Brian Cashman was lukewarm on keeping Joe Girardi four years ago and definitively opposed after this season.
Reports indicate that the relationship between the Yankees GM and now former manager had frayed, leading to the end of the relationship. But Girardi insists, in a lengthy Q&A with The Athletic, that his relationship with Cashman had remained strong.
“I think it was good. We had 10 really good years together,” Girardi told the website. “This is the man who believed in me and picked me over maybe some other peoples’ choices and took a chance on me after I only had managed one year. I think our relationship was good.
“Like any relationship over 10 years, you’re going to have some disagreements. But as Cash would say, I think they’re healthy. I think they lead to some discussions. But I think we were on the same page most of the time. He allowed me to do my job. And I was thankful for the job he did in always trying to improve our club.”
Both Cashman and Girardi, who said he was disappointed in the Yankees’ decision to let him go, received a lot of credit for staying competitive in the midst of a rebuild in recent seasons. That peaked this season, when the Yankees’ young talent led by Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge helped catapult the team to the brink of the World Series. But while there was no doubt that Cashman would stay, Girardi’s future felt tenuous throughout the postseason.
Girardi was eviscerated by fans and media for his decision not to have a play reviewed that cost the Yankees Game 2 of the ALDS against the Indians, but the team rallied to win the final three games to advance to the ALCS against the Astros.
Girardi said Yankees brass did not micromanage him.
“Every once in a while, they would ask me why I made a move. I was always OK with that. I think as a manager, you’re making moves over a quick period of time and you’re taking the information you have at that time and making the best decisions you can,” Girardi said. “Is it always going to work? No. But on the other side, you don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t make the decision, if you left the guy in.
“You don’t really know. Sometimes people say, ‘He definitely should have brought this guy in.’ But maybe he should have left the other guy in. I don’t ever really take that too personally. Decisions we make are analytically-based, what-we-see based, player-based, coaches talking about certain situations. They’re not just fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decisions. We have an understanding of our players.”
It’s unclear what direction the Yankees would go for the next manager, but someone who is open to collaborating with Cashman seems a prerequisite. Girardi said he is interested in managing in the future and insists he has embraced the analytics that are taking over the game.
“I think it’s extremely important. I used it a lot in managing,” Girardi said. “I had discussions with our analytical people about how they came up with things, how do we continue to improve this and continue to grow as an organization.
“I love analytics. If you remember, they used to call me, ‘Joe Binder,’ or, ‘Binder Joe,’ I don’t know what it was. But that’s my personality. You use as much information as you can, but you also have to watch what you see, too. Sometimes, there can be a difference between the analytics and what you see. And that’s because there could be something going on in a guy’s life. He could be nicked up. There are a lot of different reasons why maybe a guy is not up to his numbers over a certain period of time. And I think you have to make adjustments. I think I’m highly analytical.”