Joe Girardi
The Yankees today announced that Joe Girardi is their choice to manage the team now that Joe Torre has turned down an offer he was probably meant to refuse. Having had some experience making hiring decisions in a variety of contexts, I must say I find the announcement odd. Girardi and the Yankees have yet to agree to terms, and it is possible that they won't. If they don't, then the Yankees will have to go to someone else who will know that he is not their first choice (and not even their second choice, if one credits the offer to Torre as serious, which I don't). And more importantly, the players and the public will also know that the manager was originally passed over.
Perhaps Girardi has already provided assurances that he'll accept the offer. That would explain the decision of Don Mattingly, the other leading contender, to quit the team. Or perhaps the Yankees figured that the Girardi news would leak anyway, so they wanted to get ahead of the curve. But if not, one would think that the appropriate way to handle such matters would be to wait until a deal has been offered and accepted before going public. Maybe the Yankees were simply desperate to make some news on the day after the Red Sox completed their second World Series sweep in four seasons.
Posted by Mike Dorf
Perhaps Girardi has already provided assurances that he'll accept the offer. That would explain the decision of Don Mattingly, the other leading contender, to quit the team. Or perhaps the Yankees figured that the Girardi news would leak anyway, so they wanted to get ahead of the curve. But if not, one would think that the appropriate way to handle such matters would be to wait until a deal has been offered and accepted before going public. Maybe the Yankees were simply desperate to make some news on the day after the Red Sox completed their second World Series sweep in four seasons.
Posted by Mike Dorf