YANKEES PART WAYS WITH JOE GIRARDI
Joe Girardi was fired as New York Yankees manager Thursday after a decade that produced just one World Series title for a team that expects to win every year.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced the move five days after New York lost to Houston in the AL Championship Series.
“With a heavy heart, I come to you because the Yankees have decided not to bring me back,” Girardi said in a statement released by his agent, Steven Mandell. “I’d like to thank the fans for their great support as a player, coach and manager and the lasting memories of their passion and excitement during the playoff games.”
Girardi’s 910-710 regular-season record with the Yankees is sixth in victories managing the team behind Joe McCarthy (1,460), Joe Torre (1,173), Casey Stengel (1,149), Miller Huggins (1,067) and Ralph Houk (944).
New York became the third of the 10 postseason teams to remove managers, joining Boston and Washington.
Three Rockies up for Gold Glove.
The Rockies’ defense glittered in 2017. Recognition arrived Thursday afternoon when three players were named finalists for Rawlings’ Gold Glove awards.
As expected, third baseman Nolan Arenado made the cut and is the clear favorite to win his fifth consecutive Gold Glove. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who snagged the award in 2014, is also a finalist. And, in a bit of a surprise, Gerardo Parra was named a finalist in left field. Parra won Gold Gloves with Arizona in 2011 and 2013.
The winners will be announced on Nov. 7.
Gold Glove winners are voted on by managers and coaches in each league (managers are not allowed to vote for their own players) with the sabermetric component of defensive runs saved (DRS) comprising 25 percent of the vote.
Brewers re-sign two.
The Milwaukee Brewers signed Chase Anderson to a two-year contract through the 2019 season, with club options for 2020 and 2021. They also agreed to a $2.4 million, one-year contract with infielder Eric Sogard.
• The Cleveland Indians hired Carl Willis as their pitching coach to replace Mickey Callaway, who left to manage the New York Mets. Willis is back for his second stint with the club. He served as Cleveland’s pitching coach from 2003-09.
Vonn ready for World Cup opener.
AUSTRIA» While injuries SOELDEN, have forced many of ski racing’s biggest names to sit out the seasonopening World Cup events this weekend, American standout Lindsey Vonn has unexpectedly announced her start in the women’s giant slalom.
The absence of GS specialists Lara Gut, Anna Veith, Federica Brignone and Eva-Maria Brem might present Vonn with a good chance to score valuable World Cup points in Saturday’s race, her first GS start since January 2016.
Those points could ultimately help Vonn, who is ranked outside the top 30 in the discipline standings, to get a more favorable starting position in the Olympic giant slalom in Pyeongchang in February.
“The most important thing and what I am concentrating on are the Olympics,” Vonn said Thursday. “The biggest thing this season is staying healthy. I really don’t want to take any chances. I just want to ski solid. I just need enough points to get in the top 30 so I can start 16th.”
Footnotes.
Marty Puketapu’s goal helped Colorado (9-5-4, 3-4-2 Pac-12) defeat Oregon State (4-10-3, 1-7-1) 1-0 in women’s soccer. It was the Buffs’ school-record 12th shutout of the season. … Zack Steffen, 22, made a career-high eight saves and the Columbus Crew advanced in the MLS Cup playoffs by beating expansion club Atlanta United 3-1 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in front of an MLS playoff-record crowd of 67,221.