Girardi is new Yankees manager

New York signs former Marlins skipper to three-year deal

Joe Girardi's return from the broadcast booth to the dugout is complete, as the former catcher officially became the 32nd manager of the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Girardi, 43, finalized terms on a three-year contract that extends through the 2010 season, succeeding Joe Torre. After remaining close to the organization by spending the 2007 season as a broadcaster with the YES Network, Girardi now trades his microphone for a lineup card, becoming the 17th former Yankee to manage the club.

The 2006 National League Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins, Girardi beat out candidates Don Mattingly and Tony Pena in an interview process that was conducted over three consecutive days last week in Tampa, Fla.

A former catcher for 15 Major League seasons, Girardi played on the Yankees' 1996, '98 and '99 World Series teams. He is said to have impressed the team brain trust with a prepared and analytical style, and he served as Torre's bench coach in 2005 before guiding the Marlins to a 78-victory season in '06.

"Joe Girardi is a good man," Torre said on Monday on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman." "He's got a feel for this organization."

Girardi kept his Marlins in NL Wild Card contention into the final week of the campaign, but he fell out of favor with owner Jeffrey Loria and general manager Larry Beinfest, putting him in the awkward position of accepting his Manager of the Year award some six weeks after being dismissed by Florida.

Girardi was briefly pursued for managerial vacancies in Washington and Baltimore before deciding to remain on the sidelines this year, spending time with his ailing father.

Remaining close to the Yankees this year from a different perspective -- through the cameras of the YES Network -- Girardi also worked for FOX, who assigned him to broadcast coverage of the World Series. He was on the field in Denver for Game 4 on Sunday as the Red Sox celebrated a series sweep of the Rockies.

In a conference call with reporters after a lengthy interview in Tampa on Oct. 22, meeting face-to-face with George Steinbrenner, sons Hank and Hal, plus numerous club officials, Girardi said that he would have to treat the Yankees job as a different case than his Marlins experience.

"I think every managing job is different because of players and all the parts," Girardi said on Oct. 22. "Everyone changes. It's different people and different situations with different expectations.

"I think every job that you take is different, and I believe that every year is different, because the people are going to change. The idea is still to win a World Series and to win ballgames."

Girardi follows Torre, who led the club to 12 consecutive postseason appearances and four World Series titles, but none since 2000.

Torre, who has been linked to the Dodgers job in published reports, turned down a one-year, "performance-based" $5 million contract offer on Oct. 18, ending his successful run with the Yankees.

Girardi's acceptance also ends Mattingly's four-year run as a Yankees coach. One of the most popular figures in franchise history, Mattingly served for three years as the club's hitting coach, and he spent this past season as Torre's bench coach, keeping an eye on managing.

Informed by general manager Brian Cashman on Monday that he would not be named the next skipper, Mattingly informed the Yankees that he would not accept a coaching position with New York in 2008. Pena said in a conference call with reporters that he would be amenable to returning as a coach if he did not get the job.

Girardi inherits a Yankees club that likely bid farewell this week to All-Star third baseman and AL MVP front-runner Alex Rodriguez, who elected to opt out of his contract and end his four-year stay in New York.

Catcher Jorge Posada and closer Mariano Rivera were among a group of five Yankees to file for free agency on Monday, though Rivera and his agent Fernando Cuza met with executives at Legends Field on Tuesday to discuss a possible new contract.

Left-hander Andy Pettitte still has not decided if he wants to return on a $16 million player option, and the Yankees have yet to trigger Bobby Abreu's $16 million team option for 2008.