Joe Girardi is done with farewell tours.
Alex Rodriguez announced he will retire after playing his final game on Friday. You’d think his manager would attempt to get the often-benched star into a few games before he calls it quits, but Girardi had other plans. He’s benched A-Rod in the first two games against the Boston Red Sox and doesn’t give a crap about sending the future Hall-of-Famer off right.
“My job description does not entail a farewell tour, Girardi said in a press conference. My job description is to try to win every game and put everyone in the best possible position to do that, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
As many have pointed out, Girardi shafting A-Rod of the little amount of possible playing time he has left in the league is bizarre. The Yankees manager had no issue giving Derek Jeter a season-long farewell tour, despite the shortstop putting up subpar numbers. Also, while every managers job is to put their team in the best position to win, New York isn’t exactly on the cusp of contention. They’re one game over .500 with a depleted roster. Playing A-Rod isn’t going to shift the balance of their playoff chances, at least over a handful of games.
Girardi is stubborn and doesn’t want to risk losing a couple games to honor Rodriguez. It’s a pretty shitty thing to do. Let A-Rod play. Give the people what they want.
