August 10, 2010 – If you have a lead in your division, a strong shot at a wild card spot at the very least, fifty games to play, a $200+ million payroll of stars and a juggernaut of a brand, things can be pretty cozy for Yankee manager Joe Girardi. People in Chicago floated the prospect of Girardi taking over his hometown Cubs when Lou Piniella steps down, so seemingly he’s in demand. Rash manager firer George Steinbrenner is no longer. Most of all, Joe Girardi is the manager of the defending World Champions.

But if the Yankees falter in the fall and Hank and Hal Steinbrenner show that the Big Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, you can look to Monday’s matinee against the Red Sox as an example of Girardi’s “non-managing” and as a reason to question his reign. Actually, Hank and Hal won’t be the catalysts. It will play out like the scene described by Joe Torre in his book, “The Yankee Years,” where Girardi is summoned to Tampa and a school of piranhas will circle the table including Randy Levine, Brian Cashman and Lonn Trost, and this Joe will be told in so many words that failure isn’t acceptable.

So when the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs, down 2-0 to the Red Sox in the seventh and Curtis Granderson (surprise!) struck out against the lights out lefthanded Jon Lester, which brought in flamethrowing Daniel Bard who blew it by both Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher, Girardi did his best imitation of Joe Torre and did nothing. No bunts. No fly balls. No strategy in a tight game where opportunities to score were unlikely. Girardi had watched as Marcus Thames’ double “came as close to homer as you can get” and a fan interfered with an Austin Kearns foul ball that would have likely sacrificed Jorge Posada home from third.

It’s not that Girardi could have lifted Thames’ shot two inches, or prevented the fan from reaching to touch the foul ball. But he could have pinch hit for Granderson or, reinforced Jeter to bunt or make contact to hit it to the right side. But Girardi, like Torre, left it up to his All Star lineup. In other words, I could have managed the Yankees from the seventh on.

In the eighth, after Mark Texeira homered for the third time this season off Bard, Girardi finally got “strategic,” and lifted Alex Rodriguez after he singled for pinch runner Brett Gardner. This took one of baseball’s best out of the game. Left Mark Texeira unprotected if he were to get up again, and left the prospect of stealing a base entirely in the hands of Gardner. Boston pitcher Daniel Bard has a long delivery and their catcher, Victor Martinez has a poor record of throwing out runners. But Gardner didn’t go. If there had been a strategy to the pinch runner move, Gardner’s only task would have been to take second base. To put a runner in scoring position. To remove the force or the threat of a double play. And so when Robinson Cano hit a slow roller to second, Gardner took second when he should have been on third.

Perhaps Girardi’s lack of bullpen depth inclined him to play for the win with Jorge Posada, Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns stepping in to drive Gardner home from second. But his inability to play for the tie cost the Yankees as Posada walked and Bergman and Kearns stranded Gardner. Why Gardner is left to his own devices in such a situation is an insult to the steal sign. Why Girardi wouldn’t play for a guy on third with three hitters capable of a long fly as his best chance is beyond comprehension.

In Girardi’s postgame, he never mentioned Gardner’s baserunning aside from acknowledging that Bard held him close. He lamented Thame’s double, talked about two more months of the season, handled the media with ease and gave credit to their archrivals. The Yanks blew a chance to stay 2.5 ahead of the Rays and push Boston to 7 back and take two 2 of 3 in the series.

You have to wonder, if the Yankees lose by a game come September, if games like this will thrown out on that table in Tampa?