In his first year as the manager of the New York Yankees, there are high demands on Joe Girardi. Not only is he expected to replace legendary manager Joe Torres, it is an openly expressed goal that he lead the Yankees to the World Series and win the championship. Anything less than that and the team owners, the Steinbrenner family, will consider the season as a failure.

Joe Girardi must have expected intense media coverage of his first season as the Yankees manager. However, it may be safe to say that the present media furor might surpass any preconceived notions that Joe Girardi might have had. The baseball season has turned into a daily soap opera.

There are daily headlines involving the Yankees third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. The news transcends the sports page. It is front page news, as Alex Rodriguez’s off field entanglements involve Madonna, religion, huge sums of money, divorce lawyers, a former agent and rumour upon rumour. Today, Alex Rodriguez’s wife is bring up the issue of surveillance and spying. That will hold the media attention for a few news cycles.

In the midst of all this, Joe Girardi is expected to field a team focused on winning a championship. Perhaps Joe Girardi has simpler short term goals, like having one of his star players off the tabloid pages for a few days.

Catherine Forsythe