 If you can take a leap of faith and imagine the coming season in New York as a reality show, it'd have to be Survivor. There are only two contestants on this island — Joe Girardi and Jerry Manuel. Which one gets whacked first? You're forgiven for struggling with the answer. The parallels between these two managers are, after all, startling: both are inheriting upgraded rosters with big-name free agents. Both are being equally pampered with brand new stadiums opening next week. And both fell short of the playoffs last year, which means the beast of great expectations for 2009 will be hungry for at least one of them — or both. Of course, it's possible Girardi and Manuel will both flourish this summer; there's enough talent in the Bronx and Flushing to take both clubs to the playoffs. But a slow start in either borough will start the ticking clock. Here's the breakdown on the chances for survival. Girardi: The Yankees' $1.6 billion ballpark wasn't built for also-rans. It's an unspoken guarantee that Girardi won't be back for the final year of this three-year deal in 2010 if the Bombers come up short again in September. Even without Alex Rodriguez in the lineup for the next 6-8 weeks, ownership believes Girardi has enough talent to hold off the Red Sox. In the short term, senior officials will be watching closely to see if the historically rigid Girardi can reconnect with his clubhouse in April. FOX Fantasy Baseball game: Advice:- Draft guide: Find out rankings, positional previews, sleepers, flops and more!
So what's the possible glitch? The Mets have enough offense to keep up with the Phillies, but it's the pitching staff that could sabotage Manuel. After Johan Santana, the rotation is littered with question marks, starting with Oliver Perez. It's no coincidence that pitching coach Dan Warthen blasted the lefthander on Wednesday for being out of shape after returning from the WBC — clearly working on Manuel's orders. Manuel, like Girardi, knows it's a high-risk venture taking on a player in the media. But Manuel's willingness to embarrass Perez was designed to send a message to everyone else in the clubhouse, including allies like Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. Coast, and the world will know about it. To be fair, it wasn't Manuel's doing to bring Perez back as a free agent this winter. The Mets had a better alternative in Derek Lowe, until he asked for a fifth year. Ownership's decision to stick with the younger, but less dependable Perez may come back to haunt them, and put Manuel right on the hot seat. Play FOX Fantasy Baseball today
Author:Fox Sports
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: March 27, 2009
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