Washington Nationals: Joe Girardi’s failed attempt to be Billy Martin

For the fortieth time as manager in Major League Baseball, Joe Girardi didn’t finish the game he started. While he could have been run from the game for stupidity, Girardi was instead tossed for inviting Washington Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long to meet him in the Philadelphia Phillies dugout.

They weren’t going to have tea and crumpets.

The on again, off again checking of Max Scherzer’s glove for foreign substances had finally reached a ridiculous level, when Girardi called for Max to be checked yet again. This time in the middle of the inning.

Was Girardi going off of a tip? Did Girardi see the white sweat stain on Max’s hat and think it was something else? Was Girardi just trying to get inside Max’s head, fluster the pitcher who seemed to be cruising up to that point (albeit inefficiently cruising)?

Joe Girardi should take a page out of Billy Martin’s book next time he forces the hand of the Nationals.

Took Joe Girardi just four innings into the new glove/hat/belt check protocols, to request the umpires to check an opposing pitcher. He revealed his hand when he shouldn’t have, however.

When Billy Martin contacted the umpires about the pine tar on the bat of George Brett (in what became known as the Pine Tar Incident), he had actually noticed at an earlier point the pine tar was too far up the handle of the bat. Billy simply decided to put the knowledge in his back pocket until a time it was more useful.

That time came when Brett hit a two-run, ninth inning, home run to give the Kansas City Royals a 5-4 lead over the New York Yankees. At that juncture, Martin calmly walked to home plate and shared what he knew.

Are we lead to believe Joe actually had something damning on Max? Why did he choose at that moment to pull the plug? As Scherzer showed, he was not shy about handing over his glove, hat, and was even offering to drop his drawers to be examined. All for not, however, as nothing inconspicuous was found. All this because Max was going to his sweaty, probably silky smooth, hair?

Girardi quietly went about his business in the dugout, as Max continued to mow down Phillies hitters. After finishing the fifth inning Max didn’t have words for Girardi, he simply had a stare. And that was all it took for Joe to go off, and get shown the door for the night.

Joe Girardi, if you want to be mentioned along side the great names of managers past, you need to have something to use to your benefit, and keep the clown show at home.