Girardi offers Marlins aggressive style

New manager a mixture of old-school, new-school

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

 

MIAMI -- Having a new manager doesn't mean the Marlins are changing their basic approach instilled when Jeffrey Loria assumed ownership in 2002.

The club still plans to be identified by speed, pitching and defense -- traits that have resulted in three straight winning seasons, including a World Series title in 2003.

 

Bringing in a fresh, young leader in manager Joe Girardi hasn't swayed the club's thinking.

 

"What stood out with Joe was the importance of pitching and defense," Marlins general manager Admin Beinfest said. "I think our philosophies are similar. The style will be Joe's. But the philosophies, pitching, speed and defense, will remain."

 

Playing in a spacious ballpark like Dolphins Stadium, which has a deep center field and enormous gaps, the club sacrifices some big bombers at the plate for players who can cover ground. But the trademark over the past few years has been impressive starting pitching.

 

Girardi, 41, joins the Marlins after spending last season as the Yankees bench coach. A former catcher who retired as a player two years ago, he promises to be demanding and hard-driving.

 

"He's a hard-nosed guy," Loria said. "When I watched him play, that never escaped me. He's focused. He's right there in the middle of things. He has an amazing ability to anticipate. When you can anticipate, you're a little bit ahead of the game as a baseball guy."

 

As a fresh managerial face, Girardi is a mixture of being old-school in terms of his work habits, and new school because of his reliance on computers and video.

 

Officially hired on Thursday, Girardi headed that evening to his home in Chicago. With him, he brought tapes of players.

 

"I need video to go over," Girardi said. "I want to be looking over the players who are going to be here for sure. The young players who I don't have a ton of knowledge about, I want to learn. We have some young pitchers who are possibly going to be in the rotation. I want to learn as much as I can about them. I'm going to try to create a situation where I think they can be successful."

 

That's the kind of anticipation and looking ahead that captured the attention of the Marlins during the interview process.

 

What brand of baseball will the Marlins ultimately play?

 

It's tough to say because it will be a blend of many things. The Marlins aren't purely a "moneyball" team, even though they have a low payroll.

 

"I don't think I necessarily have a philosophy where you can put a term on it," Girardi said. "It's an aggressive style. A lot of times the style that you play depends upon the players that you've got. You can't very well ask players to go out and hit three-run homers all the time if you don't have them.

 

"So when you get the composition of your team, you sit back and find out early what your players can do and you do that. But I love to be aggressive. That's the one thing I can tell you."

 

So often baseball, at least winning championships, comes down to who can pitch.

 

"We use stats. We use a little bit of everything. We're open to fresh ideas," Beinfest said. "Look at Houston and the White Sox. Their pitching carried them to the World Series. I think that's the model we're going to stick with."

 

The makeup of the club next year promises to look different. Most likely there will be a reduction in payroll from the club-record $65 million spent on players in 2005.

 

Girardi is committed to bringing out the best in his players. The price of talent, he claims, often is overstated.

 

The foundation of the club will be pitchers Dontrelle Willis, Josh Beckett and slugger Miguel Cabrera.

 

"Just because your payroll is not $200 million [doesn't mean you will win]," Girardi said. "You look at Dontrelle Willis. He's a pitcher making $350,000 or whatever he is making. If you look at him on the open market today, if he were a six-year free agent, what would he be worth? Just because your payroll is low doesn't mean that you don't have a ton of talent, which the organization is producing."

 

The model for success was the 2003 Marlins, an emerging group of young players with the addition of veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez who blended into a sensational squad. During that magical run, then-manager Jack McKeon challenged his players to grow up and reach their potential.

 

The formula worked.

 

"I was impressed by how the young talent was able to succeed at such a high level," Girardi said of the 2003 Marlins. "That's a credit to the organization. First of all, the players who they're drafting, and then the quality of the people in the Minor Leagues who are raising these players up. And then, the manager, Jack, getting the most out of them."

 

While Girardi has one year of coaching experience, managing has been in his blood for years.

 

"Since high school, I've wanted to do it," he said. "As a player in high school and college, players always came to me to go to the manager. I don't know how I got that role. I was kind of the spokesperson for the team all the time. I enjoyed it. I enjoy the competition. I love studying the game, that's why I think I've always wanted to manage."

 

In Girardi's mind, managers can make a big difference in terms of wins and losses.

 

"I think they can make a big difference," Girardi said. "Managers who have the ability to get the most out of their players are going to have them play hard every day.

 

"As you saw last year here, or even with the Yankees, the games you let get away when you were fighting for that playoff spot. You think, 'Man, you let those games get away.' Sometimes it's not getting the most out of your players. All the responsibility can't fall on the manager. The players have to want to win as badly as anybody else. But it's your job to teach them."

 

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I really like the idea that Girardi is going to demand his coaching staff to be more technical and perform more analysis than McKeon's staff.

 

Last year other teams studied our tendencies and took advantage in close games, while McKeon played into their hands by doing what he always did. Reports were that Robinson never looked at film and simply coached old school.

 

A new approach will be refreshing next year.

Reports were that Robinson never looked at film and simply coached old school.

 

 

And when he did his wife found the flaws in swings. :plain