Girardi Needs to Learn How to Make a Lineup...Again

About a month and a half ago, I wrote about Joe Girardi's difficulties with making a lineup. His troubles once again stemmed into Sunday's game against the Mets. 

With Hideki Matsui on the DL, Girardi couldn't afford to sit three of his best hitters (Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu), but he did because they are all lefties. Facing left-handed starter Oliver Perez, Girardi completely reconfigured his lineup in order to avoid the lefty-lefty match-ups. In doing so, he decided to play Wilson Betemit instead of Robinson Cano, Jose Molina instead of Jason Giambi and Jason Christian instead of Bobby Abreu.

Girardi seems like he is reading the textbook, but not looking at the numbers or even looking into common sense. Why would he rather have a lifetime minor leaguer with twelve career at bats heading into a game (Christian) over a perennial All-Star (Abreu)? Christian shouldn't be starting unless he is filling in for someone during a day off or an injury.

Girardi clearly neglected to look at the numbers. If he had, he would've seen that Abreu is hitting .316 against lefties this year with an OPS 57 points higher than that against righties. Cano's batting average against lefties (.281) is twenty points higher than Betemit's (.261), as the utility infielder is notoriously known as an anemic hitter from the right side (even though he did hit a long homerun yesterday). Jason Giambi is hitting over .400 against lefties since May 17. 

If Girardi wanted to sit a lefty, it should've been the only one he decided to play. Johnny Damon's batting average against lefty pitchers (.292) is 36 points lower than his average against righties (.328). Consider the fact that he is also nursing a sore left arch and has witnessed his batting average drop since he returned to the lineup a few days ago, he should've gotten a day off. 

Why did Girardi decide to sit all the lefties against Oliver Perez, who had a 5.29 ERA entering the game, and decide to play all the lefties against Johan Santana, who had a 2.93 ERA entering Saturday's game and is known as one of the best pitchers in baseball? Wouldn't it make more sense to sit them on Saturday? There's a better pitcher on the mound - Sunday, there wasn't even a good pitcher on the mound - and you can rest players after a long double-header the previous day.

In the eighth inning, after Oliver Perez threw seven innings of three-hit-ball against a lineup in which Wilson Betemit was hitting fifth, Joe Girardi sent out Jason Giambi to pinch hit and face Pedro Feliciano, another lefty. However, the difference between Feliciano and Perez is that the former is an effective pitcher. Girardi knew that if the Mets had a lead, Feliciano would be in the game. He's their eighth inning guy. Thus, in pinch hitting Giambi, he was stating that he'd rather have his first baseman against a good lefty than a bad one - not exactly the right game strategy to have.

When Girardi sent out that lineup at the beginning of the game, Manuel knew it was because he didn't have confidence in his left-handed hitters. Thus, he pulled a great managerial move and called his bluff, only throwing lefties in the game (Perez, Feliciano and Billy Wagner). You know Scott Schoenweis would have been the next Mets' pitcher out of the bullpen. Girardi got out-managed on Sunday because of a lack of confidence in his players and too much of an allegiance to the baseball textbooks.

- D. Spell

Girardi Needs to Learn How to Make a Lineup

Before Sunday's Yankee game against the Tigers was rained out, Joe Girardi had penciled Derek Jeter into the cleanup spot in the lineup. Jeter hit is first homerun of the season the day before; it was his only long-ball in 133 at-bats this season. Girardi says that he made the decision because he wanted to give Matsui a day off. 

Clearly, Girardi is having trouble making the lineup this season. He has had inconsistencies throughout the year. Jeter's power seems to have diminished over the past few years. He seems to have gotten a bit weaker with age and with his hitting style - keeping his hands inside and hitting the ball the right field - he can't hit many homeruns since he doesn't get his arms extended.  Jeter has hit 27 homers in the past two years and 38 games, none of them traveling a long way.

Why does Girardi feel like he needs to give Matsui a day off? The Yankees were off the previous Monday, only six days prior. Why give your hottest hitter a day off and potentially ruin the best hot-streak the offensively challenged team has had by any individual all year. One of the first rules of managing - and something Joe Torre was so good at - is riding your hottest players. Torre seemed to stick to this theory without fail. Girardi, as a former player, should understand that if a player is hitting the ball well, only one day off can completely ruin his rythm. I also don't think he understands lineup construction.

In a game earlier this season, Girardi batted Morgan Ensberg fifth. I actually have no disagreement here. I think Ensberg has a very nice line-drive stroke and hits the ball back up the middle very well. He has been hitting much better than his numbers would show. Late in the game, Ensberg had a game-tying hit. Then, he came up in the ninth inning again with a runner in scoring position and a chance to win it. Here's the issue: Girardi pinch-hit. Now, why would you pinch-hit for your number five hitter? Why would you be hitting him fifth if you don't have the confidence to let him hit in that situation? Would he have pinch-hit for Cano? No. Would he have pinch-hit for Giambi? No. Then why didn't he bat them earlier in the lineup and move Ensberg to the seventh slot? I don't know.

He is a young manager but some of his lineup choices seem to nonsensical. Oh, this just in: Mike Mussina is leading off Monday in Tampa.

- D. Spell

Candy Is Not Good For You

Apparently, candy is bad for you. Did anyone else know that? Joe Girardi does. The Yankee manager has officially banned candy from the clubhouse during the pregame, postgame and during-game player visits to the locker room. 

Not only will there not be no candy permitted in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse, but there will also be no candy to welcome the Yankees on the road. Girardi has contacted all future road teams in an effort to make sure that there is no junk food waiting for his team in the visiting locker room. Usually, the Yankees arrive to an array of candy and ice cream. When they showed up in Tampa two weeks ago, there was a smorgasbord of dried fruit and nuts waiting for them. In Baltimore, the ice cream freezer was removed from the clubhouse and wrapped up outside the door so that no player would be able to steal any frozen goodies. 

How fat exactly are Girardi's players that he would actually worry about them breaking out of the clubhouse and stealing a Froze Fruit after a game? Is wrapping up the freezer really necessary when Derek Jeter can probably afford his own pint of ice cream after the game, anyway? Either way, the non-sweets rule does not seem to be working as the Yanks have gone 11-11 since Girardi installed it.

 FireJoeMorgan.com has something to say about Girardi's ban on candy.

- D. Spell