Watchdog

Girardi on the importance of media relations: “I think the media is such a big part of the game, No. 1. And it’s a big part of the Yankees, it’s a big part of your job here. So I think it’s important you’re able to communicate, that you have a relationship, because we’re together every day. And it’s so important to the growth of the game.’’

Girardi on the New York media compared to Florida: “Well, there’s just so much more and it takes more time and it’s just on a grander scale. So you have to learn to deal with that as well.’’

Girardi on the confusion over Phil Hughes’ injury last week: “I think it goes both ways. I’m a guy who doesn’t want to put something out there until I know 100 percent. I don’t like to speculate. In the Phil Hughes incident, I wanted the doctor to tell me that he couldn’t make his next start before I would say we’re putting him on the DL. Because if I was to say that and then he makes his next start, there’s some confusion. They want it as soon as possible and for me I wanted to make sure I was 100 percent sure before I gave it to them.’’

Girardi on doing a weekly TV show for YES: “YES approached me about the TV show and obviously I have a great relationship with YES and know how important YES is to the Yankees because I worked there for two years. So it takes about 20 minutes a week and when you figure your whole week it’s not a whole lot of time. It’s just a chance to talk about Yankee baseball and grow the brand and interact with the fans. I enjoy the questions from the fans.’’

Girardi on fitting media into his schedule: “I’m very pragmatic and I like a set schedule. I just design my schedule every day. I design my day and have it regimented and I’m the type of guy who has to be able to get outside and run around. I’m not much for just sitting around and standing behind the cage. So I leave time for that, too.’’

Girardi on how winning helps with media relations: “Then there are no bad things to talk about. Obviously winning cures a lot, but at the end of the day to me it’s just developing lines of communication and relationships.’’

Davidoff on Girardi and the media: “I think anyone would have struggled to replace Joe Torre in terms of media management. He is the best of his time. I think Joe is off to a rocky start but I think it’s apparent that it’s something that’s very important to him. I think what happened [April 30] was the culmination of weeks of tension. Especially the media that’s around him every day felt there was a series of misleading answers, particularly about injuries.

Davidoff on Girardi’s commitment to media relations: “From the outset of spring training it was very apparent that he was going to make a very conscious effort to forge a good relationship. I’m not sure he made that same effort in Florida, and if he did it fizzled very quickly. He pretty much bombed with them.’’

Zillo on Girardi and the media: “To me Joe’s greatest attribute in dealing with the media is that he’s never said, ‘I know how to do it, I’ve got it, I’m going to do the same thing I did when I managed with Florida, don’t bother me with that.’ It’s been a very open understanding that this is a big part of what he does, and it’s never been my way or the highway. He said, ‘I want as much information as you can give me about this because it’s only going to make me better. I coached here, I played here, which is a great baseline to start from but this is different, this is going to be different.’ It’s not an easy job. It’s time consuming. It can be frustrating. But Joe likes people, and whether they’re baseball players or plumbers or teachers or beat writers, all of those people thankfully fall under that umbrella. I think most of the time the biggest issues you’re going to have with a manager or an athlete is when they have the attitude they don’t care, it doesn’t matter.’’

Zillo on the discussion of injuries: “His first instinct, and rightfully so, is to his players. Secondly it’s to the people above him, Brian Cashman and ownership. After that, and I think any manager would say this, is to the media. But he needs to work first and foremost with the people in uniform who work with him . . . You want to have a good, open honest relationship with the media but you better first have that same type of relationship with the players who are in the clubhouse with you.’’

O’Brien on Girardi and the media: “I think that a lot of people here have been around the Yankees for a long time and are accustomed to dealing with Joe Torre, who’s perhaps the best manager in baseball in dealing with the media. Nobody is really going to be able to fill that position and live up to that. Any difference takes time to get used to. It’s a different personality and a different way of doing things. I think that obviously there are differences, different demeanor, personality. He’s younger, and he’s new to being the Yankees manager. There are things as he is in the job longer he will get more comfortable and used to, which is something that he’s talked about. He’s been trying to be very accessible.’’

Waldman on Girardi and the media: “I think that anybody that was around Joe Girardi when he was a player knows he has a little edge to him. That’s what made him the kind of player he was. I think we are all allowed to learn and I think he’s learning really fast. It’s a very different story having three guys in Miami . . . The other thing about him is he hates to lose and he takes it very hard and I think sometimes because of the nature of the way we have to do our jobs he doesn’t get a chance to stay in the trainer’s room. I think he’s terrific. He’s a very bright guy and he wants to succeed.’’