Yankees manager Joe Girardi doesn’t regret benching Alex Rodriguez in the playoffs and believes the third baseman will be back in the lineup next season.
“I expect Alex to be our every day third baseman,” Girardi said at Yankee Stadium Wednesday. “What’s he gonna have to show me? That he’s healthy and ready to go and that we have no concerns if we put him out there every day.”
Rodriguez forced Girardi’s hand by going 0-for-18 with a dozen strikeouts against righthanders in the playoffs. GM Brian Cashman has said repeatedly he has no intention of getting rid of Rodriguez, who has five years and $114 million remaining on his contract.
With Rodriguez apparently destined for more time in The Bronx, Girardi may have to deal with the fallout of sitting him.
“I don’t look back and second-guess myself,” said Girardi, who has yet to talk to Rodriguez since the season ended. “I’m always worried about whatever move I make, how it affects the club or affects the player. Sure, [there’s a possibility] I might have to deal with it more than I expected, but I may not have to deal with it at all. As we move forward, I’ll get a temperature on it and keep track of it and see how it’s going.”
And he’s still “puzzled” by the offensive collapse his team suffered in the ALCS.
“That’s probably the coldest our bats have been, collectively, in a streak that I’ve seen,” said Girardi, who expects his coaching staff to be retained.
Girardi figures to have plenty to deal with heading into next season other than Rodriguez. There’s CC Sabathia’s left elbow, which will be checked out by Dr. James Andrews; Derek Jeter’s recovery from a fractured left ankle and a roster that could look considerably different after free agency.
“I expect to have him in spring training,” Girardi said of Sabathia, basing his optimism on the lefty’s performance down the stretch and in the ALDS against the Orioles. “You’re always concerned that maybe it’s more than what you think it is. But I think about both games against Baltimore that he did pretty good. In September, he did pretty good and that makes me feel good that it’s something we’re gonna get through and have him in spring training…But I don’t like people going to see doctors.”
He’s also confident Jeter will be back in time to start the season after last week’s surgery.
“We expect him to be back and playing for us next year on Opening Day,” Girardi said. “But I think whenever a guy goes through something, there are some concerns because sometimes a player could rush it and tweak something else… We might have to hold him back a little bit.”
Girardi hasn’t talked to Mariano Rivera since the season ended, but sees him back on the mound next season, as well as Andy Pettitte, because of the way they rehabbed from their injuries.
Much of the rest of the roster remains up in the air.
“[Hiroki] Kuroda, he has to make a decision,” Girardi said. “Andy Pettitte has to make a decision. [Rafael] Soriano has an opt-out. [Nick] Swisher, we have to make a decision on him and make a decision on [Curtis] Granderson. It just goes on and on and on. [Robinson] Cano is in an option year. [But] I believe when spring training starts next year, we’ll be a championship caliber club.”
And with Girardi heading into the final season of a three-year deal, he might be in need of winning another title. He has yet to talk to ownership about his contract, which is general team policy.
“I understand how it works here and I’m OK with it,” Girardi said. “I’m expected to do a job and if I do my job, things take care of themselves.”
His mindset won’t change heading into 2013.
“The pressure, as you see, I put on myself,” Girardi said. “That’s probably not gonna change whether I have a contract or not.”
As for his conversations with ownership since the season ended, Girardi said: “We talked about a lot of good things happened. We fell eight games short of what we wanted to accomplish, but there were still a lot of good things happened. We’re gonna work to get it right.”