He doesn’t put those two words together, but Joel Sherman calls Girardi “paranoid” -- twice -- and calls him “deceitful,” “misleading” and says that he’s less-than-candid.
There’s nothing wrong with writing a column pointing out the professional faults of the local manager following a tough playoff loss, but am I wrong in thinking that if you’re going to go after the guy’s integrity and flatly call him a liar, you need to put some evidence on the table? Because there’s none here. Some have suggested that Girardi was less than forthcoming about Mariano Rivera’s health during the series (I can’t seem to find a story about that, but if anyone has it, I’d like to see it), but even if that was the case, why on Earth is it a bad thing for Girardi to make the world think that Mo was as strong as ever? Isn’t it possible that Ron Washington manages differently if he thinks that Rivera isn’t available? Perhaps he takes more risks in the seventh or eighth inning of a close game than he otherwise might have?
Regardless, Sherman’s takedown seems way more like the airing of a media grudge against Girardi than a cogent analysis of his managerial ability. Which, of course, is nothing new for Sherman, but still.