New York Yankees

Joe Girardi on Alex Rodriguez: 'My job description does not entail farewell tours'

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:07 p.m. ET

Dan Carson

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi engaged media on Wednesday about Alex Rodriguez's starting status.

The question continues to vacillate around whether or not Rodriguez will get to play during his final game of his Yankee career on Friday.

On Sunday, Girardi maintained that Rodriguez can dictate his playing time this week. But on Wedensday, Girardi said Wednesday that this was a "mistake," per ESPN's Andrew Marchand.

Furthermore, Girardi said he is no way beholden to Rodriguez's "farewell tour."

Joe Girardi: "My job description does not entail farewell tours." https://t.co/9tNvgrpKM9
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 10, 2016

This raised some eyebrows, mostly because facilitating retiring stars and placing them in prominent starting roles has been 90 percent of Girardi's job for a while now — a point MLB media was quick to point out:

Jeter in 2014: Fifth-worst OPS among qualifiers, batted second in 141 of his 145 games. https://t.co/d9SwJuFNJH
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 10, 2016

Girardi then accused media of playing "both sides" regarding Rodriguez and his career.

So, to review: Girardi thinks the media has abandoned him in moment of need. The one time he doesn't want to do a farewell parade, all they have is questions and facts.

Dan is on Twitter. The Yankees aren't in the business of farewell tours they don't immediately profit from.