Before Derek Jeter’s emotional final game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, manager Joe Girardi absolutely shredded the team. According to a report from ESPN New York, the Yankee skipper was not pleased about his club missing the playoffs for the second straight year, and he ripped some of his players for being overweight and some for not being “hungry” enough to make a playoff run.
“It was a speech the likes of which I’ve never heard him give before,” said the source, who was in the room during the meeting. “It’s something he probably should have said back in spring training.”
Actual details of the meeting are sparse, but Girardi, Brett Gardner, Stephen Drew, and Brian McCann all confirmed it happened, though didn’t elaborate much on it aside from saying “it was a team meeting”.
Quite frankly, the team deserves to be torched. They came into the season with a $197 million payroll (which is actually the lowest it’s been since 2007), and committed nearly $500 million to future payrolls this winter. All that got the Yankees was an 83-78 record (with Sunday’s finale in Boston remaining) and a -35 run differential that is better than just five American League teams. With Jeter’s retirement, all of the Yankees’ old guard will be gone, and this new club needs to craft their own identity and step up if they want to continue that strong Yankee legacy that Jeter helped foster during his career in the Bronx.
As for the timing? I don’t think it’s a big deal. Girardi said he wanted to do it at Yankee Stadium, and the team wasn’t officially eliminated from the playoffs until Wednesday. Thursday was the best time for this to happen, given the focus on Jeter’s ceremonies.
