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Kevin Baker's book is here!
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

If Ichiro is blaming Girardi for last year, he's blaming the wrong guy

Let's wish Ichiro the best in Miami. He played hard for the Yankees and never complained. But Hal Steinbrenner overruled everybody and signed him to a two-year deal that never made sense for the Yankees or Ichiro. This is what happens when a know-it-all owner meddles

I'm tired of hearing how Hal is "the smart brother." It's time to look at the record and the state of the team, and consider the possibility that he is a weak-minded fool. 

Clearly, Ichiro and Girardi didn't see the same world. From Kernan's story:

There were other moves like the time Austin Romine, batting .138, replaced Ichiro in the order late in a game the Yankees were losing by one run, even though Ichiro was the Yankees hottest hitter at the time and had three hits in the game — including a home run his previous at-bat. But Ichiro moved on, saying at the time, “As a player you just have to accept it.’’

2 comments:

JM said...

I will say it again: Ichiro was completely misused by Girardi or whoever was calling those shots. Benched against lefties when he hit lefties better than anyone else on the team. Benched so guys who truly sucked could play. Played against righties who he can no longer hit...well, he can hit them as well as the rest of the team, but that's not saying anything.

Meanwhile, he was still faster, a better fielder, and had as good or better an arm as guys who, many times, played ahead of him.

Maybe he never should have signed Hal's paper. Like Belushi said in Animal House, 'You fucked up. You trusted us.' But his misuse on the field is just another example of the genius that is Girardi.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect, when Billy Msrtin managed, his moves were consistent. You knew, for example, when this guy came up in the 7th with s runner in scoring position, Tidrow is coming in to pitch to him. Girardi is all over the place, sometimes seemingly irrational in his choices. He's Italian. He should know better.