Day 220

Fresh Start_220: Calling for Joe Girardi’s job… again

With the announcements today that Aaron Judge will be the Opening Day right fielder, Luis Severino will be the 4^th starter in the rotation, and the 5^th spot will be a committee/competition until April 16^th. The Yankees “don’t need” a 5^th starter until then and there will be a competition in the Minors between Jordan Montgomery (he’ll start in Triple A) and Chad Green (who will start in Double A). The Bombers will carry eight relivers until the 16^th, while having Aaron Hicks and Pete Kozma will be the 4^th outfielder and utility infielder respectively.

With this news, I cannot help but question Joe Girardi’s decision making as the manager. As I have said before, both Adam Warren and Bryan Mitchell had better springs throwing the ball than Severino. This also isn’t the first time I have my questions and doubts about the Yankee skipper. I have been skeptical of his moves in the past and this isn’t anything different. Yes, Girardi has brought this team to levels nobody thought with the level of play, but whether it has been not stealing with Ellsbury or Gardner at the top of the order, burning out his bullpen, relying on the home run ball too much, or now this move putting Severino in the rotation—I just question why he does it?

A move like this doesn’t make any baseball sense to me when you look at a pitcher like Severino who is statically better in the bullpen rather than starting a game. Not only does he seem more comfortable coming out of the pen, he would be a weapon that the Yankees could use as a bridge to Chapman one day, and a guy who can give you 3 or 4 the next day. The move to put Judge in right field as the Opening Day starter seems like a no brainer because Judge has the better stats, and Hicks can be useful as a switch-hitting pinch hitter, he has enough speed to be a pinch runner, and he has the ability to play all of the outfield positions (which is something Judge lacks). Oh, and another good reason that Judge has going for him is his sheer power at the plate and cannon of an arm.  

Luis Severino as the 4^th starter and the 5^th starter by committee and competition in the Minors is something however I cannot stand by. There is a reason we have Spring Training, it’s for the pitchers to get for the long work load ahead and for the managers to figure out what they want to do with those arms. Not having an ironed-out rotation is just like having a closer by committee bullpen, it causes for a distraction in the locker room. Just ask the Houston Astros about this. Guys in the Majors like to have a routine, just like you and I do with our daily lives. Giving players a defined role at the beginning of the season allows them to get in a groove and start playing the way they know they can (in theory).  

Also, being in New York, this will become more of a story than it should be, and the entire ball club will suffer for the first two weeks because of it. whether they lose games because of it, we will see—I just have a bad feeling that this will start the season off on a bad foot.    

Sources:(mlb.com, yesnetwork.com)

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