This past weekend, the Yankees visited Chicago for a three game set with the White Sox. New York won two out of three to maintain its first place tie with the Rays in the AL East, but the Yankees and manager Joe Girardi were not able to get out of town without a little bit of controversy.
The controversy wasn’t about the team on Chicago’s south side, however; rather, it had to do with the team that plays its home games on the city’s northern end, which just happens to not have a manager lined up for next year, and which also just happens to be Girardi’s former stomping grounds.
As we were when LeBron was making his Decision, and when Brett Favre was trying to decide whether or not to retire, MSF was there with our camera to capture the most important moments:
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It’s been a rough season for Cubs fans, and the best bit of news from 2010 may have come this weekend. Obviously Girardi isn’t going to make any decisions about his future while his Yankees are angling for a second straight World Series title, but he’s already got people like Mike Lupica riled up that he could have one eye focused on the Midwest:
And while Joe Girardi didn’t say on Friday in Chicago that he is leaving after this season, he sure didn’t say that he wanted to be the manager of the New York Yankees as long as they will have him. Girardi did not say that he will be wearing No. 29 next season in New York if the Yankees win him another World Series this season.
Girardi, in fact, was more brilliant than a politician – from either Chicago or New York – giving nuanced but always respectful answers to the questions without giving up all the leverage that he has if the Yankees win again and he is a free-agent manager coming off back-to-back Series victories.
And why wouldn’t Girardi entertain the thought, especially if his Yankees are able to win back-to-back crowns? As Lupica points out, at the very least, Girardi will use the open opportunity in Chicago as leverage for a better deal from the Yankees.
The way I see it, Girardi should head to Chicago, assuming that is where his family wants to be.
Regardless of whether the Yankees win this year or not, Girardi has already won a World Series in New York. So he has already climbed that most difficult of sports mountains – winning in New York – and no one can ever take that away from him. But just to escape the shadow of predecessor, Girardi would need to win three or perhaps even four more World Series crowns. With the Jeter-Rivera-Posada-Pettitte era coming to a close, and no obvious replacements waiting in the wings, does anyone think the Yankees are going to recapture their late-90s magic anytime soon? Maybe, but the last decade suggests it’s doubtful.
If Girardi goes to the Cubs and somehow delivers a World Series title though? He’s a legend. He’s immortal. He’s what Ozzie Guillen is on the South Side. Whatever happens during the rest of Ozzie’s tenure with the White Sox, he is the man who snapped the South Side drought and delivered a title. Doing it for the Cubs would be even more significant because they are city’s favored child and have a much greater national following. And Girardi, with his history as a Cub, understands this as well as anyone.
In New York, he’s just one of many managers who have done what’s expected of them. In Chicago, he could be the man.
Considering that the Cubs, under new ownership, will likely give Girardi a blank check and tell him to name his price…why wouldn’t he go to the Cubs?
We’ll have to wait until after the Yankees’ season ends to find out for sure, but the questions aren’t going to stop for Girardi, and with good reason. Girardi going to Chicago just makes too much sense. And if I were a Cubs fan, I’d be praying it’s what ends up happening.
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