Looking back, I was a big fan of Girardi and really wanted to Cubs to get him instead of Lou. Now he is managing in the WS, granted with the highest payroll in baseball, while the Cubs have not won a playoff game.

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In the long term, I think this was an epic blunder that set the franchise back.

Girardi would have been lipstick on a pig.

Maybe. But I dunno.

You could put just about any manager in the league in a Yankees uniform and they'd still be in the World Series. Girardi had little to do with it.

highest Paid 1b in baseball
HOF SS
HOF 3B, who is highest paid player in baseball
A Catcher who has been to like 10 allstar games
HOF closer
highest paid rotation in baseball
Multiple Allstars in the OF

Terry Bevington could have guided them to the WS

How about last year, pre CC and Texieria, with Arod missing time? Girardi finished in 3rd place (first time Yanks missed playoffs in like 15 years)

I agree to a point, and I did acknowledge the payroll issue. But, you can't ignore the fact that they have been trying to buy a World Series for the last decade and have failed to this point. I am not saying that he would have the Cubs in the World Series by now, but I just think he may have been the better long term choice.

much ado about nothing

Lipstick on a pig? Why... because he's a local boy who grew up rooting for the Cubs? Because he played for the Cubs for the better part of a decade? Because he was tutored by one of the great managers of our time, Joe Torre? Because he told his boss, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria to sit down and shut up when Loria yelled at umpires from his box?
Let's see... a great baseball mind, who loves the Cubs, and is a hard-nosed disciplinarian....you're right, that would never work in the Friendly Confines

YANKEES -
highest Paid 1b in baseball
HOF SS
HOF 3B, who is highest paid player in baseball
A Catcher who has been to like 10 allstar games
HOF closer
highest paid rotation in baseball
Multiple Allstars in the OF

Girardi takes them to the WS
____________________________
CUBS
3rd highest payroll in baseball (and just a dollar and a quarter behind the Mets for 2nd place)
7 All Stars in 2008

Piniella leads them to 0 playoff wins in 3 years

Girardi is not a good manager. He lost the Yanks a game against the Angels.

Oh, yeah...that loss to the Angels - Well, the Yankees obviously need more left handed bats next year

I should have figured the Lou apologists would be coming out in this thread.

So because I said Girardi is a bad manager I was defending Lou? Yay for logic.

No, lipstick on a pig means the 2009 Cubs were not very good. It wasn't a shot on Girardi.

It wouldn't have mattered. The Cubs are a terrible organization deovid of real talent. Our top tier players are Lilly, Z, Aram and Lee, except they aren't really top tier.

Ramirez and Lee aren't top tier?

Name 5 players who hit better from June 1st on to the rest of the year than Lee.

Name a few guys with the RBI track record as good as Ramirez?

Maybe so rc.

My choice back when both were being considered was JG. That said, I was not unhappy with the LP choice, and thought he would be a good candidate to take this team to where it needed to go. After watching his sleep-walking expedition during the 09 campaign, I am left with a very empty feeling about this manager.

I know many here will say that JG has a huge payroll and bankroll of talent on his team. True. However, you still have to get the job done, and bring home a winner, just as PJackson did with his Bulls teams that included the best player, by many accounts, that ever played in the NBA. So, I tip my cap to JG. You still have to manage the talent and the egos to produce ultimately a winner. And the vagaries of baseball being what it is, with hot pitchers able to shut down anyone, batters going into slumps unexpectedly, and so forth, the ultimate achievement is not a slam dunk regardless of a teams sizeable payroll and/or talent.

"In the long term, I think this was an epic blunder that set the franchise back."

You got that right. But who knew Lou was such a stubborn jerk.

And the game has passed him by.

You think becuase the Cubs have the third highest payroll that it compares to the Yanks? LOL. It's certainly enough to win with, but there is no comparison between these two payrolls. You can add like 5 more Soriano-like contracts to the Cubs and still not pass the Yankees payroll.