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October 30, 2007

"The Industrial Engineer That Could" Is In The House

From Jon Heyman -

Joe Girardi, rebuffing last-minute attempts by the Dodgers to become their manager, has agreed to succeed Joe Torre as Yankees manager.

People inside the Yankees organization are re-energized by the appointment of Girardi after suffering a difficult blow when Alex Rodriguez opted out of his $252 million Yankees contract.

An announcement regarding Girardi's hiring could come today.

Girardi's first act as manager should be to phone Pettitte, Rivera and Posada and give them all the same message: "I can't talk dollars and years with you, as you know - that's up to the front office and your agent. But, I just wanted to reach out to you, personally, myself, man-to-man, and say that we're going to have something a little bit different here - but, it's going to be very special. And, for me, it would be an honor and a privilege, to me, personally, to have you be part of this - as it would make it even more special. I just wanted to let you know how I feel about what's happening here - and how I feel about you."

It could go a long way - and, at the worst, it won't hurt.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at October 30, 2007 11:59 AM

Comments

I agree.

Further, with respect to those three players in particular, it's not like they don't know him. I always laughed when people painted Girardi as the "outsider" choice between he and Mattingly. Ummmm....Girardi caught Pettitte's gem in the '96 WS, was behind the plate for Rivera's indoctrination as relief pitcher extrordinaire, and taught Posada the ropes before graciously stepping out of the way. Hardly a guy that is unfamiliar to the "core" veterans.

I couldn't be happier about the selection.

Posted by: MJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 30, 2007 12:20 PM

I'm tearing up a little bit here, Steve.

Posted by: Josh [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 30, 2007 01:57 PM

Any chance Pettitte will say "Joe, you had me at 'hello.'"?

Posted by: Steve Lombardi [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 30, 2007 02:19 PM