Bob Klapisch wrote an interesting article in today’s Record.

It seems the recent Yankees struggles bring up questions about the effectiveness of Girardi’s leadership. Last year the main theme was Girardi’s relationship with the players, specifically veterans, creating a fractured culture in the clubhouse. General Joe did his best to address that very early in spring training by improved communication and team building events. All is not well with the Yankees because, despite the improvements, Girardi’s natural personality seems to be creating a tense atmosphere around the clubhouse. I am starting to get the feeling that Joe Girardi will never be a good fit as manager of the New York Yankees.

When the Yankees were winning you heard very little about Girardi’s personality, but the minute there is a rough patch the vultures start to circle. Of course that is patently unfair, but it makes you wonder how sturdy the relationship is between the manager and his team. Just read some of the descriptions of Girardi in Klapisch’s column:

Girardi’s demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed in the clubhouse. “Tight” is how one veteran described his manager without rancor
Girardi is understandably sensitive to the charge that he crushed his Marlins’ staff; indeed, some of the blame assigned to him has been unfair. But it should be noted that Girardi rode CC Sabathia hard — eight straight starts of seven innings or more — before the left-hander experienced tenderness in his biceps Sunday

These are the same exact characteristics of a failed Willie Randolph tenure in Queens. Say what you want, but you haven’t heard a peep from any of the players about Jerry Manuel during some of the Mets darkest days. How would Girardi be viewed if he lost three core players to significant injuries?

It’s clear that Girardi is feeling pressure to win after a failed 2008 campaign. In my opinion, the Yankees need to evaluate their measures of success just as much as their manager. Despite the improvements to their team, the only guarantee a general manager and coaching staff can give ownership is that they put the team in a position to win. The World Series or bust expectation is unrealistic and, quite frankly, childish. There are too many factors in a baseball season that make it impossible to hold your organization to such unrealistic standards. Unfortunately that is another issue for another day and the 800 pound elephant remains in the room. The more you think about it, Joe Girardi may not be cut out to lead a team. He has a very extreme personality and seems to lack awareness as to how his actions impact the dynamics of a group. Every great leader in this town was able to adjust and connect with his team during both success and failure.

I believe the Yankees will make the playoffs by default. The starting pitching is too good, I don’t believe in the Tampa bullpen, and the rest of the American League is about as scary as my golden retriever. I also don’t think the trade deadline will make any of that change. In the end will it matter? It just seems like the marriage between Joe Girardi and the Yankees is doomed to fail.

Tags: Bob Klapisch, Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, New York Yankees, The Record