Joe Girardi on the hot seat?

Phillies manager’s job could be in jeopardy

Good Morning, all! I hope your week is going well

Is Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi on the hot seat? It would not surprise if he is. As of this writing, before Tuesday night's game against the Marlins, the Phillies are a disappointing 23-25. The club's only saving grace is that they are in a mediocre division, the NL East, where even the last place Nationals are only two games out. The Phils are 1 1/2 games behind the first place Mets.

The division itself has been a disappointment. Tabbed as baseball's cream of the crop in preseason prognostications, the division has one club with a winning record, the Mets, who are injury-riddled at 21-20.

In a recent interview (paywall) he gave to the Boston Globe, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski let it be known he expects the Phils to be serious contenders this season, after years of his predecessors rebuilding the farm system and making trades. Dombrowski, brought on board last December, did not hire Girardi, whose recent dugout spat with Jean Segura certainly didn't help his cause. Neither has the leaky Philadelphia bullpen, which cost the Phils a playoff spot in last season's abbreviated season. One of the reasons Philadelphia hired Girardi was his supposed ability to handle a bullpen. Granted, Girardi cannot pitch, but the manager usually gets the blame, when a bullpen throws gasoline on the fire.

So if one of the other division clubs gets hot, and the Phillies begin to slide, do not be surprised if Girardi is made the scapegoat in another disappointing Philadelphia season.

Yankees starters stellar

Is the New York Yankees starting pitching that good? Since April 20, the Yankees have the best record in baseball and have the same number of losses (19) as the two clubs ahead of them in the tight AL East, Tampa Bay and Boston. Corey Kluber's no-hitter, performances by Domingo German, Jordan Montgomery, ace Gerrit Cole and James Taillon have been the most dominant since the 1932 Yankees rotation of Johnny Allen, George Pipgras, Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez. 

Think about that? Better than the 1969 Mets! Better than those Orioles pitchers of the 1960s and the 1971 staff that had four 20-game winners. At some point, the Yankees staff will return to earth, but their out-of-this-world performance has launched the Bombers back in contention.

Congratulations Joe West

Major League umpire Joe West was honored before last night's Chicago White Sox-St. Louis Cardinals game in Chicago. And why not. He has now umpired more games than any other umpire, breaking Bill Klem's record of 5,375.

Truth be told, Joe's path and mine crossed in 1984 in Kinston, NC. I had broadcast in Kinston of the Carolina League for two seasons, before heading to Richmond (International League), and was among those honored at the club's winter banquet. The guest speaker was Joe West. He was as personable then as he is now. 

"This record will never be broken. it's almost mathematically impossible," former National League umpire Terry Tata stated.

Tata was once West's crew chief. 

Congratulations to West are in order.

Phil a TV hit

The early numbers are in on Phil Mickelson's history-making PGA Championship victory, and the tournament's final round garnered the best numbers in three years. Final round coverage on CBS snagged a 3.9 rating and 6.58 million viewers. The audience peaked at 13.05 million in the 7-7:15 PM ET block. 

Expect Mickelson to headline the promotions leading up to next month's U.S. Open.

That's it for today. Thank you for your support and continue to have a great week._

SPORTSCASTER DAN