Joe Girardi evasive on injuries, Should Phillies have kept Kapler?
Updated Wednesday, June 2, 2021
One reason Joe Girardi was hired to manage the Philadelphia Phillies was his experience at media relations. In 10 years of managing the New York Yankees, he faced daily scrutiny from the largest, most aggressive press corps in America. There were a few rough moments – Girardi faulted for being overly protective of players – but the seas were mostly calm while he was the skipper.
The atmosphere is more turbulent in Girardi’s second season of managing the Phillies. He created a disturbance last week when he announced a new policy of withholding information about injuries: “I’m not going to share anything— who’s available, who’s not available – because I think it’s unfair to us.”
A distraction problem began five weeks ago when the team’s superstar, Bryce Harper, was hit by a fastball from the Cardinals’ Genesis Cabrera. Harper tried to protect his face with his left hand, and both were injured. He continued to play, but his stats plummeted. Fans were booing, if you can imagine that happening in Philadelphia. Girardi offered no excuse to try to buck up his guy. Before a game against the Miami Marlins, Girardi said Harper was available to play, when in fact he was committed to the Injured List.
Girardi wanted the Marlins to think Harper might be a pinch-hitter. Perhaps he should have told Harper to wear his jersey in the dugout, to add credulity to the ruse.
More subterfuge after a game last week against Miami. Girardi was asked why second baseman Jean Segura pinch-hit in the eighth inning but did not stay in to play second base. “I understand you want to know,” Girardi said. “But there are distinct advantages that I can give another club if they know everything that’s going on over here.”
True, it’s an advantage for a team to know the health of opponents. But is dishonesty really the best policy? Is it fair to Harper trying to perform when physically impaired? Tony Kornheiser on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption observed: “His manager could have helped him by saying something, but he didn’t.”
What about the fans? An increasing number are legally betting on games. It was the prevalence of gambling that led the NFL to require full disclosure of injuries. Of course, coaches obfuscate. When fined or reprimanded for not reporting significant injuries, Bill Belilchick sometimes swings the other way, listing almost every starter as having some sort of vague ailment: “right elbow . . . left knee . . . rib cage . . .”
Like the NFL, the National Basketball Association requires full disclosure, while the National Hockey League is the least forthcoming among major sports. “Upper body” and “lower body” are about as specific as its coaches are required to be.
Players argue that if opponents know which ankles are sore, there will be much more hacking of feet. Likewise, if a pitcher knows that Bryce Harper has a bruised left wrist, would he be more likely to throw inside and up, into his hands?
Girardi’s new policy could put players under siege. With clubhouses soon to be reopened to media, wave after wave of reporters will be asking players about their injuries. Are they allowed to answer? Will the manager be offended? Talk about distraction: ongoing tension, stress, anxiety.
Also worth considering is the cost of alienating the local media. Philly is a very tough town, as Russell Westbrook and Santa Claus will tell you. And Philly will turn on its own. A football coach was fired three years after winning the Super Bowl. If Girardi makes it more difficult for sportswriters to do their jobs, will they make it more difficult for him? Would they be so petty? Yep.
Girardi looks vulnerable. His team has lost 11 of its past 16 games, and he’s 54-62 for his tenure, with the fifth-highest payroll in baseball. It’s a mixed blessing that his predecessor, after being chased out of town before he could be tarred and feathered, landed on his feet and at the top of the National League West. Over the Memorial Day weekend the San Francisco Giants won three in a row against the world champion Dodgers. “Apparently Dave Kapler can manage,” Kornheiser said. “People in Philadelphia didn’t wait around long enough for him to show them.”
So now they have Girardi, but for how long? Kapler’s rebound on the other coast suggests owner John Middleton should not be too hasty but also provokes discussion of Kapler’s superiority over Girardi. Dave Dombrowski is not the CEO who hired Girardi, and it’s likely he already has a successor on standby. Having no long-term allies, Girardi might do better with less confrontation, more cooperation.
