Joe Girardi Meets With the Media

Joe Girardi met with the media today for the first time in 2009. The majority of the questions were of course regarding Alex Rodriguez but then he did get to some baseball stuff. He said he hasn't talked to Arod regarding him addressing his teammates and he is sure he will meet with the media but he is not sure how he will handle it. He said as long as this isn't a distraction on the field they will be fine. He said it takes a lot of people to win a championship so if Arod doesn't have a great year that doesn't mean they can't win a title. Joe said it is important for him to relax and put up the numbers he is capable of. He did say with all the injuries last year he is going to cut back on all the running that he had the team go through last spring. They expect Melky or Gardner to be in CF but in Yankeeland anything is possible Girardi said. He thinks Nady will be the RF right now but Swisher is going to have a chance. Hideki Matsui had his knees check out today and he is doing fine. I think Joe Girardi did a good job with the media and he even admitted to the media that if they don't get back to the playoffs he expects he won't be the manager after this year. He said he has a good relationship with Arod and they talk a lot. I think Joe was very candid and honest and a good start as he had a rough time with the media last year. I think Joe is a very good manager on the field and if he can improve his handling of the players and the media he will be in great shape especially if this team performs the way that they can. Tomorrow the pitchers and catchers will report and I can't wait, I hope we will have some quotes from CC and AJ but we will see.