Yankees Part Ways With Joe Girardi

After 10 seasons, the New York Yankees have parted ways with Joe Girardi as their manager.

During Girardi's tenure, the Yankees went 910-710 representing the best record of any team from 2008 through 2017 with three AL East titles, three AL Wild Card berths and a World Series title in 2009.

The Yankees were not expected to be post-season bound in 2017. But Aaron Judge and company exceeded all expectations winning the AL Wild Card and eliminating the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS down 0-2, a team mind you that had the best record in the AL. The Yankees fell shy in the ALCS against the Houston Astros after taking a 3-2 lead in the series.

But Girardi was on tenterhooks all season as he would be without contract after 2017. If losing the ALCS was enough to cost Girardi his job one must wonder if winning the World Series was the only thing which could have given him a lifeline.

Of course if George Steinbrenner were still running the Yankees, Girardi would have been fired long ago. Let's remember that Bob Lemon was out of a job halfway through the 1979 season after taking the Yankees from down 14.5 games to the Red Sox to a World Series title in 1978. Let's remember that Dick Howser was out of a job despite leading the team to 103 wins when they were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. Let's remember Billy Martin was fired after the Yankees finished 1 game back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East following the 1985 season. Of course, Steinbrenner hired and fired Martin five times.

So in the grand scheme of things, Steinbrenner's sons gave Girardi a much larger lease than their father ever would have. But if there was a season where Girardi should have been given some slack this was surely it.

The Yankees are now the third team in this post-season to have dismissed their manager. The Boston Red Sox fired John Farrell after being eliminated by the Astros (and have replaced him with Astros bench coach Alex Cora) while the Washington Nationals didn't renew Dusty Baker's contract despite winning NL East titles in both seasons in their dugout.

As with the the Red Sox and Nationals, I think Yankees and their fans will be in for a rude awakening in 2018. It isn't to say the Yankees won't pick a good candidate. But I don't think the team and especially their fans appreciated what it had and believe they will take a step backwards next year.