I’m Starting to Like This Joe Girardi Move

29
Jan/071

I’m Starting to Like This Joe Girardi Move

We are starting to see some of the reasons Joe Girardi wasn’t as good of a manager as everyone made him out to be last season. After finding out Anibal Sanchez has been dealing with some shoulder issues, we now find out the injury that ended Josh Johnson’s season short last year is still bothering him and flaring up even more.

Josh Johnson said on Monday that he experienced some discomfort in his right biceps/triceps area on Jan. 19 while throwing off flat ground at the team’s Spring Training facility in Jupiter. The pitcher has shut down his throwing regimen as a result.

The health of Johnson’s right arm is a concern, stemming back to the final month of last season. During a Sept. 12 start against the Mets at Dolphin Stadium, Johnson felt tightness in his right forearm and was lifted after five innings.

On that rainy night, the game was delayed a total of two hours and eight minutes. The first delay was 46 minutes before the first pitch, and in the top of the second inning, play again was halted.

Until Johnson and Sanchez are ready, the Marlins have an abundance of young arms who also will compete for roster spots. Sergio Mitre, Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia each will get a look as either starters or relievers in Spring Training.

This was one of the problems I had with Joe Girardi the at the end of last season. He overused his starting pitchers. What was funny to me was a game Ricky Nolasco had a no hitter going into the late innings but had a massive pitch count. Joe was interviewed after that game and asked if he would have left Ricky in. He said no, claiming he would not risk the future of our starting pitchers for the sake of a no hitter. Rewind to the end of the season last year when the Marlins were facing the Mets and the game was delayed due to rain. As noted above Johnson was brought back into the game after a 2 hour delay and later complained about arm troubles, and was shut down for the rest of the season. This shows you misuse of our arms and how much pressure Joe was under at the end of the year to prove he belonged back in the Marlins clubhouse the following season. This whole thing stinks and we have the possibility of entering Spring Training minus two of our best starting pitchers.

I’d ask for your thoughts but I’m afraid alot of you do not know the Marlins are still in Florida and fairly relevant.