Manager Joe Girardi has been unusually snippy with reporters of late, misleading the Philly media about injuries to Bryce Harper and other players under the guise of “competitive advantage.” For days, Girardi insinuated Harper was close to returning to the Phillies’ lineup, never letting on the severity of the wrist issue that eventually landed him on the IL.
“There’s a distinct advantage if I tell you a guy’s wrist is hurt to another manager, and the idea here is to win games,” said a defiant Girardi when questioned about his handling of the Harper situation earlier this week. “It’s kind of like me telling you who’s available in the bullpen and who’s not available. I don’t like doing that because I don’t like [Marlins manager] Donnie [Mattingly] to know who I might use or might not use. I understand you want to know, but there are distinct advantages that I can give another club if they know everything that’s going on over here.”
This is not the first time Girardi has been intentionally vague or deceptive about a player’s health status, essentially doing the same thing when catcher J.T. Realmuto was shelved with wrist discomfort earlier this month. By waiting to place Realmuto on the injured list, the Phillies wound up in a situation where their bench was so thin pitcher Zack Wheeler was called on to pinch-hit in a game last Thursday. ESPN’s Buster Olney and guest Karl Ravech discussed Girardi’s recent crusade against reporters pestering him for injury updates Friday on the Baseball Tonight podcast.
“There is no better human being in baseball than Joe Girardi. He is a great person. But as a reporter, I don’t want to guess,” said Olney, who acknowledged Girardi ran into the same issue while managing the Yankees from 2008-17. “That’s not a good thing for me as a reporter and it’s an awful situation for Girardi going forward.”
Ravech described Girardi’s media sidestepping as a “lie of omission,” creating an awkward situation for all involved. “I think it’s withholding information that you know is important to be out there. And I don’t think that the team you’re playing is going to do anything different,” agreed Ravech. “It just creates all sorts of drama that you wouldn’t necessarily want or need.”
It’s been a struggle in the early going for Philadelphia (25-26)), though luckily the same could be said for most of the division with Atlanta off to a similarly disappointing start and the NL-East-leading Mets doing their best to stay afloat amid a biblical wave of injuries.
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