Joe Girardi rips into Joel Sherman

http://deadspin.com/5941683/joe-girardi-and-joel-sherman-had-themselves-a-good-old-fashioned-bitchfest-last-night

Basic facts: Sherman, the New York Post's baseball columnist who has covered the Yankees since before Girardi even played for them, asked a question late in Girardi's news conference Saturday night, after a controversial loss to the Orioles. Girardi had answered the question (about CC Sabathia's health) already and thought Sherman was suggesting he was lying. Girardi snaps at Sherman, who fires back that it's his job to ask and Girardi's job to answer. Girardi then asks to speak with Sherman in a closed-off room, where yelling was heard by reporters and players in the locker room. The following morning, Girardi and Sherman met and smoothed things over.

Now, many reporters mentioned the outburst in their stories and tweeted about it as it happened. No video or audio is available, to my knowledge. The Post's George A. King III included a brief summary of the altercation in his game story. Sherman never wrote a word about it, including on Twitter. Sherman did rip the Yankees in his postgame column, though.

In this ever-changing world in which we live in, should Sherman have addressed the altercation head-on?

Should he not have ripped the Yankees without mentioning the altercation?

Did Girardi have a point for his anger?

Should other reporters have been taking down quotes from the one-on-one that everyone heard? Audio?

 

But should Sherman have yelled at Girardi? To me, he's making himself part of the story by doing that.

 

If another man yells at you in public, I would say that you have the right to yell back. You don't have to, of course. But I don't think you have to just sit there and take it, especially if you feel like it's unjust.

 

Unique in big league sports is baseball and the intimacy and constancy of the clubhouse. Which also mean that the beats and the players and the managers are together every day month after month after month. And talking and talking and talking. Baseball runs on talk, and sometimes that talk gets heated, and it's safe to assume that the Girardi/Sherman thing was part of an ongoing conversation that began around the time pitchers and catchers reported for spring training.

 

You have to figure that Sherman and Giradi have talked for maybe for 16 years so they certainly know each other well.

Maybe Joe was not expecting Sherman to put him on the spot due to their relationship.

Whatever, but Girardi is clearly showing signs of cracking under the pressure of this race.

 

Why would Sherman not defend himself or yell back? Just because "the coach" or "the manager" yells at you in his clubhouse or office, you're supposed to defer? Bullshit. Good for Sherman.

I'm glad they got things smoothed over, too. Sometimes you get crossways with a source, do what you do and then make up (or not) and move on.

 

Athletes, coaches, managers ... these people are not gods. It's not our business to provoke a fight, but we're not there to worship anyone, either. Events of the past few decades support that point.

Kiss Girardi's ring just because he's with a baseball team? Nope.

 

As a beat reporter, I've been called out a handful of times (we're talking over 30 years) by coaches. Twice I responded angrily, because I thought the coach crossed the line and got personal. In general, if you lose your cool, it weakens your position. I'm not saying sit back and take it -- stand up for yourself, in no uncertain terms. And don't make yourself the story. The readers don't care, and the fanbois will take the coach's side anyway.

 

That's what I'm talking about Lonestar. You said it very well.

 

Is it possible that Sherman already knew the answer to his question, having asked it in private and then put Girardi on spot by asking in public.

 

I heard that the noise in the interview area made it tough to hear questions and/or answers. The other writers could have taken notes if they wanted but I guess they chose not to go that way. Sherman took the high road by not going after Girardi in his column. There could have been consequences.