Iwakuma 00740314

12/04/2007 8:10 PM ET
New role, same pinstripes for Girardi
Former Yankees catcher greets managing job with enthusiasm
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com




NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ticking off the days of winter, Joe Girardi pictures the concrete corridor leading from the Yankees' clubhouse to the diamond in the Bronx, allowing himself a slight grin.
He has traveled that way countless times before in uniform, both as a player and as a coach, but the next trip will come in April as a manager. No wonder Girardi reflects on what the Yankees have completed since his hiring date and can't seem to wait for spring.

"I just think the anticipation of walking through that clubhouse door, down the tunnel and onto the field -- I remember what it was like as a player," Girardi said. "I think it's going to be equally magnificent as a manager."

In a relatively short period of time, Girardi has made his contrast to former manager Joe Torre felt, not only by taking part in internal discussions with the club but also by heading to the Dominican Republic on a scouting excursion, wanting to remind the club's Latin talents that someone in New York is waiting for them.

Girardi's latest reminder was merely seen in his presence at the Winter Meetings, a venue that Torre has long avoided.

But on Tuesday, there was Girardi, surrounded by two dozen reporters, waxing poetic about the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, the non-stop offseason chatter of baseball and his thankfulness that he didn't have to carry a notepad and pen around the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

A new era is under way with the Yankees, and not just at the managerial post.

Senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner has embraced his role at the head of the organization with zest, and with word that the Yankees may keep their young prospects after all instead of going after Twins ace Johan Santana, Girardi said he is prepared to head into a Spring Training in which 60 percent of his rotation could very well be under the age of 25.

Sure, Santana would rank in the top five -- or the top one, depending on whom you ask -- of Major League pitchers. But if the Yankees convene for camp on Feb. 14 and the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner isn't in pinstripes, Girardi insists he won't fret.

"I don't really worry about that," Girardi said. "You look at what you've got now. You go up in the room that we're in, and you see the board -- you know what we have and what you don't have. You focus on what you have.

"You've got to concentrate with the players that are in the room. That's what I feel. I think about the talented young players that we have and the youth movement the Yankees are making. That's real important."

Instead of shuffling off right-handers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy to Minnesota late Monday evening, the Yankees again relented and, according to reports, have exited as an active party in the Twins' shopping of Santana -- a stance that could be permanent, or just a temporary retreat.

Along with Joba Chamberlain, the phenom setup man-turned-prospective starter, Girardi is faced with a situation somewhat resembling his first managerial job in 2006, when he guided an inexperienced Marlins club to 78 victories and an improbable run at the National League Wild Card on his way to winning the NL Manager of the Year Award.

Andy Pettitte's return to join Mike Mussina in the rotation helps matters somewhat, which is why Girardi said he pushed to make the 35-year-old left-hander feel more than welcome, gently recruiting his former batterymate and joining a chorus of Yankees interest.

"I think it gives you a guy that you can pencil in for 32 starts," Girardi said. "You know that [Pettitte] can handle the workload, that he's used to the workload, from a physical standpoint as well as a mental standpoint. That's good to know."

Yet this fact remains: Unless something drastic changes in Nashville or in the weeks that follow, the Yankees are going young. But they'll also be expecting results.

"We're going to have some guys on the staff that are somewhat inexperienced," Girardi said. "This is not going to be a five-man rotation consisting of guys that have five, six, seven years under their belt. We're going to have some young guys.

"Obviously, we feel very strongly about our young players. The organization and Brian have worked very hard the last few years trying to rebuild the system. We're starting to see some of the fruits of the system. You just hope it's a continual flow."

In that, Girardi thinks back to his first season in New York, 1996, when he was the hard-nosed catcher guiding Torre's club to the first World Series title of what would prove to be a dynasty. When that club broke camp, it pinned its hopes on rookie shortstop Derek Jeter, as well as developing youth in Pettitte and future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera.

Girardi isn't afraid to draw the parallel, knowing full well what the expectations are around the Bronx anyway. After all, there is a reason Girardi, leading a franchise with 26 World Series titles, chose uniform No. 27.

"You never know how things are going to play out," Girardi said. "We'll find out in eight months."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.