or any prospect in the Yankees system that might actually have a future because Hicks certainly doesn’t.

A-Rod sarcastically laughed before that game at Joe Girardi because he was under the impression he would play these four games if he wanted to. Instead, Girardi said A-Rod would play on Thursday against a knuckleballer and on Friday against the Rays’ ace. His next at-bat will come nine days after his most recent at-bat and his next start will come 12 days after his most recent start.

Fenway Park started to chant “We want A-Rod” in the ninth inning on Tuesday night for one of just a few chances left to boo the player who was willing to give back $40 million to play for them 12 years ago, but they didn’t get him. Don’t they know the Yankees are trying to win games?

Podcasts • Yankees

Aug 9, 2016

Podcast: Andrew Rotondi

The Bronx Pinstripes blogger joined me to talk about all things A-Rod with his Yankees career coming to an end.

There are four games left in the A-Rod Yankees era. After 12 years and 12 seasons (it would have been 13 if not for 2014), A-Rod will no longer be a Yankee when the Yankees play the Rays on Saturday afternoon at the Stadium.

Andrew Rotondi of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about A-Rod’s retirement announcement, Joe Girardi lying about playing A-Rod in his final four games, the A-Rod era, if the Yankees should have traded for A-Rod in hindsight and how A-Rod’s time with the Yankees will be remembered.

Podcasts • Yankees

Aug 8, 2016

Podcast: John Jastremski

The WFAN host joined me to talk about the end of an era with Mark Teixeira and A-Rod announcing their retirement.

Three days after Mark Teixeira announced his time with the Yankees and as a Major League player will be coming to an end at the season, Alex Rodriguez announced that his time as a Yankee and as a Major League player will be coming to an end on Friday. In the past week, the Yankees have completely changed the franchise and closed a book on their most recent successful era.

WFAN host John Jastremski joined me to talk about this disastrous Yankees season, the end of an era with Mark Teixeira announcing his retirement and A-Rod being forced into retirement, the other big-money contracts that should be bought out or moved and what the future looks like for the Yankees.

Podcasts • Subway Series • Yankees

Aug 5, 2016

Podcast: Brian Monzo

The WFAN Mike’s On: Francesa on the FAN producer joined me to talk about the Subway Series and New York sports.

After four days in Queens the Bronx, the 2016 Subway Series is over. And after four games, neither fan base has bragging rights following the 2-2 series split. The only bragging rights left to be had this season are in the postseason, and right now, it doesn’t look like either team will be heading there though the Mets have a much greater chance of doing so.

WFAN Mike’s On: Francesa on the FAN producer Brian Monzo joined me to talk about the Subway Series and if it still has juice, the Jay Bruce trade, whether or not Jeurys Familia should be trusted, Mark Teixeira’s aggression at the plate and on the bases and why Yankees fans are happy he’s retiring and if the Mets are a playoff team. We also talked about the upcoming seasons for the Rangers and Giants.

Podcasts • Yankees

Aug 4, 2016

Podcast: Scott Reinen

The Bronx Pinstripes blogger joined me to talk about the new-look Yankees following the trade deadline.

It’s been the best week for the Yankees since the first week of November 2009 when they last won the World Series. The Yankees turned Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran into top and promising young prospects and even moved Ivan Nova at the trade deadline. They called up Gary Sanchez and watched him get his first Major League hit, saw the dominance of Luis Severino once again and took the first two games of the four-game Subway Series for the Mets. There hasn’t been much to be happy about with the Yankees in recent years, especially in this 54-53 season, but this past week has brought a lot of happiness to Yankees fans.

Scott Reinen of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about the Yankees’ trades at the deadline, which trades the Yankees should have made, being excited for the future, what to do with A-Rod and what the lineup and rotation could look like in 2017.