JOE: COUNT US IN
Girardi says Yanks will be East contenders
The Red Sox may be heavy favorites to win the division heading into the 2017 season, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi is conceding nothing to their hated rivals in the AL East.
“I think we’re a club that is fighting for our division. That’s who I think we are,” Girardi said Wednesday before watching his alma mater, Northwestern, play Pittsburgh in the Pin- stripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
“Obviously there will probably be more competition in spring training than maybe in any year I’ve ever been here, but that’s a good thing. I think competition brings out the best (in people), and I think there’s a group of young players that’s really close and really push each other and pull for each other, and a lot of them play the same position, but I think it’s a great thing, and I expect to fight for the division. Your first goal is to win your division, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
After losing slugger David Or- tiz to retirement, the defending AL East champion Red Sox pulled off a stunning blockbuster trade to land Chris Sale this offseason, adding him to a starstudded rotation that already included David Price and Rick Porcello. Sale has posted a ridiculous 1.17 ERA against the Yankees in his career.
“Obviously they’ve improved their club in adding him,” Girardi said of Sale. “He’s an outstanding pitcher. He’s had success in Chicago; a Cy Young candidate every year is who this guy is. They’ve improved their club. We’ve tried to improve our club, and the bottom line in this game is you’ve got to go play it on the field. On paper, it doesn’t really mean anything. Injuries happen and change the dynamics of teams. Sometimes guys don’t have the years you expect them to have. You have to go play the games on the field.”
The Yankees (84-78), who finished nine games behind the Red Sox (93-69) in 2016, brought back Aroldis Chapman (five years, $86 million) and added Matt Holliday (one year, $13 million), but question marks remain throughout their rotation behind ace Masahiro Tanaka, and they’re going to be reliant on a lot of young players such as standout Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Greg Bird, assuming the latter two win starting spots in right field and first base respectively out of spring training.
“I like what we’ve done,” Girardi said. “The teams that have a lot of success have very strong bullpens, and bringing back Aroldis Chapman really adds to that. We saw what he was capable of doing last year, and he fit in here. He liked it here. So I think it was important. Matt Holliday has been a leader here in the big leagues for a long time. Obviously, he’ll be able to DH a lot here so it will be easier on his body. But we think we’re getting a middle of the order hitter, and we’re excited about that.”
Asked about the possibility of the 36-year-old Holliday, who hit .246 for St. Louis last season with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs in 382 at-bats, protecting Sanchez out of the cleanup spot, Girardi responded: “I haven’t really gotten into that at all, but that’s a possibility. He’s going to be somewhere in that mix, yes.”
The Yankees are likely going to need huge years from several players — including Sanchez, Tanaka, Chapman and Holliday — in order to dethrone the Red Sox and capture their first division title since 2012.
I think we’re a club that is fighting for our division. That’s who I think we are. JOE GIRARDI