Thursday, November 01, 2007

New era dawns with Girardi at helm

Joe Girardi grinned, slipping on the pinstripes once more, signaling the opening of a new era in Yankees baseball.

Girardi was formally introduced as the 32nd manager in club history on Thursday, posing for photographs and reiterating his excitement for perhaps the biggest challenge of his multifaceted career in a press conference held in the Stadium Club at Yankee Stadium.

"I can't tell you how honored we are to be putting on this uniform for the third time," Girardi said after donning a jersey with the No. 27 on its back -- appropriate, perhaps, since Girardi will be trying to lead the Yankees to their 27th World Series title.

"This is the place to be. For the Girardis, this place is home."

The 43-year-old Girardi, the 2006 National League Manager of the Year, agreed to terms earlier in the week on a three-year contract reportedly worth upward of $8 million.

Succeeding Joe Torre after a 12-year run at the helm, Girardi inherits a Yankees club prepared for some transition, continuing to filter in younger talent while attempting to win its first World Series championship since 2000.

Though Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner preached during the interview process that observers should have "patience" with the new manager, saying that he would not necessarily be inheriting the 1996 Yankees, Girardi has objected to that viewpoint.



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