Former New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi is still trying to fix Gary Sanchez’s sometimes mediocre ways behind the plate.
Joe Girardi is now an analyst for the MLB Network and with Gary Sanchez’s terrible catching for the New York Yankees trending of late, it was only a matter of time before someone asked for Joe’s thoughts on the matter.
Sanchez made a mockery of his defensive position on Wednesday night in Oakland, letting four pitches get by him in the bottom of the first inning. His ineffectiveness behind the plate was instrumental in digging the Yankees a hold they couldn’t climb out of.
His performance has caused speculation that he will not be the Yankees backstop for a potential Wild Card game.
According to Girardi, responding to a question by High Heat host Chris Russo, the problem is with Sanchez’s legs. He also cautioned that it’s not necessarily an issue that Aaron Boone and staff can remedy in time for the playoffs.
What does Gary Sánchez's former manager make of last night in Oakland?
Joe Girardi discusses Sánchez's catching with @MadDogUnleashed. #HighHeat pic.twitter.com/KIWhxb7loa
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 6, 2018
Girardi may have Sanchez’s struggles pegged, but it was his inability to get that message through to Sanchez that led to the Bombers letting him go in the first place.
The New York Yankees fired Girardi after he took an overachieving Wild Card team within one game of the 2017 World Series. One reason he was fired, according to his former player Mark Texeira, was that his “communication and the intensity was a little bit too much.”
Part of that “too much” was his handling of Gary Sanchez’s defensive struggles by calling him out to the media. And now Girardi is part of the media, using that platform to send some more public criticism the beleaguered catcher’s way.
If Girardi has any bitterness toward his former employer, he has to feel some sense of vindication as he watches his replacement also fail to unravel the Gary Sanchez conundrum.
