LOS ANGELES – To be around Joe Torre again is a reminder of his impressive blend of self-confidence, serenity and stature.
Torre exudes a comfort in his own skin and, thus, brings a comfort to those who enter his sphere. He stands so starkly different from his Yankees successor, Joe Girardi, the uptight champion of the universe.
It is why comparisons between the two must cease. It is just unfair to Girardi to wonder why he can’t be more similar to Torre, the Dodgers skipper. It is like asking a snake to be a dove.
Girardi needs to improve how he conducts himself as Yankees manager – something even he concedes must occur. But the template should not be Torre. It should be Tom Coughlin. Because Girardi has so many more similarities to Coughlin, notably a Type-A personality.
Remember where Coughlin was after the 2006-07 season? He had a disenchanted locker room and a media corps painting a negative picture of his personality. Coughlin’s bosses demanded he address these issues.
Coughlin did by meeting with the Giants’ traveling press corps individually to glean a greater insight into why the relationship was so toxic. And he formed a player leadership council and met with it regularly as a way to better understand the temperature of the locker room. Coughlin did not forfeit his core values.
He did, however, soften his approach by 1) providing the media more insight and time so that information could be more accurately distilled to fans; and 2) heeding his leadership council’s suggestions, especially when it came to showing he cared more than just about Xs and Os. Of course, the growth of Eli Manning had more to do with winning the Super Bowl than these modifications. But Coughlin’s adjustments improved the atmosphere and fraternity around the Giants.
Now it’s the Yanks who have atmospheric and fraternal issues, and Girardi’s bosses have quietly asked him to make adjustments. They recognize his lack of a human touch not only looks terrible following Torre, but has brought about a tension that has begun to suffocate the team. Again, Girardi can’t be Torre. He is not going to learn in one offseason how to project wise grandfather rather than marine drill instructor.
So he should follow the Coughlin blueprint. Personally, I would not meet with Girardi because, I believe, the media should cover the person in front of them, not someone they help create. It should not be about making the media’s life easier.
If Girardi is prickly or dishonest, so be it, we should just report that.
Nevertheless, if I ran the Yanks I would advise Girardi to meet individually with the nine beat reporters who travel regularly with the team and take seriously the complaint that his initial instinct to deceive hurts not only his relationship with the media, but also with a) players who find themselves in informational conflict with their manager; and b) the fans, who get less than forthright insights from the manager. And, by the way, this is not just on the subject of injuries, though Girardi and the Yankees think it is.
Girardi then should form a leadership council and request full honesty from the Jeters, A-Rods and Riveras. Because he finished the year saying he had good relationships with the media and his players, and neither was true. Maybe Girardi is too good at deceiving himself, as well.
His players want Girardi, among other items, to stop walking through the clubhouse without making eye contact, to stop closing his office door so frequently and to stop shutting out coaches they respect. In other words, they want him to show he cares about more than Xs and Os.
Coaches as diverse as Mel Stottlemyre, Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa were not Torre hires, but all became loyalist by being drawn to his warmth and willingness to let them do their jobs.
“I will never do justice trying to explain what a great leader he is,” Bowa said.
Again, Girardi cannot be Torre, those shoes really are too big to fill. But if Girardi really is a good man who got off on a bad foot then the Coughlin roadmap could provide a way for him to begin fixing broken relationships.