Sorry, Cubs: you're going to need to look somewhere else for your manager. The New York Yankees and manager Joe Girardi have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will take him through the 2017 season. Terms weren't immediately available, but you'd expect Girardi to be one of the highest-paid managers in baseball given the competition for his services this offseason. (UPDATE: $16 million over four years, plus bonuses).
The Cubs immediately honed in on Girardi as the replacement to Dale Sveum, but couldn't get permission from the Yankees to interview their manager before his contract expired on October 31st. Girardi grew up in Illinois and was drafted by the Cubs, so the fit seemed like a good one. In his managerial career, the 48-year old has a 642-492 record, winning the 2006 Manager of the Year award with the Marlins and managing the Yankees to the 2009 World Championship.
But during Girardi's Yankees career, he's won less than 90 games and missed the Postseason twice in his six years at the helm, a stark contrast from his predecessor Joe Torre, who won under 90 games just once in his 12 years as Yankees manager and never missed the Postseason.
Girardi will be managing a Yankees club that could look vastly different next year, due to the retirements of Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera and the impending free agencies of Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Hiroki Kuroda.
