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Girardi's patience will help Yankees in long term

Ken Davidoff

June 30, 2008

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has not deviated from his philosophy of ensuring that the team's young players have opportunities to make key contributions, even at the cost of a few win here and there. (Newsday / Paul J. Bereswill)

It's not entirely fair to compare Joe Girardi's managing to that of his predecessor, because the Yankees' universe really has changed that dramatically. No matter how many of us in the fan and media world can't comprehend why C.C. Sabathia isn't already wearing pinstripes.

Yet if yesterday's Subway Series-concluding 3-1 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium does nothing else for the Yankees, it at least provided an accurate snapshot of their new manager's methodology.

If you haven't paid much attention to the Yankees' season - and really, they've been New York's "boring" team this year - yesterday exemplified why, for everything he accomplished, it was time for Joe Torre to vacate his Yankee Stadium office for Girardi.

On a day when the refreshingly honest Jerry Manuel made waves by ranking his Mets as the second team in town, Girardi sidestepped that controversy and kept his focus on the marathon of the big-league season.

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Against erratic Mets lefty Oliver Perez, Girardi tried a dramatic platoon lineup, with only leadoff man Johnny Damon hitting lefthanded. And with the Yankees trailing 2-0 after five innings, Girardi chose that high-leverage spot for Dave Robertson's major-league debut.

Pretty much nothing worked. The Yankees' righty hitters went 2-for-22 against Perez, with Damon adding a 1-for-3. And Robertson, who surged through the Yankees' farm system, surrendered an important insurance run in the sixth, giving Perez and relievers Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner a welcome cushion.

Nevertheless, they served as worthy ventures. Entering the game, Perez had limited lefty hitters to a .167 average; righties had hit .281 against him.

As Girardi said before the game, speaking of his makeshift lineup, "A lot of it has to do with self-preservation."

Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano received a full day off and Jason Giambi pinch hit. As Girardi noted, he lifted Giambi in a double-switch Saturday because the resurgent slugger looked beat up.

And in the bullpen, those who have reached the higher end of Girardi's chain of trust, Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth, rested. By putting Robertson out there in such an important situation, Girardi sent a message that he isn't afraid to use his full roster.

"Oh, yeah," Girardi said, acknowledging the benefit of throwing Robertson right into the mix. "He's been very good in Double-A and Triple-A this year. I thought he did a nice job today."

Girardi can afford to think so liberally. Unless he profanely scolds Hank Steinbrenner for getting on an umpire's case during a game, Girardi is secure, playoffs or no playoffs. He's the guy for the long term.

Torre didn't possess that luxury. For four of his final five years on the job (2004 serving as the exception), Torre managed under the perceived mandate of "playoffs or bust." Rarely could he sacrifice a game, particularly one against the hated Mets, for the greater good of rest and information-gathering.

The politics and pressure aside, Torre's nature was to lean on favorites, both in the lineup and in the bullpen. Can you imagine him turning to someone like Robertson to keep a Mets game close?

You need look no further than Perez's two victories against Torre's Yankees last year. On May 18, with the Yankees trailing 3-2 at Shea, Scott Proctor entered the game. Proctor is now on the disabled list, with Torre's Dodgers.

On June 15, with the Yankees down 2-0 in the Bronx, Torre turned to Luis Vizcaino with one out in the seventh. Vizcaino, now with Colorado, returned from the DL earlier this month.

Torre possessed the obvious gift of guiding teams through the particular stresses of a New York season, and we'll see if Girardi can pull off that part of the equation. But the Yankees already have grinded through a 20-25 start, and they have done so with Girardi staying calm and without exhausting any key players.

It could be that this whole season turns into a macrocosm of yesterday for the Yankees: a chance for the organization to take a deep breath and reload, even if the final results (missing the playoffs, in other words) aren't ideal.

It's a sound plan. And with every day that passes, it appears increasingly likely that Girardi is the right man to see it through.