Girardi Builds Yankees Bridge

Piece by piece the New York Yankees build a bridge back to the promised land. The heavy lifting was done by the brute force of the Bronx Bomber financial muscle. It doesn't take a baseball genius to buy CC Sabathia and plug him into the gaping hole at the top of the rotation. Skill wasn't required to figure out that a prime-time, three-hole-hitter who can pick-it would finally fill Tino's shoes. A.J.'s stuff would stick anywhere. The only work required is writing the checks. That, the front office can do, they are experts at warding off writer's cramp.

It would take more than money to set the Yankees straight. Years of bungling by the brass, left its mark. Baseball acumen garnished with people skills are required. That's where the manager steps up. Girardi was handed a baffling outfield mix, that included veteran injury issues, two flawed center field wanna-Be's and for good measure a journeyman flake. Let's check the scorecard: Nady pulls up lame. Damon's repertoire now includes fly ball mangling to go with lobbed tosses. Swisher, who arrived with a versatile defensive tag, makes right field a daunting adventure. Cabrera and Gardner set aside their fourth outfielder scouting reports and transition to solid contributors. Somehow, Giradi makes this mix palpable. Mission accomplished, time to move to the next challenge.

The bullpen bridge has been a perpetual puzzle since the Torre dynasty waned. A never ending conga line of candidates have faded into oblivion. Never short on plans, the front office shoves Marte (yet another skewed acquisition who is handed a bloated contract) and career enigma Bruney into harms way. Another year, another flop. Girardi was left with an assortment of parts and no directions. The skipper went with second-tier starters and is making it work. Phil Coke was a failed minor league starter, a year ago, who nobody claimed when the Yankees' front office tried to give him away. Alfredo Aceves roamed the Mexican League for years. Phil Hughes was a hyped phenom with a frail history. Somehow, this dubious mix conjures up a viable option. Progress is made, piece by piece. The man in the dugout, with #27 on his back, deserves all the credit.

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